ROTC: Sharing a Mother's Day commissioning
Senior Jennifer Purser was commissioned May 10 as a second
lieutenant in the U.S. Army by her mother, Brigadier General Leslie
Purser.
“This is my first [commissioning] …” mom said. “It is especially poignant that it’s my daughter and it is Mother’s Day. I’m so psyched!”
ROTC cadets generally get to request who will commission them. Jenny didn’t hesitate to ask her mom.
“I think it’s pretty cool my mom is a General and that I am a female cadet and I’m having a female commissioning me,” she said.
Jennifer, or Jenny as she is known to her family and friends, follows
in a strong family tradition of military service. Her dad, Joe, served
22 years of active duty with the Army, retiring a few years ago as a
lieutenant colonel; her mom is in her 28th year as a reservist – now on
active duty, and her brother Justin recently enrolled in ROTC at James
Madison University and the National Guard. Still, it was a decision
that took her parents by surprise.
Being military brats, her mother said, Jenny and Justin had to move
around a lot and change schools constantly – things they weren’t always
thrilled about. I was “totally shocked,” her mom said about Jenny’s
decision to join the Army. “But, totally proud,” she added. “The fact
that she graduated magna cum laude doesn’t hurt either. We are excited
for her future.”
Jennifer was commissioned Saturday with six other William and Mary ROTC
cadets in a ceremony at the college’s University Center, the day before
receiving her bachelor’s degree in international relations.
Jennifer’s first military assignment will be at Ft. Lewis in
Washington. A posting, her mother noted, will likely see her deployed
to Iraq in the first year.
“I’m not worried,” her mother said about the orders. “I’ve been there before, I know what she faces. “
Brig. Gen. Purser is commander of the Military Intelligence Readiness
Command at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. Jennifer plans on following in her
mother’s military-intelligence footsteps. She will spend the summer in
training first in Oklahoma and then Arizona before heading off to Ft.
Lewis. She’s ready for the challenge.
“I couldn’t see myself doing anything else at this point,” Jennifer said.