EAST TRAINING RANGE CENTER, Hawaii – If you asked 1st Lt. Joseph Ross, Alpha Company, 29th Engineer Battalion, 25th Infantry Division, what influenced his decision to join the military he would probably bring up his heritage.
Ross grew up in York, Pennsylvania with two generations before him having served.
“What drove me to join the military was probably my grandfather,” Ross said. “He’s a World War II Veteran in his early 90s right now. My father was in the Coast Guard so it’s kind of gone down the blood lines a little bit.”
With an interest in the military at a young age, Ross eventually joined the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) at his college and later took the oath of office where he eventually became a platoon leader under the 29th Engineer Battalion.
Since serving as a platoon leader at the Battalion, Ross has reflected on what he likes most about being an officer in the Army.
“What I enjoy the most in the Army are the different opportunities you have to travel the world,” Ross said. “Right now I’m in Hawaii and I never thought I’d be in Hawaii. I’m from the East Coast and it’s been pretty neat to move around to all the different bases and different types of training.”
Training that Ross has had the opportunity to test his skills in since arriving in Hawaii was the 25th ID Lightning Academy’s Jungle Operations Training Course (JOTC) where he led a squad through three weeks of training in the jungle, a type of terrain not uncommon in U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM).
“It gives you more of a broadened look at the country as a whole,” Ross said. “It makes you think about other people rather than just yourself. Serving under PACOM is a great way to broaden our training ability as an Army. We’re so used to, as of now, being over in the Middle East, and being out here in Hawaii and moving over toward the Philippines and Thailand, it’s just a different method of training and a different way to broaden our skills as an entire Army.”
The leadership experience tested both himself and his Soldiers in a jungle environment where they were tasked to operate in the thick, unforgiving terrain. During the training, Ross reflected on his time growing up in Pennsylvania and how it attributed to his experience.
“I did go outdoors a lot, I was big on the outside, but the environment out here is definitely a lot different than it is back out in Pennsylvania,” Ross said. “My aunt and uncle would teach us a lot about outdoors survival so it was really neat being out here and being able to see that kind of transition. Obviously out here it’s a little more cutthroat than being back with your family and stuff but it’s neat to see yourself improve as you move along.”
Being in the jungle training environment with his squad also reminded him of times he spent back home.
“Earlier this week we built fires and built our own shelters and it was definitely neat to kind of remember it a little bit,” Ross said. “We were all sitting around after we had built the shelter and built our fire and talked about how we as kids had been outside, and had hiked and built shelters somewhat similar but definitely not as good as what we built out here.”
Ross said that parts of the JOTC course reminded him of his family and youth but that what he is walking away with after conquering the jungle will strengthen both his and his team’s future endeavors.
“What I’m going to take from being out here is just the adaptability it gives you,” Ross said. “We stay outside every day and with the weather out here in Hawaii you’re almost always guaranteed rain and I think for some of the guys who haven’t been out here or who haven’t been to many schools or deployed or anything to really realize ‘hey, you’re kind of living on what you can pack, on what you can carry.’ It will help them in the future when we go onto more missions and more training to kind of realize what they’re able to bring and what they are going to need to fight the fight.”
From the rolling hills, plateaus and ridges of Pennsylvania to the gulches and valleys of Hawaii’s jungles, Ross continues to follow his family’s military heritage. Ross said he has enjoyed his military career so far but hopes to expand his experience in the Army in the future.
“I haven’t been out anywhere in the Pacific,” Ross said. “Looking forward to maybe getting that possibility as I know the 25th ID does [Pacific Pathways]. I know our battalion is coming up on another rotation. Hopefully someday I’ll get the chance to head out and support that mission.”