Reflections on Gifts Received from Our Corps
By Vickie A. (Karolchyk) Ireland HT’91, PhD, RN and Brig. Gen. Christopher J. Ireland E’91, U.S. Air Force
It is an amazing honor to be asked to contribute to our Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets (VTCC) magazine, especially as we are both closing in on the 30th anniversary of graduating from Virginia Tech.
This year is also a major inflection point for the Ireland family, as Vickie is now a university professor after earning her doctorate in nursing education in March, and Chris is preparing to retire from the U.S. Air Force this summer.
Looking back, it has become increasingly clear that our VTCC experiences not only forged us into the adults we are today, but the lessons (fun and painful) set us up for our own professional successes in and out of the military. The Corps is also where we met each other, so we might be just a little biased!
The last 30 years have, in many ways, been a blur. We’ve been blessed to live abroad in Germany, the United Kingdom (twice!), and Canada, and we have raised two young women with the same set of ideals we internalized in the Corps.
We remain in regular contact with our ’91 buds, (and— off the record, of course — even a couple of even-year alumni). We also realize that most of the friends we’ve gained since graduation are cut from a similar cloth as our VTCC friends; our four years in the Corps were just that foundational for us.
Rather than describing our arc through the last 30 years, we thought we’d offer some reflections on how our time in the Corps impacted our lives as adults.
We hope that the “older” (not old … just older) generations see themselves in these points, and that the current cadets might better understand how lucky they are to be a part of something like the VTCC.
Lifelong Bonds
Steel is formed under intense heat, and diamonds come as a result of immense pressure.
Every new cadet leaves home with a certain sense of uncertainty, and the VTCC experience replaces that uncertainty with the unbreakable strength of lifelong friends.
When we went through “Turn Night” to earn recognition, we were only as good as the weakest link in our units.
In fact, when we low-crawled up the last hill from Alumni Mall to the old Brodie Hall, we couldn’t complete the task until we all arrived at exactly the same moment. (Let’s just say we did it more than once as a result!)
The physical, emotional, and mental challenges of the Corps experience required each of us to lean on a bud at some point to get through it, and we still lean on those buds 30 years later.
Yet it extends well beyond our immediate classmates; everyone who experienced the VTCC shares that common bond. It’s a common grounding in the eight Pylons and the values our alma mater and the VTCC represent.
We’ve found Hokie Nation at every assignment along the way, and we are better for it.
Confidence Under Stress
Most of us probably have vivid memories of wondering — maybe even out loud — why we needed to know the name of the stream running under the Drillfield.
Stroubles who? Really?
And why is this upperclassman “encouraging” me to properly recite the full names (including middle initials) of all my buds — and in alphabetical order no less?
Well, fast-forward to the emergency room of the Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, Florida. Which meds are contra-indicated to what the trauma patient is currently taking? Are the patient’s vitals normal or deteriorating; do we need to change the treatment regimen?
Or morning stand-up at pilot training, recalling emergency procedures and system limitations from memory while standing at attention, alone at the head of the table, to earn a chance to fly that day.
The Corps gave us both the confidence and the muscle memory to know that preparation and study pay off when it most counts.
Give Back and Teach
Life in the Corps provided leadership opportunities and a lifestyle that allowed you to give back, year over year. Each of us were given multiple opportunities as cadets to pass on what little we had learned and mastered.
Vickie commanded the Highty-Tighty Eager Squad to victory, and Chris earned an opportunity to serve as a cadet training officer at ROTC summer field training. These are just two examples.
Watching people absorb your inputs and earn their own mastery of your craft has always been an exceptionally rewarding line of work for both of us.
Chris’s tour as an aircrew instructor was one of his career highlights.
Vickie, however, has set a new family standard for instructional excellence. The passion she applies to her students, whether in the simulation laboratory, the Zoom classroom, or the floor of the teaching hospital, is the same passion and eye for detail that she demonstrated on the Drillfield all those years ago.
The Corps provided both of us early chances to try, occasionally fail, and ultimately learn how to teach.
Vickie Ireland celebrates her recognition as Outstanding Post-Secondary Teacher in her rookie year, 2017, in Tampa, Florida.
Leadership Is a Team Sport
Leadership education tends to focus a lot on individuals. But in the practical laboratories of life, we’ve found that leadership, more often than not, involves a small inner circle of folks aligning to bring a larger mass forward.
A cadet company commander does not stand alone — the executive officer, the first sergeant, the cadet battalion commander, the active duty advisor, and more are all chartered to achieve the same success: academic graduation and character development for the cadets in their trust.
In the real world, this is no different. Charge nurses must collaborate with doctors. Faculty must remain aligned with the classroom techniques of their colleagues. Formation leads must lean on the aircraft commanders off either wing to distribute duties in-flight.
This becomes even more critical at executive levels within any organization; leaders are only as good as the team around them, especially when the scope and scale of the organization exceeds the capacity of any one person. We’ve been blessed to work alongside some of America’s finest over the years, whether fighting illness or our nation’s enemies.
Professions, and Thus Professionals, Have Standards
Probably the rudest awakening for any new cadet is the incessant push to conform to a standard. Uniforms, marching, new cadet knowledge, and even the daily regimen was issued to us.
In some ways, we think the subordination to a common standard is about group dynamics, but we also think it’s about forming a habit and a commitment to doing the right things the right way.
In a hospital, the steps for dealing with a coding patient are critical — nay, life critical — tasks.
Flying is no exception. “On time, on target, plus or minus 30 seconds” was our acid test, and we debriefed ourselves mercilessly as a crew when we failed to meet the standard.
Having a standard to measure oneself against is key to improving, and it provides a ready reference when motivating and inspiring excellence.
The best teams we’ve been a part of over the years were teams that held themselves to high standards. The Highty-Tighties, Gregory Guard, and other daily aspects of the Corps helped us see and feel that pride in early adulthood.
Honor History and Pay It Forward
While writing this, a couple of our social media apps came alive with stories and reflections tied to Medal of Honor Day (March 25).
Friends and colleagues posted to honor their favorite Medal of Honor recipient, and we couldn’t help but think about walking across the “VT” sidewalk in front of Lane Hall and paying respects to the names on the Rock, whether we were in uniform or out.
It was a tradition that forced you to get out of your own head, even if for a brief moment.
While pulling guard duty on top of the War Memorial Chapel on a “Bleaksburg” winter night, you could push yourself through the cold because you knew the names on the Pylons around you had given so much more.
This is the great intangible gift of the Corps. We were given an opportunity to learn about, and stand on the shoulders of, all those who came before us.
Remember the service projects we all did as cadets? Those same worthy causes are out there today.
Pay it forward when you can.
Final Thoughts
If you can’t tell, we are extremely grateful for all our Corps has done for us, and we’re exceptionally proud of all the Corps has become. When we graduated, the VTCC was down to just under 500 total cadets. The post-Cold War peace dividend ravaged the ROTC programs, and thus the ranks of our Corps.
Now, thanks to committed alumni and passionate cadre, we see cadets proudly stepping out on the Caldwell March, the Skipper continues to salute Hokie success, and our school’s motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), lives on with the VTCC as its embodiment.
The friendships we formed remain active to this day, and we look forward to growing old(er) with our lifelong friends as we plant roots in Maine.
We wish you all a happy and healthy Appalachian Spring, and Rah Tech!
