UC Berkeley NROTC Roommates

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Ew3081

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Jul 16, 2018
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Are there any NROTC, AFROTC, or AROTC cadets going to UC Berkeley next year and want to room?
 
AROTC-dad said:
Just a random thought. My DS had non-ROTC roommates all four years. He never had to compete for the bathroom at 0500.
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But... did he ever have a roommate who hated his alarm going off at 0500? That's my fear.....
 
candide72 said:
But... did he ever have a roommate who hated his alarm going off at 0500? That's my fear.....
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Lol! He used a vibration alarm on his watch. He also had a private BR after his freshman year. (Apartment with 4 private BR's and 2 shared bathrooms plus a common living room and kitchen).
 
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This is actually a good question. Do you think it’s better to room with regular college students or guys from the Battalion?
 
NROTCdad said:
Do you think it’s better to room with regular college students or guys from the Battalion?
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I can only note my observations of my own DS who roomed with three non-ROTC roommates.

PROS of rooming with Regular college students.
  • More interaction with "normal" college life.
  • Less kitchen and bathroom schedule conflict (as noted in prior post).
CONS of rooming with Regular college students
  • Roommates may not respect need for "early to bed" quiet.
  • Less access to common discussion about upcoming ROTC events such as FTX, Advanced Camp, Summer training etc.
 
Good points. My freshman son is moving in with 4 other ROTC guys next year. My gut was it would be better to room with non-rotc students but I can see the advantages too.
 
Reminds me of a story. I was watching a video of a professor who went to UC Berkeley back in the day & said it was so liberal that the students thought Mondale was a Republican!
 
My daughter roomed with a non-ROTC but fellow nursing student her first two years and then with multiple AROTC students (6 girls in 4 bedroom place) her last two years. She preferred the last two years because she had her own room.

My son had a mix of ROTC roommate and non-ROTC *on* campus his freshman year and all ROTC roommates *off* campus his last 3 years. He definitely preferred living off campus and I don't blame him. I personally dealt with the housing administration after an incident his freshman year and the head lady was a militant feminist who disliked men and the military.

I've personally been at Bezerkley with law enforcement mutual aid and I would absolutely want an ROTC roommate at that school. It may be your only chance at living a "normal" existence. There are more whack-jobs on that campus that I've ever dealt with anywhere else.
 
Hmm.

DS had non-ROTC roomies this year, a different one each semester. Co-habitants of the same space with no issues, but nothing brought them together as friends. Luckily two sophomores on the floor are ROTC in another service, and their common interests lead to friendships that probably made up for roommates’ indifference.

He’s trying an on-campus single next year as he simply has no interest in cooking.

To OP... is there the equivalent of a college bulletin board at the school? Or can you ask at the unit if anyone needs a roommate?

I just wish we’d asked for advice before he arrived: he now knows it is more important to him to be closer to the unit than his classes (which are scattered freshman year anyways) because he has spent a lot of time going to/from the unit.

Berkeley is awesome... Congrats!
 
k2rider said:
He definitely preferred living off campus and I don't blame him. I personally dealt with the housing administration after an incident his freshman year and the head lady was a militant feminist who disliked men and the military.

I've personally been at Bezerkley with law enforcement mutual aid and I would absolutely want an ROTC roommate at that school. It may be your only chance at living a "normal" existence. There are more whack-jobs on that campus that I've ever dealt with anywhere else.
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Off campus can be an adventure in Bezerkley too.

Here's an excellent local newspaper's review of some of the many interesting and, er, excitable characters who periodically converge on Bezerkley to rumble:
https://www.berkeleyside.com/2017/04/17/exactly-turned-downtown-berkeley-battlefield-april-15
 
I also want to note that your gear that you get issued will take up a good amount of space (especially if you room with other rotc students). I dont go to berkeley but I've been to the freshman dorms and they are not that big. I'm not sure what type of gear NROTC or AFROTC will issue u but for AROTC we get a ruck sack (filled with more gear), boots, multiple uniforms, FLCs, etc. Imagine multiplying that by 3 or 4. o_O
 
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jimmy3 said:
I also want to note that your gear that you get issued will take up a good amount of space (especially if you room with other rotc students). I dont go to berkeley but I've been to the freshman dorms and they are not that big. I'm not sure what type of gear NROTC or AFROTC will issue u but for AROTC we get a ruck sack (filled with more gear), boots, multiple uniforms, FLCs, etc. Imagine multiplying that by 3 or 4. o_O
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Berkeley's dorms look like closets with a bunk bed or two.....
 
Not roommate related, but Berkeley specific. Did your students use a dry cleaner to get ROTC uniforms cleaned? Closest one I saw on google maps was several blocks off campus. Any tips on how to keep uniforms clean and pressed appropriately? Do most wash and press their own gear? Just curious how all that works and what supplies (iron? steamer?) if any, we should buy.
 
ServiceBrat said:
Not roommate related, but Berkeley specific. Did your students use a dry cleaner to get ROTC uniforms cleaned? Closest one I saw on google maps was several blocks off campus. Any tips on how to keep uniforms clean and pressed appropriately? Do most wash and press their own gear? Just curious how all that works and what supplies (iron? steamer?) if any, we should buy.
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I'm sure the unit has a dry cleaner they would recommend. DS's NROTC unit all used the dry cleaner who was initially responsible for cleaning the dress blues before issue.

Mom and Dad (mostly Dad) made DS learn how to iron prior to college. He pressed his non-dress stuff. While he was living in the dorm freshman year he took in ironing to make a few bucks. Most guys don't know how to iron something as simple as a T-Shirt. He kept himself in spending money that way.
 
https://www.berkeleyside.com/2017/04/17/exactly-turned-downtown-berkeley-battlefield-april-15 from @thibaud

It's interesting to note that the solo shots of the Right wing protester(s) are not wearing masks while the 1 photo of those on the Left are. Here in NYS, we have an anti-mask wearing law originally put in place to deter the Klan but has been brought out to be possibly applied in street demo's in NYC. 3 or more people wearing masks in a group can be arrested just for that (Halloween & theatrical performances exempted). Can't say I've ever seen arrests occur or heard of such but it was mentioned to us by our bosses when we mustered up prior to several demo's back in the day.
 
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