Army soldiers to pass Cameron on their way from green to gold

Three Army soldiers exchanged green for gold during a ceremony Monday at Cameron University.

Cpl. Philemon Hille, Spc. Brooke Wilhelm and Spc. Garth Carey took part in a contracting ceremony and officially enrolled into Cameron University’s Green to Gold program. As formerly enlisted soldiers, they now pursue bachelor’s degrees at Cameron in the pursuit of becoming an officer.

Cameron’s Green to Gold program, part of its ROTC, identifies soldiers with officer potential and helps them in the transition from active duty to attending college. While taking classes and completing their bachelor’s or master’s requirements, they also develop leadership skills to be prepared to be commissioned as second lieutenant and lead soldier.

Green stands for the soldiers’ current status as enlisted service members, while gold represents the gold bar that the rank of a second lieutenant gets to wear, according to Maj. Jason Bost, assistant professor of Military Science at Cameron University.

“It’s important because it allows soldiers with real life experience to transition to lead soldiers,” Bost said. “They are all individually motivated and want to further their education, while taking on more responsibilities in the Army.”

Under two of the three options within the Green to Gold program, the service members are officially discharged from the Army for the duration of their education. However, Bost said, they are still subject to Army regulations and the Unified Code of Military Justice.

Carey, who has served in the Army for three years and six months, is already familiar with combining military career and education. To finish his Bachelor of Science in psychology with minors in military and family science, he opted for the Green to Gold program.

“I did it for the leadership opportunities,” said Carey, who has served on Fort Sill and in Kuwait.

Wilhelm has been in the Army for two and a half years and served on Fort Sill, with a 9-month deployment to Germany. She said she wanted to take the next steps in her career by pursuing a Bachelor of Science in organizational leadership with specialization in military science. The leadership style of her, she said, would be more effective in the appropriate leadership position. A position for which she needs a degree.

Hille, of the three soldiers who took part in Monday’s ceremony, brings most experience to the table. Of his total of four years in the Army, he was stationed in South Korea for one and a half years. Now, he will pursue a degree in business administration and human resource management.

“I want to be able to be an effective leader,” he said.