GUARDIANS AND LEADERS
Mission Possible: ROTC graduates are Army and Space Force action ready
By: JENNIFER HOWE
To prepare for leadership in the United States military, aspiring officers often take their initial steps through Reserve Officers' Training Corps programs. To that end, Army ROTC Cadet Command Sgt. Major Erika Siebert ’24 and Air Force ROTC Cadet Wing Commander Elissa Whitcomb ’24 are ready to lead.
Since graduating in May, both were commissioned as officers. Siebert is off to Oklahoma for four months of Basic Officer Leadership Course Training with the U.S. Army, and Whitcomb joins U.S. Space Force, America’s newest military branch, where, as an acquisitions officer, she will consult with civilian contractors to purchase critical needs ranging from computers to satellites.
TRADITIONS OF SERVICE
Throughout her early life, Whitcomb was doubly exposed to military bases and personnel, with an aunt who served in the U.S. Air Force and her dad who worked as a civilian for the military. Rather than push her toward military service, however, her family allowed her the freedom to choose her path.
“After observing the lifestyle and benefits of military service, I knew it was the path I would take,” said Whitcomb, who is from Belmont, North Carolina.
Initially, she considered colleges far from home with the U.S. Air Force Academy on her list. While she felt pressure to attend the academy after being accepted, Whitcomb took time to visit UNC Charlotte and interviewed with Lt. Col. Donald Land (now retired) for the Air Force ROTC scholarship. Before the interview was over, Land offered her the scholarship.
For Siebert, serving in the U.S. Army can be regarded as a family legacy. Her grandfather, dad and sister all have military service histories.
Siebert lived in Colorado, her birth state, with her family before military transfers took them to Washington, Virginia and North Carolina. Their last stop, when she was in middle school, was to Waxhaw, North Carolina.
“We moved around a lot,” Siebert said. “We became familiar with being at different bases and watching my dad work with different people. I saw all his opportunities; it really inspired me to join Army ROTC, and I have learned to love it.”
Opportunities to succeed
“We all love Charlotte,” said Siebert, whose older siblings Mia ’19 and Olivia ’22 encouraged her to attend the University.
For the Sieberts, UNC Charlotte is a family affair. Older siblings earned, respectively, a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a bachelor’s degree in exercise science.
The duo encouraged their sister to follow them to Charlotte, plus she preferred to stay close to home. Although she was unsure initially about a major, Siebert knew the University would offer her opportunities to succeed. Not only did she succeed, she thrived — and discovered a passion for military service.
“We all love Charlotte,” said Siebert, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from the College of Health and Human Services with a minor in military science.
Before Whitcomb chose UNC Charlotte, she shadowed the University’s Air Force ROTC program. When she learned about the academic opportunities available through the College of Computing and Informatics, her choice was made. Whitcomb became a 49er.
“I knew I would receive a great education at Charlotte under scholarship with top-notch military training, near my family,” said Whitcomb, who completed a bachelor’s degree in computer science with a concentration in data science. “I knew I would have an outstanding four years of college.”
Something that excites Whitcomb is reconstructing a seemingly meaningless amalgamation of data into information that is useful to corporations, government agencies and research entities.
“Data science is about making new discoveries and sharing them with others,” she said. “This is information that makes the world go around.”
ROTC — a path to leadership, a family of comrades
Siebert joined UNC Charlotte’s 49er Battalion ROTC Army program during the second half of her sophomore year. Jokingly, she calls herself a “late joiner.” Yet, she quickly immersed herself in ROTC life, making up for lost time.
“Army ROTC is like a full-time job,” she said. “It has taught me discipline, time management and basic skills such as delegating tasks and managing groups of people. The Army is a huge organization, and it really fosters a team-building mindset.”
While it sometimes was a challenge to balance Army ROTC with school and a social life, she did it. Siebert found time to hang out with friends in NoDa, taking in the city’s arts and entertainment district, and train for a half-marathon.
Siebert discusses details of an ROTC exercise with fellow cadets
Leadership opportunities came her way during her senior year. As a cadet command sergeant major, she mentored younger Army ROTC cadets, led morning physical training three days a week from 6 to 7 a.m., and instructed cadets to meet the ROTC’s expectations.
“There was a lot I didn’t know as a new cadet,” she said. “Through my role as cadet command sergeant major, I was able to assist those newer to the program.”
The lessons Siebert learned throughout her UNC Charlotte journey and the support she received from her professors, academic advisors, Army ROTC officers and fellow cadets have played a significant role in her success.
“They all have been great mentors,” she said.
For Whitcomb, Charlotte’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 592 was an extended family; she appreciates her fellow cadets and the officers who supported her as she achieved her goals.
As cadet wing commander, Whitcomb assisted in determining the trajectory for the detachment’s future and led her cadet wing in pursuit of its aims. A self-described “hands-on” individual who likes to be involved, Whitcomb says her ROTC experience helped her mature as a leader and become comfortable delegating responsibilities while empowering others.
“Through four years of training with the same group of people, you share experiences you won't with anyone else, and it gives you a close family of confidants that you can go to for anything,” said Whitcomb. “I am a better leader, student and friend.”
Being a full-time college student in a challenging major while holding a job, completing weekly military training and balancing a social life was not always easy for Whitcomb. But it was worth it, as it led her to the U.S. Space Force.
She was inspired to join the Space Force after spending three weeks one summer at the U.S. Air Force Academy. She learned about the organization’s mission, visited other bases, learned to staff a satellite and participated on a zero-gravity flight, all supported by the Air Force ROTC.
She was hooked, eager to join the newest military branch dedicated to protecting the nation’s space assets.
“We do not realize how vital space is to our everyday lives and how future conflict likely will take place there,” said Whitcomb. “Satellites allow us to live our lives — with Google, cellphones, GPS and basically everything tech-related. Guarding our satellites is vital to our national security.”
For Whitcomb, data science is about making new discoveries and sharing them with others. “This is information that makes the world go around.”
NEXT STEPS
Whitcomb will use her UNC Charlotte degree to work with contractors to acquire what the U.S. Space Force needs to succeed. “Negotiating with contractors will be a challenge that combines my love for information with my expertise in research and data science," she noted.
For Siebert, Army ROTC was the right choice as it has provided an exciting and rewarding career path. Since graduating, she is completing Basic Officer Leadership Course Training, where she will gain experience with branched field artillery. This combat arms branch will train her to work with fire and artillery weapon systems, including cannons, missiles and rockets. Then she will be assigned her first duty station, she’s hoping in either Hawaii or Germany.
Jennifer Howe is director of community and campus communications in the Office of University Communications.