SIUE’s New ROTC Commander Reflects on Veterans Day
On this Veterans Day, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s new Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. (ROTC) Commander, Lt. Col. Scott Reed, recalls important times in his life when his father was absent and significant events in his family’s life when he was not there due to military service.
“Veterans Day holds a lot of significance to me on both a personal and professional level,” Reed said. “Like many others, I come from a family with multiple members who have served in the military, including my dad, uncle and brother.”
Reed’s father, Wayne Reed, and uncle, Lonnie Griffiths, both served in the Vietnam War and first Gulf War in the early 1990s.
“I remember the Gulf War vividly,” Reed recalled, “because I was a sophomore in high school and my dad had always been at every baseball, basketball and football game I had played since I was eight. Then all of sudden he couldn’t be there.
“I also think about the times I was in Afghanistan and away from my family,” he continued. “My last deployment was in 2014, and I couldn’t be home for the birth of my third child.” Reed and his wife, Galia, have three children: Andrew, 8; Sophia, 6; and Isabella, 1.
Reed said he and his family’s part in the service is one small contribution amidst the commitment and sacrifices of countless others.
“Millions of men and women have made the ultimate sacrifice by defending our country,” he said. “There would be no United States if there was no United States military and the men and women who served.”
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has been designated a 2016 Military Friendly®School by Victory Media, the leader in successfully connecting the military and civilian worlds. SIUE attained the designation for the seventh-consecutive year. The premier Military Friendly® Schools designation provides service members and their families with transparent, data-driven ratings about post-military education and career opportunities. The Military Friendly® Schools designation is awarded to the top colleges, universities, community colleges and trade schools in the country that are doing the most to embrace military students, and to dedicate resources to ensure their success both in the classroom and after graduation.
