Staff Writer
Waybur Theater was overrun Monday with the resounding hum of more than 300 voices yelling “Hooah!” As Cadets sounded off, retired Maj. Gen. Robert Wagner pumped his fists and waved his arms enthusiastically in the air.
“That means we’re going to fight,” Wagner said to the Alpha Co. Cadets.
Wagner, the first commander of U.S. Army Cadet Command from 1986-90, kicked off the Leader’s Training Course distinguished speakers series. He served in the Army for 33 years.
Wagner’s central message to Cadets was making them realize they represent an important part of the Army because they are the future officers and leaders of our country.
“And don’t you forget it,” he said.
Wagner offered Cadets a history lesson on how Cadet Command began.
In the early 1980s, he looked at ROTC and decided it needed priorities, discipline, a chain of command and standards where only the best students would become officers in the Army.Two-thirds of the Army’s officers are graduates of ROTC, Wagner said.
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Video by Douglas Worthington
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He also touched on the Cadets’ part in recruiting.
“Us old guys aren’t the only ones that control it,” Wagner said. “We recruit the best and operate the best.”
He asked the audience how many have asked someone to join the Army in some way. More than half the crowd raised their hands and responded with hooahs.
Wagner also gave Cadets a brief world tour, warning them about dangerous and potentially dangerous countries they might have to serve in one day such, as Iran and Pakistan.
“(Our) boots on the ground capability is absolutely pivotal to security,” he said. “We are the ones that fight, we are the ones that defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Wagner reminded the audience that the world’s at war and, soon, the Cadets will be the commanding Soldiers in combat. So they better prepare.
“You may think that rappelling and cleaning the barracks or tying your shoes isn’t important, but it is,” he said.
He also encouraged them to know maneuvers, study military history, always be ready to fight and keep up with the news.
Cadet Elizabeth Hoxie, who attends Michigan State University, said she thought Wagner was inspirational.
“It helped me to refocus after a long day in the field,” she said.
Cadet Theresa Zukowski, who attends Georgia Institute of Technology, said the speech made her feel proud.
“It makes us proud as well to know we believe in something that is real,” she said. “Here we are doing training with fake enemies, so sometimes it’s hard to imagine that what we are doing is real.”