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Brinlee is a freshman scholarship recipient in GW's Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps. A high school cheerleader, member of the National Honors Society and a student interested in journalism, Brinlee is like most college students - except he plans to devote his life to serving in the U.S. armed forces.
"My senior year I was involved full-throttle," said Brinlee, from Mena, Ariz.
Then he experienced what NROTC organizers call "shock therapy" and an introduction to military life.
"It is not boot camp," said Fred Stein, executive officer of GW's NROTC program of the six-day orientation that takes place at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va. "It's a little mayhem, a little yelling and screaming, but overall it's a bonding experience for incoming freshmen."
Brinlee said the orientation was nothing short of worthwhile.
"As demanding as it was, I wouldn't change my experience for anything," Brinlee said about the orientation.
Learning how to become leaders in the Navy or the Marine Corps is the ultimate goal of the NROTC program. Established in 1926, the program prepares young men and women to pursue careers as officers in the Navy Reserve or Marine Corps Reserve. Nationwide, it is the largest source of officers for both institutions, according to GW's NROTC Web site.
"People come into the program from all walks of life and all backgrounds, and we aim to instill in them a respect for authority," Stein said. "As an end result, we hope that we give them an understanding of what the military is about."
GW boasts the fifth-largest NROTC program in the country, consisting of about 150 undergraduate students. Apart from GW, additional members are drawn from Catholic, Howard and Georgetown Universities and the University of Maryland, none of which have NROTC programs of their own.
