Richards College of Business at the University of West Georgia

Recalling that life-changing decision, he mentioned the Marines’ recruiting slogan: “If you’re good enough, you can be one of us.”

“That appeals to a small percentage of American young people, male and female,” Rooks said. “Some people say the Marine Corps changes you. I think you’re that way before you join, and that’s why you join. You want to be a part of that group that is so small, and the challenge is a little tougher. It’s not necessarily better than the Army or the other branches of service, it’s just different.”

Rooks spent eight years in active duty after enlisting, and during six of those years, he took many online classes. He earned degrees from all over the country: a class from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a course from the Air War College out of Montgomery, Ala., a course from the Joint Force at Astell College, a course out of Auburn University, Air and Space out of Colorado Springs.

Rooks stressed the importance of distance education, especially for the military.

“Our military has people stationed in 160 countries -- they can’t come to class,” Rooks said. “But they still need to continue education for promotion, and a lot of people who join after high school want to complete their education ... with distance on-line blended education, you get to learn what you want to learn, and you get to learn it when you want to learn it. That just opens up education exponentially.”

Rooks described most of his time in the Marines as a continual learning experience.

“I found out when I got there, instead of being this big tough thing, the Marine Corps is about education,” Rooks said. “From the day you get there, it’s a learning process. They wake up and show up at work at seven o’clock and start learning about the next opportunity they have to defend their nation. So you’re learning how to be stronger physically, or faster, you’re learning the equipment that you’re gonna use in your next event, you’re learning about history -- the whole day is about getting better at what you do, it’s about learning all day long.”

Rooks flew Harriers in the Gulf War. He was part of two squadrons stationed in the United States, planning a mission in Korea.

“When the ’91 war started, North Korea started massing on the South Korean border, they wanted to reunify the peninsula since everyone else was focused on the war, so we were training to do that mission, but it never happened,” he said.

Rooks returned to West Georgia in 1995 to work on a master’s degree; he graduated in 1997 and later took a faculty position at the university in 2002, where he currently teaches computer information systems in the Richard’s College of Business.

But returning to a traditional classroom setting was different from the military education Rooks grew accustomed to.

“They’ll give you a book hundreds of pages long on Friday and say ‘this is what we’re going over on Monday.’ And everybody kind of laughs at first. But they’re not kidding -- we’re going over the whole book on Monday.

“When I came back to West Georgia and registered for the master’s program, I went over and bought the books and I read them before I went to class, because that’s what you do in the military, and I’m sitting down beside college students who still have their books in the shrink wrap.”

Rooks was called away from his civilian job in 2003 at the start of the war in Iraq -- he described his operations tent in Kuwait during Operation Enduring Freedom.

“We had a large tent set up right inside the runway in southern Kuwait, and that’s where all the Harriers and F-18s were parked. It was 120 degrees outside, but in the tent they gave us a generator and a satellite dish and a little-bitty air conditioner that’s blowing not to cool us off, but to keep the computers cool.

“And we were building the situation. We had contact with all the military units that were pushing through Iraq. As pilots were walking to go flying, they would stop by and see, and we had painted a picture of where everybody was ... we were gathering information so we could pass it to people so it could be more effective.”

After six months in Kuwait, Rooks was sent back to UWG.

As a member of the Marine Reserves, an exclusive group of only 38,000, Rooks has worked with the Marine for Life program, and he currently works with the Marine Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officers and FEMA.

Marine for Life is a program that helps returning Marines adjust to civilian life. Rooks spoke passionately about the program.

“Think about a guy who is 18 years old who leaves and goes to the military, and he learns a whole bunch of stuff. His peers went to work locally, so they have learned how things work in a civilian world -- they’ve learned contacts and networking in town. The military guy gets home with all this energy and information and he’s ready to go, but he doesn’t know where to apply it. He knows his friends, but he knows them from high school -- he doesn’t know them in all the businesses. So that transition takes some time, it takes about a year or so ... The people who leave the military come back more mature and more prepared to add value to their community.”

Rooks currently works with MEPLO, a group with only 32 members nationwide, where he conducts relations between the Marine Corps and FEMA. He usually travels on weekends to attend MEPLO meetings, while the rest of his week is devoted to teaching.


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	Professor-Marine Understands Power of Education
	By Tracy Ammons The Times-Georgian Posted: Wednesday, September 26, 2007 1:53 AM EDT Lt. Col. Jeff Rooks performs a juggling act everyday. Between his job as a professor at the University of West Georgia and his work with the Marine Corps Reserves, Rooks always seems to be helping somebody. A Marine for more than 20 years, Rooks applies his military experiences to his civilian job. “In the Marines, you study more and learn more fast -- it’s like weightlifting,” Rooks said. “The high level of information you can learn is exciting, and it’s fun to try to push that envelope a little bit here at West Georgia as an instructor.” Rooks didn’t know why he joined the Marines back in 1986. The Carrollton native had graduated that year from West Georgia College with a bachelor’s degree in economics. He recalled a job interview at a local bank shortly after graduation, where he suddenly realized that he wanted more from his career. He declined the job, got up and walked out the door. The Marine Corps recruiting office was right across the parking lot. A few minutes later, Rooks became one of the few.
	Recalling that life-changing decision, he mentioned the Marines’ recruiting slogan: “If you’re good enough, you can be one of us.” “That appeals to a small percentage of American young people, male and female,” Rooks said. “Some people say the Marine Corps changes you. I think you’re that way before you join, and that’s why you join. You want to be a part of that group that is so small, and the challenge is a little tougher. It’s not necessarily better than the Army or the other branches of service, it’s just different.” Rooks spent eight years in active duty after enlisting, and during six of those years, he took many online classes. He earned degrees from all over the country: a class from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a course from the Air War College out of Montgomery, Ala., a course from the Joint Force at Astell College, a course out of Auburn University, Air and Space out of Colorado Springs. Rooks stressed the importance of distance education, especially for the military. “Our military has people stationed in 160 countries -- they can’t come to class,” Rooks said. “But they still need to continue education for promotion, and a lot of people who join after high school want to complete their education ... with distance on-line blended education, you get to learn what you want to learn, and you get to learn it when you want to learn it. That just opens up education exponentially.” Rooks described most of his time in the Marines as a continual learning experience. “I found out when I got there, instead of being this big tough thing, the Marine Corps is about education,” Rooks said. “From the day you get there, it’s a learning process. They wake up and show up at work at seven o’clock and start learning about the next opportunity they have to defend their nation. So you’re learning how to be stronger physically, or faster, you’re learning the equipment that you’re gonna use in your next event, you’re learning about history -- the whole day is about getting better at what you do, it’s about learning all day long.” Rooks flew Harriers in the Gulf War. He was part of two squadrons stationed in the United States, planning a mission in Korea. “When the ’91 war started, North Korea started massing on the South Korean border, they wanted to reunify the peninsula since everyone else was focused on the war, so we were training to do that mission, but it never happened,” he said. Rooks returned to West Georgia in 1995 to work on a master’s degree; he graduated in 1997 and later took a faculty position at the university in 2002, where he currently teaches computer information systems in the Richard’s College of Business. But returning to a traditional classroom setting was different from the military education Rooks grew accustomed to. “They’ll give you a book hundreds of pages long on Friday and say ‘this is what we’re going over on Monday.’ And everybody kind of laughs at first. But they’re not kidding -- we’re going over the whole book on Monday. “When I came back to West Georgia and registered for the master’s program, I went over and bought the books and I read them before I went to class, because that’s what you do in the military, and I’m sitting down beside college students who still have their books in the shrink wrap.” Rooks was called away from his civilian job in 2003 at the start of the war in Iraq -- he described his operations tent in Kuwait during Operation Enduring Freedom. “We had a large tent set up right inside the runway in southern Kuwait, and that’s where all the Harriers and F-18s were parked. It was 120 degrees outside, but in the tent they gave us a generator and a satellite dish and a little-bitty air conditioner that’s blowing not to cool us off, but to keep the computers cool. “And we were building the situation. We had contact with all the military units that were pushing through Iraq. As pilots were walking to go flying, they would stop by and see, and we had painted a picture of where everybody was ... we were gathering information so we could pass it to people so it could be more effective.” After six months in Kuwait, Rooks was sent back to UWG. As a member of the Marine Reserves, an exclusive group of only 38,000, Rooks has worked with the Marine for Life program, and he currently works with the Marine Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officers and FEMA. Marine for Life is a program that helps returning Marines adjust to civilian life. Rooks spoke passionately about the program. “Think about a guy who is 18 years old who leaves and goes to the military, and he learns a whole bunch of stuff. His peers went to work locally, so they have learned how things work in a civilian world -- they’ve learned contacts and networking in town. The military guy gets home with all this energy and information and he’s ready to go, but he doesn’t know where to apply it. He knows his friends, but he knows them from high school -- he doesn’t know them in all the businesses. So that transition takes some time, it takes about a year or so ... The people who leave the military come back more mature and more prepared to add value to their community.” Rooks currently works with MEPLO, a group with only 32 members nationwide, where he conducts relations between the Marine Corps and FEMA. He usually travels on weekends to attend MEPLO meetings, while the rest of his week is devoted to teaching.



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