Nom de Guerre or “war name” is an assumed name given to soldiers throughout trainings and combat, which encompasses their alternate identities. I followed Army ROTC during the fall of 2022 through their regular trainings, key events, and after-hours bonding time. I saw many sides to these cadets and, though they didn’t have official war names, I witnessed unique identities, personalities, and even facades through their relationships with each other and the ROTC program itself. These cadets were well-oiled machines... but they were also college students. Some were barely adults, and all had their own story. My goal with these photographs was to uncover the person behind the war name.
Caleigh Fink (left) and Juliet Taylor (right) walk in the rain to the Track & Tennis Center for their 6 a.m. Army Combat Fitness Test on Oct. 5, 2022.
Emily Goodrich (left) and Theresa Peterson (center) wait for the vans at 5:30 a.m. to take them to Joint Base Cape Cod for Range Day, where the cadets will practice shooting on Oct. 30, 2023.
Caleigh Fink braids her hair as she gets ready in her dorm room for her Army Combat Fitness Test on Oct. 5, 2022. The Army allowed women to braid their hair starting in 2021. When asked why she joined ROTC, Fink said, “I think I always wanted to serve, so I thought might as well get paid to go to college and then serve.”
Katherine Sheridan eats breakfast at the dining hall after an early morning Army ROTC training on Oct. 19, 2022 as her fellow cadets make fun of her odd breakfast concoction.
Hannah Guidi looks back at a fellow cadet as early morning sun rays break through the trees behind her at Joint Base Cape Cod on Oct. 30, 2023.
Richard Hall (center) and fellow cadets prepare guns for the third year cadets during Range Day at Joint Base Cape Cod on Oct. 30, 2023.
Two cadets prepare a gun before shooting at the target on Range Day at Joint Base Cape Cod on Oct. 30, 2023.
Captain Brandy Hernandez looks through the window of a shipping container at Joint Base Cape Cod during Army ROTC’s FTX training on Sept. 25, 2022.
Nathan Tadigiri waves from the top of a belay tower during Army ROTC’s FTX training at Joint Base Cape Cod on Sept. 24, 2022.
Kole Pulley (center) talks to Ashley Brenna (right) before their nighttime land navigation challenge during Army ROTC’s FTX training at Joint Base Cape Cod on Sept. 24, 2022.
Nathan Tadigiri (center) holds a Bloody Mary as he makes a face while talking to cadet Luis Ortiz (right) at the banquet following their Pass in Review ceremony on Oct. 22, 2022.
Charles Cook (right) leans agains a shed wall with a gallon of water and two guns propped on either side of him during Range Day at Joint Base Cape Cod on Oct. 30, 2023.
Sean Donelan (right) holds a fake cow head the cadets found during their paintball challenge while Nathan Tadigiri (left) eats beef jerky at Army ROTC’s FTX training at Joint Base Cape Cod on Sept. 25, 2022.
Katherine Sheridan (second row) sleeps alongside her fellow cadets on the bus ride back to school following Army ROTC’s two-day FTX training at Joint Base Cape Cod on Sept. 24-25, 2022.