Feature Story

For Sgt. Raymond P. Straight, the U.S. Army has given him a great career that will end with retirement in two months. He is proud to have made his final duty station Washington State University. He has not only made an impact as a faculty member of WSU, but also as a trainer of hundreds of future U.S. Army officers.
For Straight, a native of Alaska, coming to WSU was not something he had planned on doing. “I was actually pretty skeptical about the Army sending me here at first,” Straight said. “As an enlisted member of the Army, they gave me three options, and I basically had to agree with one of them or retire.”
One of his options was to be an ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) instructor at WSU. Not wanting to retire yet, Straight considered the positive aspects of the job. He would be able to network with other soldiers yet also interact with civilians, and being an ROTC instructor “looks pretty good on your civilian resume”, Straight said.
Straight said being an ROTC instructor at WSU has been very rewarding. “It’s great to see young individuals go from being self-absorbed to being a public servant in our Army,” Straight said. “It’s great to know that I am actually molding tomorrow’s Army.”
Elizabeth C. Straight, Straight’s daughter, is happy with his decision to move to WSU from Alaska. She said her dad used to invite her to WSU Army ROTC events when she was still in high school, which got her to want to join the Army. Because of her interest in the program, Elizabeth was rewarded a full ROTC scholarship to WSU after high school.
If not for her fathers influence in WSU ROTC, she would not have received the scholarship and wouldn’t have gone to college immediately due to financial reasons, she said. “I was going to work and save up for college and then attend, but opportunity came first and I'm thankful,” she said.
As for Raymond Straight’s influence on other cadets, he has been a great example and mentor for future officers, ROTC cadet Taihei Hongo said. “From my physical fitness scores to my academic scores, they have all improved because of Sgt. Straight,” he said. “I’m confident he has prepared me to be a valuable asset to the U.S. Army.”
Cadets will be sad to see him leave next year, Hongo said. “He’s a great instructor, and it’s too bad future cadets won’t get to have him for ROTC,” he said.
As for his daughter Elizabeth, she is happy with the impact her father’s decisions have had on her future. “All this good came out of one move and I wouldn't want to change anything for the world,” she said.
For retirement, Raymond Straight had planned to go home to Alaska, but says WSU has grown on him.
“If I can get a job here, maybe I’ll stick around,” he said. “This experience at WSU has turned out pretty well.”