Military service runs deep in the Feldhake family
In the middle of the night, Eric Feldhake Jr. marched 12 miles in 85-degree heat with a 35-pound bag through the hills of Kentucky.
It’s not how most college students spend their summers, but it was the last test the 21-year-old Haddonfield resident needed to pass to graduate from the U.S. Army’s Cadet Command Advanced Camp.
“People were passing out, so that wasn’t good,” Feldhake said.
Feldhake completed the march with more than an hour to spare, and he graduated from the 32-day training program on July 10.
“Your whole junior year of college you’re kind of preparing for it, so there was a lot of work going into it,” Feldhake said of the camp, which was held at Fort Knox.
Feldhake is going into his senior year at Washington University in St. Louis, where he is enrolled in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. When he graduates, he will be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army.
The military appeals to Feldhake for a number of reasons, but perhaps the major factor is his father. Eric Feldhake Sr., an attorney based in Haddonfield, has served in the military for 30 years, including 22 as an officer in the Army Reserves.
“I’m very proud,” the elder Feldhake said. “It’s something that makes me think I did something right as a parent.”
Feldhake Sr. spoke to The Sun a day before a scheduled flight to Germany, where he is set to spend a few weeks working with U.S. Africa Command as an operations attorney. It’s the eighth time he has been to Germany for training.
The elder Feldhake became a Judicial Advocate General, or JAG, officer in 1999, but he said he really became aware of the importance of his service in the Army Reserves after the Sept. 11 attacks.
One of the moments Feldhake Sr. remembers from that time is meeting with soldiers right before they were deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. He said he would make sure everything was set up from a legal standpoint at home before they stepped into harm’s way.
“I feel rewarded by doing it,” Feldhake Sr. said. “After 9/11, I’ve felt like I could really make a difference.”
The younger Feldhake, who graduated from Haddonfield Memorial High School in 2015, said his dad’s path influenced his decision to enter the ROTC program. There were also practical concerns at play.
“I wanted to go to a good college, and college is super expensive,” Feldhake Jr. said. “I’m getting it all paid for, so it’s a pretty nice deal.
As an ROTC student, Feldhake has a couple options after graduation. He said he could enlist in active duty or join the Army Reserves. He’s leaning toward joining his father in the reserves, but the active duty life appeals to him in some respects.
“You can do a lot of cool things in the military,” he said. “You’re not at a desk the whole time.”
Feldhake Jr. is studying supply chain management and marketing at Washington University. If he enters the reserves, he is interested in getting a full-time job as a consultant or a high school or college counselor.
