Front and Center: Tim Culpepper is the bark behind Gonzaga’s ROTC program

Bulldog Battalion, Gonzaga’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, consistently ranks among the country’s most elite ROTC programs.

But that wasn’t always so.

When the college established its first “cadet program” in 1899, the unit was so ragtag that a decade later the Army moved to shut it down.

Thanks to divine intervention – in the form of Jesuit discipline – the cadets fell in line.

Almost a century later, Bulldog Battalion has twice been named the best unit west of the Mississippi. And since 2001, it has consistently placed in the top 15 percent of the approximately 275 ROTC programs nationwide.

During a recent interview, Maj. Tim Culpepper, the chair of Gonzaga’s military science department, discussed the program, risk management, and why leading an ROTC unit is such a coveted assignment.

S-R: Where did you grow up?

Culpepper: In Plano, Texas, just outside of Dallas.

S-R: How come you don’t have a Texas accent?

Culpepper: Seventeen years in the military, living in 15 different places, working with international officers. I learned to enunciate my words because others couldn’t understand my Texas twang.

S-R: Were either of your parents in the military?

Culpepper: No. But one of my grandfathers served in the Navy in the South Pacific during World War II.

S-R: What were your interests as a teen?

Culpepper: I loved football. I played defensive end in football all through high school.

S-R: Did you have a favorite class?

Culpepper: I enjoyed language arts. I’m a reader and writer at heart.

S-R: What was your first job?

Culpepper: My father had a landscaping business, so I mowed lawns all summer from dawn to dark in the hot Texas sun. That taught me about the value of a dollar and a work ethic.

S-R: Were you a Boy Scout?

Culpepper: I was for a year or so, but I didn’t pursue it. It’s not like I was always focused on joining the military. I didn’t decide to do that until after college.

S-R: What college did you attend?

Culpepper: I went to Texas A&M University, a big state school – nearly 60,000 students.

S-R: Did you have a career in mind?

Culpepper: Not at all. I earned an English degree, which later translated into an intelligence career in the military.

S-R: And you weren’t in ROTC?

Culpepper: No. I took a very unusual route to the military. After graduation, I got married and spent a couple of years in the business world in Houston. I had three jobs during that period and made good money, but I was miserable. I wanted camaraderie with my co-workers, as well as adventure and travel. I thought the Army could do that for me, and indeed it did.

S-R: What did your wife think of you joining the military?

Culpepper: She was frustrated with my moving from job to job. So when I told her that if I joined the military I was legally obligated to serve at least three years, she said, “Great! Do it.” She was excited about a steady income and an opportunity to travel. My first duty assignment was Italy, where our family spent seven years.

S-R: How did you become an officer?

Culpepper: There are three primary ways to become an Army officer. One is through the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Another is through ROTC. The third way is Officer Candidate School, which is for enlisted soldiers who have earned their degrees. If their performance is strong enough, they can go to a 16-week course at OCS, which is what I did.

S-R: But you started out as a grunt?

Culpepper: Exactly. I began as a junior enlisted soldier, literally scrubbing toilets and working in the dining facility. It was about 10 months before I received my commission and became a young lieutenant.

S-R: You must have been really good at cleaning toilets.

Culpepper: (laugh) I was good.

S-R: What were some highlights of your career?

Culpepper: My first assignment was in Vicenza, Italy, just west of Venice, with the 173D Airborne Brigade. In March of 2003, we parachuted into northern Iraq – the largest combat jump since Vietnam – and spent a year in Iraq. After returning to Italy, I went to Kandahar, Afghanistan, for a year, came back to Italy, and then went back to Afghanistan for 15 months.

S-R: What were you doing when you were chosen to take over Gonzaga’s ROTC program?

Culpepper: I was deputy intelligence officer for the 1st Infantry Division stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas. In a nutshell, my job was to take all the data collected by sensors, interpret it, and present it to the commander in a way that makes sense – tell him where the enemy is, how many there are, what they are equipped with, and what we believe they are going to do.

S-R: Other than your intel experience, what prepared you to take charge of an ROTC program?

Culpepper: After three deployments, I told the Army, “I need a break. My family needs me at home. What do you have?” They offered me a position teaching at the Military Academy Preparatory School, which is a one-year program after high school and before West Point. It’s mostly for the athletes.

S-R: What did you teach?

Culpepper: English and literature.

S-R: What was your favorite book to teach?

Culpepper: Without question, “Beyond Band of Brothers,” the personal memoir by Maj. Dick Winters, who led his soldiers during a very trying time (in WWII).

S-R: How were you selected for ROTC leadership?

Culpepper: It’s very competitive. Every year, between 50 and 100 of these positions open up, and generally around 350 applications are submitted by majors and lieutenant colonels. Serving as a professor of military science for an ROTC program is in high demand among officers.

S-R: Why?

Culpepper: We’re not getting shot at. We’re not getting sent to Iraq and Afghanistan. We’re not spending a year apart from our family. And most importantly, we get to develop leaders.

S-R: How did you end up at Gonzaga?

Culpepper: After we were chosen, they gave us a list of schools with openings, and asked us to choose our top preferences. Gonzaga was my No. 1 choice.

S-R: Had you ever been to Spokane?

Culpepper: I think I drove through maybe 20 years ago. But I do like this part of the country – the weather and the mountains. I knew the cost of living was great. I wanted a faith-based school. And I knew Gonzaga’s ROTC was a prestigious program.

S-R: How big is Gonzaga’s military science department?

Culpepper: There are three instructors besides me, another two openings that will be filled shortly, plus three administrative folks and a recruiting officer.

S-R: Do you have a guiding philosophy?

Culpepper: Never give up. Our primary goal is to develop leadership traits, which include integrity, respect for others and, most importantly, perseverance.

S-R: How do you market the ROTC program?

Culpepper: Gonzaga is unusual in that we don’t need to do much traditional marketing. We already have enough candidates knocking on the door.

S-R: What are the financial incentives?

Culpepper: An Army ROTC scholarship pays your tuition and fees. Gonzaga throws in room and board, and students get a stipend on top of that.

S-R: And in return?

Culpepper: The minimum requirement, timewise, is three mornings a week from 6 to 7 for physical training, plus one three-hour class and a three-hour lab each week. Cadets also attend Advanced Camp at Fort Knox, Kentucky, typically during the summer after their junior year. Cadets graduate with the rank of second lieutenant, which is an entry-level officer, and have a four-year active-duty commitment followed by four years of inactive reserve status.

S-R: What’s the gender split among ROTC participants?

Culpepper: We’re roughly 65-35, men to women.

S-R: What sort of person makes the best cadet?

Culpepper: Someone who enjoys sports, is academically successful, and has demonstrated leadership – been elected to student government or maybe run a volunteer organization.

S-R: Is being in charge of an ROTC program typically an exit plan for senior officers?

Culpepper: It used to be. In the past three or four years, the Army has rebranded this position as a step toward promotion and more opportunities.

S-R: Is ROTC here to stay?

Culpepper: Absolutely. We have a very close relationship with the university. I spoke with the president (Thayne McCulloh) a few months ago. He’s a former soldier himself – he was an enlisted cook in the Army – so he appreciates what we do. Some of my colleagues deal with less accommodating university environments.

S-R: What challenges do you face?

Culpepper: My primary focus is being wise with regard to the safety of our cadets. There is inherent risk in the training we do. Several weeks ago, we went to the Spokane Police Academy range and taught our freshmen how to shoot assault rifles. We go to ropes courses and run around the woods in the middle of the night. I don’t avoid risk, but I minimize it as best I can.

S-R: What is your secret talent?

Culpepper: I’m a diplomat in every sense of the word. I can bring people together for a common cause.

S-R: How do you relax?

Culpepper: I love to read, mostly books about emerging business trends and global politics.

S-R: Looking back on your career, is there anything you wish you’d done differently?

Culpepper: One key to a successful military career is being physically fit. I wish I’d been in much better shape than I was when I joined. Two years stuck in an office was not good preparation.

This interview has been condensed. If you’d like to suggest a business or community leader to be profiled, contact Michael Guilfoil at mguilfoil@comcast.net