Army Lt. Darren Glenn used to attend UC Davis, participate in ROTC drills and eat at the Memorial Union. Last year his life changed dramatically when he was deployed to Iraq.

"A soldier here has to be ready to kill one minute, and then the next minute turn it off and help the population," said Glenn, a 2001 alumnus who is stationed in Mosul in northern Iraq. "Today for example I was passing out soccer balls and buying candy for little kids at a local store. Then one hour later, we were being shot at by snipers."

As the war in Iraq continues, U.S. colleges and universities are busy training the next generation of military leadership through ROTC programs. At UC Davis, Lt. Col. Don Hill, a professor of military science and a Gulf War veteran, supervises the U.S. Army ROTC program.

Hill estimates that "up to 40 alums may be serving in Iraq and another 20 have probably been there or in Afghanistan and are now home." To put it into perspective, during the last four years the UC Davis ROTC program has commissioned about 60 officers and has 71 students now enrolled. When ROTC students conclude their four-year college curriculum and are awarded a bachelor's degree, they also receive their commission as a Second Lieutenant.

Hill says it is not uncommon for former Aggies to literally bump into each other in the war zone. "I hear stories of fellow classmates running into each other over there all the time in the strangest places. Weird place to have a class reunion."

For Glenn, a member of the Army's Striker Brigade out of Fort Lewis, Wash., a lack of sleep and constant daily patrols makes it tough. "The stress can really build up."

Each day is different and a far cry from Glenn's college days when he searched for study time or places to hang out -- and not insurgents with automatic weapons and deadly explosives.

A few months ago he was injured when a rocket propelled grenade, or RPG, struck his armored vehicle. "An RPG gunner had better aim than I did that day," he joked.

The blast broke his arm and he was burned, though not severely. And now he is back with his patrol, and sounding hopeful about the turn of events since the Iraqi elections in January. In his daily encounters, Glenn senses the Iraqis are increasingly supportive of the nascent democracy.

"People here have been much more helpful since the elections," said Glenn, who will soon be promoted to captain. "The sentiment of the population in my part of the city is that the Americans are winning."

Many Mosul inhabitants "seem to not like or not support the terrorists," he says, despite some sympathetic minority factions. Also, he says the Americans are aggressively hunting down many of the terrorists and that seems to reinforce support for the coalition effort.

A history major at UC Davis, Glenn sees Iraq's future in the faces of its children.

"I think everyone likes the kids," said Glenn. "You look at some of these kids and think many of them have no idea who Saddam Hussein or President Bush is, they don't really know the difference between a Muslim and a Christian."

All the kids know, says Glenn, is that when Americans come by they bring soccer balls, Beanie Babies or candy. "You see the look on some of these kids' faces and you think that maybe this next generation will have a better future," he said.

About the Iraqi troops, Glenn feels confident that training them will help against the insurgency. "These Iraqi soldiers are fighting for their nation now and doing more of the work."

Capt. Carson Spear, another 2001 alumnus, is deployed in Baghdad with the Army's 1st Cavalry Division. He says his greatest daily challenge is being separated from his fiancée Leesa in Forth Worth, Texas, and his friends and family. Excited about returning soon to Texas, he describes his wife-to-be as "lovely."

Early in his tour, Spear was slightly injured when his patrol vehicle was blown off of the road by an explosive device. The driver of the truck lost his leg in the detonation, so in a way Spear counts himself lucky.

It is not all about fighting. His favorite interaction with Iraqis is having tea with them. "At least once or twice," he said, "on every single mission, the people invite us in for tea or bring it out to our vehicles. The tea is served extremely hot with lots of sugar; it goes great with a Marlboro."

Spear, who majored in political science, still recalls lessons learned in ROTC at UC Davis. "Almost once a day I think back to any of many lessons I learned while a student there," he said. "Whether it be on sound tactics or just speaking in front of and motivating a large group, I owe much of my leadership skills and techniques to the proven mentorship I received there."

He says his platoon is working hard on the rebuilding effort. They sought out local contractors to rebuild two schools, install street lighting, repair two key roads, establish a health clinic, and supply clean drinking water.

"Improving their infrastructure has made this a truly worthwhile mission, despite the dangers we face day and night," said Spear.

Long road ahead

Army Ranger Capt. Phillip Williams serves with the 101 Airborne in Iraq. He, too, graduated from UC Davis in 2001. Last month, he returned to Louisiana for a training exercise and had some comments to share on the January elections in Iraq.

"Women voted," said Williams. "I wonder if we, here in America, especially us men, can fully understand the enormity of that single act, when a woman walked out of a voting booth with a purple finger, and then proudly displayed it. That is huge."

Slowly but surely, Williams says, Iraqis are developing their own sense of identity as a country and of dignity as individuals.

"The road is still a long one ahead, a lot of people are still going to die. But their deaths will not be in vain," said Williams, though concerned about the role of fanatical Islam in the democratic movement.

Like Glenn, he finds the topsy-turvy world of Iraq challenging. "On Tuesday my platoon could be part of a search and raid mission, and then on Wednesday we might be trying to figure out the quality of water, electricity, schools and hospitals."

It is difficult fighting an enemy who does not wear uniforms. "You never knew if the man that you were talking to had it in the back of his mind to kill you and your men," said Williams, agreeing with Glenn that stress permeates their lives.

Williams, who will head back to Iraq for a second tour of duty after his stint in Louisiana, does not like to read about fellow soldiers' opposition to the war.

When a young person signs up to join the all-volunteer military, Williams says, it is critical that they actually understand the principles of self-sacrifice, duty, honor and courage. He argues that society has so watered down these concepts that they are "little more than punch lines." And the military is but a reflection of society, says Williams, a political science major.

"The result is that you have people refusing to deploy overseas because they are pregnant, or their wives are pregnant, or they're just scared, or refusing to carry out a mission because they don't think they're being protected enough."

As a soldier, he says, he expects to be hungry sometimes, wet and cold, exhausted from lack of sleep. "That is the environment of war," he says.

Above all, Hill says, the ROTC program attempts to instill in its students a sense of ethics and skills in leadership, communication, navigation, small unit tactics and physical fitness.

Army ROTC is traditionally a four-year program where students take one military science course per quarter along with their other academic courses.

"These students, now officers, are leading soldiers in combat in some very difficult situations," Hill said. "In one situation the proper response may require quick and violent action. Two minutes later the situation may require restraint and compassion." He added, "This is an awesome responsibility."