ATSU-KCOM students receive U.S. Army commissions
Posted: September 14, 2020
Two A.T. Still University-Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM) students received commissions as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army during a military ceremony Thursday on the Kirksville, Missouri, campus.
Tiffany Clock, OMS I, and Jonathan Babcock, OMS I, took their oaths during the event in Heritage Hall. With the first school building of the American School of Osteopathy as a backdrop, each ATSU-KCOM student expressed gratitude toward those who have helped on their journeys and optimism for the future.
Clock, from Paonia, Colorado, said she sought this path because of her grandparents, who each served in the U.S. armed forces.
“I wanted to follow their footsteps because they were so proud to have served their country,” Clock said.
Babcock, from Lehi, Utah, said he looks forward to serving as a doctor and an officer.
“I love my country and I want to serve, and I love the idea of helping others on an individual level,” he said.
The Army’s medical department is divided into six corps: medical, dental, veterinarian, medical specialist, nursing, and medical services. Recruiters seek students who want to go to medical school and pursue the Healthcare Professional Scholarship Program (HPSP). Qualifying students receive scholarships that cover all four years of medical school, a bonus, and stipend.
When they graduate, Clock and Babcock will become captains and enter the Army’s residency match program. The length of each residency determines how much active duty time is owed to complete their required service, after which they can continue to serve or enter the Army Reserve.
