Modern Day Wonder Woman

Ackley, second from left, stands in formation awaiting inspection.

At 5:30 am its pitch black, only the lonely street lamps lining the street and the occasional headlights from a passing car of a morning commuter offer the only light. The town of Fort Collins is so quiet that you can hear the wind pass through the feathers of a bird flying over head searching for a morning meal. Most of the town is still sleeping, hours away from waking to continue their busy everyday lives. However a not so
average 20-year old college junior, Morgan Ackley, is up at this ungodly hour. Ackley attends Colorado State University and is one of the few female Army ROTC cadets and she is about to join the other cadets for their morning physical training (PT).

“The physical training is too easy,” Ackley says, “it is nothing more than a maintenance program.”

After all Ackley did post one of the highest scores as an incoming freshman for the Physical Fitness Test and she was one of the few female cadets that competed in the annual ROTC Ranger Challenge.

At 6:00 am cadets are to be at CSU’s intramural fields and in formation. After completing the “silliest stretches you will see,” Ackley says, the cadets break up into smaller groups and set off for a timed warm-up run that can consist of anywhere from two to five miles. Ackley usually sneaks into a faster running group to improve herself. After the run the cadets fall back into formation and proceed to do circuit training routine of push-ups, sit-ups, body squats, and other exercises that incorporate only body weight as a resistance.

If it isn’t clear already Ackley isn’t your stereotypical Army ROTC cadet. “I would have never guessed she was in the Army,” Ackley’s co-worker, Annette says.

Ackley is a laid back individual who takes life one day at a time it seems, she is never too worried about the future and doesn’t fret about the past either. She works at the local sandwich shop Cheba Hut, which is known for its elaborate menu of cannabis named sandwiches. Ackley tends to patrons at the bar and also prepares their sandwiches, all while showing off her outgoing personality. She will converse with people she just met, yet the conversation carries on as though she has known them her whole life.

Ackley wasn’t always interested in joining the military. Initially Ackley wanted to receive a scholarship for basketball to a 4-year college. However mid-way through her high school senior season she tore her ACL and was told she couldn’t play for the rest of the season by her doctors. Ackley was determined though to obtain a scholarship and she played the few remaining games after sitting out for a few weeks. But due to her injury many schools were worried that Ackley would re-injure her ACL and were reluctant at giving her a scholarship as a freshman recruit.

Because of the lack of scholarships Ackley began looking else where for a means to pay for school. She thought about enlisting in the Army Reserves as a means to pay for college; however a quick conversation with her grandpa, a retired Army Lieutenant General and the only family member who has any military experience, told her “…do anything else, just don’t enlist.”

Ackley followed her grandpa’s advice and began looking into other options, and she found one during career day at high school. While walking through the main hallway to lunch Ackley stopped by the Army recruiters, they invited her to come join them at PT. That afternoon Ackley showed up to PT and enjoyed it so much she came back the next couple of weeks finally deciding that it was something she wanted to do. After passing the Physical Fitness Test, which consists of push-ups, sit-ups, and a 2-mile run, she began her training as an Army ROTC cadet.

It is now 7:00 am and after their morning PT cadets are dismissed, some cadets that are not in good enough shape must stay behind and continue training with the instructors.

As a freshman at CSU Ackley still wanted to play basketball and attended a walk-on tryout for the CSU women’s basketball team, although she says that her playing level was that of a “high school junior varsity player” she was awarded a spot on the roster, as stated earlier she isn’t your average college junior.

Ackley enjoyed the camaraderie of her teammates but was not satisfied by her lack of playing time. “I had fun being with all the girls, but it wasn’t worth all the work because I knew I wasn’t going to get a scholarship or playing time,” Ackley says.

The coach would call Ackley the team’s “motivator” because, as true to her character, she was always looking at the bright side of things and encouraging her teammates regardless of her lack of playing time. Seeing her chances of obtaining a scholarship were slim Ackley gave up basketball at the end of the season and began to focus on her education major and ROTC.

After sweating through a grueling workout, Ackley cleans up and heads to class. As an ROTC cadet she has her specific classes that she must attend. These classes focus on subjects that are going to help teach and transition cadets into the role of an Army officer. Cadets are drilled in military tactics and history of the United States Army.

Ackley really enjoys the rewards that come with being an Army ROTC cadet; she has been able to ride in a black hawk helicopter. She has learned how to fire a M16 assault rifle, as well as how to take it apart and put it together in under two minutes. She has competed in the ROTC Army Ranger Challenge, which she vows never to do the grueling event again. She has spent three days in the mountains eating nothing but Meals Ready to Eat, and not being able to shower or sleep much.

Her favorite moment as a cadet so far is participating in the long standing tradition of the bronze boot run. This event occurs every year during the CSU vs. Wyoming football game, where the trophy is a bronze boot from a soldier in WWII. The ROTC cadets from each school will transfer the game ball from the previous year’s game site to the present year in the form of a run, meeting half way at the state line. But Ackley’s favorite part is being in the push-up squad on the field, which must do one push-up for every point CSU scores.

If there ever was a real life Wonder Woman she would be Morgan Ackley, she is tough enough to play through an injured ACL and earn a spot as a walk-on at a Division-I basketball program, and score higher than most of her male counterparts on a physical fitness test. She is as cheerful and open as the sun is bright. Is there anything that she isn’t afraid of? Most likely not, and if she was, you probably would not even be able to tell.