Editor's note: This is the first in a three-part series profiling young alumni who have joined the military since graduation. Today's article features Raph Clarke '06, who is training to become a Marine and expects to be deployed in Iraq.
One day during his sophomore summer, Raph Clarke '06 and a few of his friends traveled to Franconia Falls in Lincoln, N.H. When a friend started to drown, Raph immediately jumped into the water and went out to try to save him, risking his own life and almost drowning in the process. Now Clarke is harnessing what friends describe as an "adventurous" attitude in the U.S. military.
Clarke is almost finished with his first month in the Marine Corps Basic School, which entails six months of preparation that all Marine Corps officers require regardless of their specialty. The program, based in Quantico, Va., tends to alternate on a weekly basis between classroom instruction and field training.
"This week we'll be out doing stuff in the field. Next week we'll do martial arts training," Clarke said. "It's really informative. Today we had an hour-and-a-half class on combat life-saving techniques. The stuff we're learning is very useful, real world, interesting knowledge."
This period of infantry officer training follows completion of the Officers Candidate School, a screening process that, according to the program's mission statement, is meant to ensure that candidates have "the moral, intellectual and physical qualities for commissioning, and the leadership to serve successfully as company grade officers in the Operating Forces."
Once he completes basic training in October, Clarke plans to pursue a specialty in one of three fields -- combat engineering, infantry or intelligence -- which requires at least three additional months of training. Ultimately, he expects to be deployed to Iraq, an assumption based on a recent statement issued by the Marine Corps that all new trainees will be sent to aid in the military efforts in the region. According to Clarke, current protocol requires troops to be deployed for seven months in Iraq, then spend five months stateside.
Clarke said that the Corps is the right division of the military for his personality.
"The Marine Corps has the most global presence. It's within the department of the Navy, and I do want to do quite a bit of traveling," Clarke said, explaining that the Marine Corps and Navy guarantee service abroad.
Clarke said he has known since high school that he wanted to serve in the military. He was admitted and almost attended the Naval Academy, but decided instead to enroll at Dartmouth. Clarke is thrilled about his decision and said that the College has helped him during training.
"Dartmouth was awesome. The education keeps you constantly thinking and makes sure that you're aware in the type of training you're going through. I'm making very confident, informed decisions," he said. "The Dartmouth liberal arts education is a very positive thing, no matter what you want to do in life."
At Basic School, Clarke must be on duty beginning at 6 a.m. on weekdays, but the early rise is not a change according to John Wilkens '06 Th'07, who was Clarke's freshman-year roommate at Dartmouth and fraternity brother at Phi Delta Alpha. Wilkens said that Clarke always woke up early and was productive during the day, adding that Clarke knew how to have a good time as well.
"He was a little bit crazy here and there, but just a cool guy in general," Wilkens said of Clarke. "He was always ready to go do something else, push the limits."
At Dartmouth, Clarke was a government major, enjoyed playing rugby and squash and spent a lot of time outdoors.
"My government major was a good motivator [for the military]," he said. "You spend four years studying about this stuff, it's kind of cool to go out and experience it on some level."
Wilkens said that Clarke's regimented personality and appreciation for physical challenges are well-suited for the military. His decision to serve has never been a question.
"It's always been a calling. No more, no less," Clarke said. "It's just sort of something that beats inside of you."
