Saluting 11 cadets for their honor, dedication and commitment, Radford University's Army Reserve Officer Training Corps held its annual Highlander Detachment commissioning ceremony Friday, May 4.

Families and friends packed the auditorium of the Hurlburt Student Center to applaud the cadets, each earning the rank of second lieutenant and the authority to carry out the duties of U.S. Army officers.

"It's amazing how much I feel like I've grown," 2nd Lt. Matthew Tyler Broomell said of his RU ROTC experience.

The other graduating cadets were Bradley Keith Ball, Jeremy Bradford Blixt, Laura Theresa Brown, Ryan Austin Bruch, William Kyle Cragg, James Robert McConville, Joshua Nicholas Pearson, Ryan Clayton Timmons, Carolyn Michelle Tucker and Kevin Nash Williams.

Broomell, headed to Fort Benning, Ga., to serve in the armor branch, credited ROTC for helping him to develop skills as a leader, scholar and citizen.

"My leadership abilities, organizational and communication skills have all increased," he said. His cadet experience also earned him "a job right out of college and a chance to serve my country while doing something exciting."

"We had gone from a time when we had just a profusion of focus on military with lots of money and lots of training to build a great monster that could stand up to the Soviet Union," he said. "Once the Soviet Union fell apart, so did all that funding, and so did all those priorities."

The U.S military is again in transition, Hice said. "We're going into a different time," he told the new officers. "It's going to be a challenge."

Hice offered advice based on his 25 years of service.

"Do the right thing," he said. "In every situation you run into, just figure out what is the right thing, what is the moral thing for you to do. Try to stick to it, and you can't go wrong."

Hice also urged the graduates to be diligent in staying physically and emotional fit, respecting their soldiers and treating them well, and remaining true to themselves as they develop their own personal leadership styles.

"Trying to be somebody you're not is going to come across false," he said. "You're much better being who you are and doing it well than trying to emulate somebody else."