Not many Future Soldiers encounter the thrill and edginess of swearing to defend the nation and the constitution before a large public audience. Michael Lafleur, a Marinette (Wis.) High School student and Future Soldier, described the event as "intense."
Lafleur and a host of 43 young men and women stood tall on the Lakeview Arena ice rink before dozens of hockey fans to conduct the oath of enlistment Jan. 16. The Future Soldiers represented the Iron Mountain Recruiting Company region which encompasses Northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
The Marquette Rangers hosted the members from the Milwaukee Recruiting Battalion and the Northern Michigan University (NMU) ROTC program to a game against the Alpena IceDiggers. The Future Soldiers, recruiters and leaders marked their presence at the arena to raise Army awareness, foster public support of the Future Soldiers and to excite the Future Soldiers about their commitment to serve.
Staff Sgt. Nathan Froese, a recruiter from Houghton Recruiting Station, sang the national anthem. Command Sgt. Maj. Melvin Holliday, the battalion's top noncommissioned officer, received the ceremonial honor of dropping the puck at the start of the game. Capt. Megan Keuss, Iron Mountain Recruiting Company commander, administered the oath of enlistment during an in-between period.
The Iron Mountain Recruiting Company and the NMU ROTC program jointly attended what Marquette Rangers coined "NMU/U.S. Army night" to combine resources and present various career paths available to young men and women.
Even though Lafleur was more of a Green Bay Gamblers hockey fan he traveled the distance for the sake of participating in the mass swear-in.
"I wanted to come here to support the people (Future Soldiers and recruiters) on my team and to my country," Lafleur said.
William Nelson, a Marinette High School graduate, said he was a little nervous about going in front of so many people, "but then we got it going."
Nelson and Lafleur are scheduled to ship to Basic Combat Training this summer.
Michael Belmonte, an ROTC cadet at NMU, also joined the formation of Future Soldiers to express his oath to defend the nation and to identify with those whom he will lead one day as an officer.
Belmonte said it was exciting and encouraging to see the support of the crowd in the arena.
"Twenty years ago you wouldn't have seen that kind of support. Nowadays you can wear a uniform in public and people will think you're a hero," Belmonte said. "For me, it's awesome."
Mark Evans, director of marketing and public relations for the Marquette Rangers Hockey Club, said it was an honor for the Rangers organization to be a part of the mass swear-in.
"Our players, our fans, even the players from the opponent were all very moved and proud to witness the ceremony; and to host an evening with our Future Soldiers," Evans said. "Not much will bring our team out of the locker room in-between periods, but I know several of our guys made an effort to watch the ceremony. To be able to publicly recognize these young people for their dedication to our country was a real treat. We hope it was a memorable sendoff for them as well."
First Sgt. Jerome Thibaut, Iron Mountain Recruiting Company, said that conducting public oaths of enlistment strengthens the Future Soldiers commitment toward their enlistment and makes an impression in an otherwise hard-to-penetrate community.
"The event gives us some exposure to the market, but mainly it's for the Future Soldiers and their family members," Thibaut said. "It also solidifies the commitment of families to support the Future Soldier."
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