EAST CAROLINA
UNIVERSITY ARMY ROTC
SPECIAL POINTS
OF INTEREST:
PIRATE BANNER
V O L U M E
•
LDAC
•
Awards Ceremony
•
Summer Training
•
Alumni Update
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
Flagship Blast
2
Awards Ceremony
3
AASLT
4
MTN Warfare
4
Airborne
5
CFT
5
NSTP
6
Slovakia Trip
6
LDAC
7
LTC
8
DCLT/CTLT
8
Alumni Update
10
Pirate BN 10k
11
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S E P T E M B
PIRATES STORM LDAC!
Well everyone, after
two long years plus of training,
the Leadership Development
Assessment Course (LDAC) is a
distant memory for our seniors.
Now all we seem to hear around
here always starts with “Well
when I was at LDAC.” But the
other side of it is our seniors this
year really set the bar high for
others to follow. They collectively not only outperformed
every other graduating class
from ECU but across Cadet
Command as well. The Cadre
here are especially proud of
each and every one of them.
Just to throw at you some of the
impressive stats that they put up,
I’ll give you the cadet command
percentages which are based off
the total number of cadets that Cadets maneuvering through
attended (5,177) and our per- the grand evergreen forests of
centages. For the Physical Fit- Fort Lewis.
ness Test; CC (260 avg) ECU
(273 avg); Land Navigation (38%); Top Five within their Plawhich combines written, day toon, CC (11%) ECU (25%); and
and night, CC (87%) ECU probably the most impressive stat is
(92%); Basic Rifle Marksman- their performance during the six
ship, CC (28 hits) ECU (30 leadership evaluations. On these
hits); Recondo, CC (15%) ECU
By SFC Kenneth Hill
they were able to attain
an excellence rating 50% of the
time compared to the rest of Cadet
Command average of 21%. The
evals encompassed 2 Garrison
evals, 2 STX lanes, 1 Patrol Lane
and 1 Field Leader Reaction Course
(FLRC) eval.
The cadets who received Excellence ratings in at least 3 of the 6
evals were awarded an overall Excellence rating. Pirate Battalion
Cadets achieving an “E” were:
Moyer, Lujan, Kane, Birchenough,
Edwards, Fitzgerald, Melcher, and
Martin. We also had 6 of our Cadets earn the Recondo Badge:
Kane, Lujan, Edwards, Maffey,
Fitzgerald and Moyer. Six of our
Cadets were also part of their Regiment’s Honor Platoons: Bohanan,
Crow, Faso, Maffey, Melcher and
Moyer. Our two individual top
Performers were Cadet Moyer earning 5 Excellence ratings out of 6,
and Cadet Lujan who scored a 383
on his PT test which was the top
score out of all 5000 plus cadets
who attended Warrior Forge.
PIRATE BATTALION COMMANDER’S WELCOME
Welcome to the year the
Pirate Battalion has its largest
freshmen class yet. We have set
many standards and blown many
minds this past summer at
LDAC. Our senior class received
more superior rankings in overall
performance than any school
around. So, on that note, this
year our standards are set extremely high. Some of our main
goals this year are to 1) set and
maintain high PT standards, 2)
maintain a strong hold on academics, 3) train Cadets for War-
rior Forge, and 4) always keep a
positive attitude. These few tasks
are extremely important at LDAC
as well as anywhere. Our senior
class has had a great three years in
ROTC thus far, but our true test
this year is to maintain the battalion with a head count of 133 cadets and give the MS III’s the
necessary skills for their true test
at LDAC. Our junior class has
some really high expectations and
tests ahead. Not only are they
training rigorously all year, but
they are also serving as the
CDT Mathew Kane
NCO’s for a huge battalion. They
are outnumbered by 4 to 1 with underclassmen. With this said, I have
the utmost faith in them and know
for a fact that they can handle it.
With the seniors and juniors running
wide open leading this battalion,
together this year we can accomplish
any task and excel. The sophomores
are still learning the ropes, but they
are no longer the new Cadets in the
battalion. This year is critical for
them to look at what the juniors are
doing, leading and training wise, and
also to help them too because they
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PIRATE BANNER
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BLAST FROM THE FLAGSHIP
Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!!!
I hope you don't get tired of hearing it because I never get tired
of saying it - This is an awesome
ROTC battalion!
We have great Cadets, great
cadre, and a great staff. I would unhesitatingly go to war with many of
our Cadets right now and I wouldn't
flinch at the idea of jumping into a
foxhole with any of the Pirate Battalion cadre.
The proof is in the pudding
though, as they say, and as you
thumb your way through this edition
of the Pirate Banner, I hope you'll get
a flavor for how well the Pirate Battalion Cadets have done in the numerous Army training programs they
went through this summer. From
Airborne to Mountain Warfare,
from Air Assault to CTLT, from
LDAC to LTC, and from Ft. Lewis to
Ft. Benning to Ft. Bragg to Vermont
to Germany to Slovakia and all the
places in between, the Pirate Battalion Cadets set standards for excellence and made an indelible positive
impression on all those they came in
contact with this summer. Probably
nowhere was this more evident than
at LDAC where the MS IV's took the
place by storm - not unlike the ECU
football team this fall - by achieving
a 50% "Excellence" rating (the Cadet
Command average was 20%). In
addition to all the other standards of
excellence that the "fours" established at LDAC this summer, Cadet
Justin Lujan posted the highest APFT
score (383 on the extended scale - on
what he told me was an "off" day)
out of the 5,177 Cadets from across
the Nation who attended LDAC this
summer.
As great as all of their accomplishments this summer were, however,
given the quality of the Cadets who
continue to flood into the Pirate Bat-
By LTC Steven Delvaux
talion, I don't think that we've even and 1 mile fun run in Greenville on
begun to scratch the surface of how 8 November. (See flyer on back
great our Cadets can be. To help them page for details.) All proceeds from
along in their leadership development that event will go to benefit the
process, we added four proven combat Wounded Warrior Battalion at Ft.
veterans to the Pirate Battalion staff and Bragg so we'd really love to see you
cadre. CPT Ronald Roseboro (a former there. I'd also like to mention that if
Marine and current North Carolina Na- you'd like to contribute to the Pirate
tional Guard FA Battery Commander Battalion's Army Ten Miler team's
who recently returned from a combat fund-raising efforts on behalf of the
tour in Iraq with the NCNG), MSG Walter Reed Wounded Warrior Unit
James Hunter (fresh from combat in and the other Wounded Warriors
Iraq with the 4th ID as a 1SG), SFC that Azalea Charity supports, please
Richard Hinkle (fresh from combat in go to the website address at the bottom of the page
Afghanistan
to donate.
with the 82nd
If we don't
ABN
DIV),
see you while
and Ms. Rose
we're out and
Chailland
about, please
(recently
redon't hesitate
tired as a SFC
to drop by if
after a tour in
you're in the
Iraq).
Rose
area. All of
has jumped in
you - parents,
feet-first
to
friends,
and
give our bealumni alike loved
Ms.
are an imporRhea a weltant part of
come break in
what we do
the admin secand we'd like
tion. They are
to thank you in
all awesome
person for your
and are already
support if we
contributing
get the chance.
mightily
to For the LDAC bound:
Anyway,
keeping
the Beautiful Mt Rainer in Washington State.
check out the
Pirate
Fleet
articles
and
sailing forward
pictures on the following pages into uncharted waters.
We have a busy semester ahead and written by the Pirates themselves we hope to see many of the alumni, to see what the battalion has been up
parents, and other FOBs ("friends of the to this summer and know that the
battalion") around at the football Pirate Battalion continues to be at
games, in DC at the Army Ten Miler, the vanguard for the entire Pirate
or wherever else the four-winds take Nation.
us. If you can't make it up for the Military Appreciation Day game and 25th Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!
Anniversary reunion of the Pirate Battalion on 18 October, we'd like to invite
GO PIRATES!!!
you up for the 1st Annual ROTC 10k
Army Ten Miler Donation Page: http://www.active.com/donate/azaleaarmy10miler
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(cont.)
CDR’S WELCOME
By CDT Kane
need to understand
what it takes to do
their jobs correctly.
And last but most
certainly not least, the
brand new incoming
freshmen. They have
chosen ECU from a
huge number of other
schools and what a
fine choice they made.
This year’s freshman
class sits at about 60
cadets. This is 40+
more than any other
year! These new Cadets are going to be
trained with numerous
fine leaders and will
learn many new things
this year ahead. Just
from talking briefly
with them, they are
going to be an outstanding class and
have gigantic amounts
of potential.
ECU
ARMY ROTC has
come a long way in
the past three years I
have been here and
will continue to grow.
We now have the
privilege of welcoming CPT Roseboro,
MSG Hunter and SFC
Hinkle. They will be
an asset to the battalion in the years to
come. This year there
are many promising
opportunities and we,
The Pirate Battalion,
will Steal the Glory. GO
PIRATES!
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Pirate Awards Ceremony, Fall 2008
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By CPT Alexcie Herbert
The Pirate Battalion conducted an awards ceremony on the first day of classes this semester in
the Mendenhall Student Center. SFC Hill opened the ceremony by recognizing the MS IVs
for their excellent results at the Leadership Development and Assessment Course at Ft. Lewis,
Washington this summer. There were also many Cadets who were recognized for completing
Airborne, Air Assault, Mountain Warfare and other schools this summer. Additionally, numerous Cadets were recognized for their outstanding academic success during the spring semester. Finally, four Cadets raised their right hands and were sworn in as part of their official
“contracting” ceremony. At the close of the lab, LTC Delvaux and MSG Hunter spoke about
their expectations for the Pirate Battalion for the fall 2008 semester. The below listed Cadets
were recognized for academic excellence in the spring semester.
DEAN’S LIST AWARDEES
MS 1
Name
Bradley, Charles J.
Dean's List
McGowan, Jeffrey M.
Dean's List
Mikolajczak, Patricia
Dean's List
Miller, Jeremy H.
Dean's List
Buckley, David A.
Dean's List
Nine, Matthew C.
Cadet Honors
Yoo, Be Y.
Cadet Honors
Franks, Courtney N.
Cadet Honors
Crawford, William M.
Cadet Scholar
Hartzel, Sarah R.
Cadet Scholar
Weeks, Lucas J.
Cadet Scholar
Name
MS 2
Bowen, Kyle S.
Dean's List
Brennis, Theodore M.
Dean's List
Mooney, William
Dean's List
Rimpf, Nathan J.
Dean's List
Krans, Eric P.
Dean's List
Jaime, Tina N.
Dean's List
Baskerville, Demetrice
Dean's List
Mihalko, Andrew R.
Cadet Honors
Soileau, Courtney B.
Cadet Honors
Leyda, Christopher
Cadet Honors
Sandke, Caylin
Cadet Honors
Meekins, Joshua R.
Cadet Honors
Taylor, John R.
Cadet Scholar
MS 3
Waniewski, Lucas A.
Cadet Scholar
Edwards, Justin
Dean's List
Puckett, Katherine E.
Cadet Scholar
Kane, Matthew
Dean's List
VanBeurden, Benjamin
Dean's List
Fitzgerald, William E.
Dean's List
Martin, Cody J.
Dean's List
Marrero, Steven
Cadet Honors
Chavis Michael B.
Name
Name
MS 4
Miller, John B.
Dean's List
Taylor, Matthew B.
Dean's List
Cadet Honors
Barsalou, Thomas P.
Dean's List
Lujan, Justin D.
Cadet Scholar
Onwuzurike, Akunna K.
Dean's List
Bohanan, Jacob P.
Cadet Scholar
Benton, Andrew P.
Cadet Honors
Melcher, Jareth
Cadet Scholar
Gonzalez, Carlos M.
Cadet Honors
Crow, Seth T.
Cadet Scholar
Carpenter, Jonathan M
Cadet Honors
Spencer, Jeremy C.
Cadet Scholar
(continued on page 7)
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MOUNTAIN WARFARE
Of all the schools and training
I’ve experienced while a cadet at
ECU, the Army Mountain Warfare
School at Ethan Allen Firing Range
in Jericho Vermont was undoubtedly
the best training I’ve received. The
school was ran in the gentleman’scourse style and the instructors were
subject matter experts and among the
best in the world at mountaineering.
Although it was a fun school that
taught valuable skills and maintained
a professional atmosphere – it was no
cup-cake. It is by nature a physically
tough school and the amount of information that the Soldier has to take
-in, learn, and apply makes it a mentally tough school as well; and even
for the small class sizes the drop-out
rate is still high. But the training was
interesting, engaging, and above all,
a blast. Besides learning to tie and
explain some twenty plus knots, anchors, and rope techniques we were
instructed on how to apply the
knowledge into rope systems used to
move our units, equipment, and casualties up and down mountains, we also
learned how to rig, inspect, and conduct
climbing, rappelling, and fixed rope
movements on cliffs. If the physical
beat-down of humping up mountains
everyday didn’t get you, and doing
practical exercises until almost dark
everyday and then studying late didn’t
phase you, then the only thing you had
to worry about was numerous tests that
took place even up to the day before
graduation-all of which you only got
two chances at. The first big cut came
with the mountain land navigation
course consisting of eight points spread
far, wide, and high; after that the
game got super mental at night and
real physical in the day, through
fore-arm blasted climbing on small
pitches of 150’ to practice, practice, practice with your ropes and
racks (term that defines all the
climbing gear you carry on your
person while climbing, i.e. carabineers, webbing, and other hard-
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By CDT Justin Lujan
ware) until late at night. Although a
tough school that you should prepare yourself for mentally and
physically, there are a couple of
good things to look forward too.
First, the Army Mountain Warfare
School has the best food and chow
hall in the entire world – hands
down, with fresh baked Vermont
bread at every meal. Second you’re
going to get to play off the ground
with everybody’s favorite friend:
gravity, culminating in a nice night
fixed rope ascent and night rappel
on the highest cliffs located on
Ethan Allen.
AIR ASSAULT SCHOOL
I had never been
to an Army school
before
and
was
really nervous about
Air Assault being
my first. Zero day
started with rain and
mud in my face, getting smoked, and
completing an obstacle course after
which the 200 school
attendees had already begun to dwindle down. I finished
and went on to the
two mile run even
though I was already smoked. I
always strive to come in first, and
what better place then Air Assault
to represent my school. I crossed
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the finish line with one other cadet who
I learned to be a cross country runner
from some other college in America. Every day began like the last: PT,
chow, getting smoked in full gear,
class, tests, and more smoking. Many
of the days before class we would have
inspections where they are really brutal
about having everything. Not only did
I have to worry about myself, but I had
32 other soldiers to worry about as
well. As the days went by, I passed the
written tests, completed the 6 mile ruck
march in 52 minutes to come in first,
did sling-load operations with a UH- 60
and HMMWV, and then went to the
rappel phase. I completed the combat
lock-in rappel which is probably the
most uncomfortable thing you have to
do – especially with a Swiss seat
on. Finally, the last day came and it
By CDT Kyle Bowen
was 3 in the morning when I woke up
and all I could think of was I was getting
on a plane today but there was one other
obstacle I had to face first. At Air Assault School, you have to complete a 12
mile ruck march in under 3 hours. To
my surprise, the whole company was
taking bets on who would win it. I was
one of the favorites which was really a
big motivation. What I really wanted
though were the free boots that they give
to the winner of the ruck march. The
ruck started and finished real quick. I
finished in 1 hour and 58 minutes coming in 3rd. It wasn’t first but I
was still satisfied with my effort and
with representing the Pirate Battalion
well.. Needless to say, Air Assault was
truly a great experience and one that I
would not trade for anything else this
summer.
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AIRBORNE SCHOOL
Alpha Company Class 33-08. I
went to Airborne this summer between 17 June and 11 July. Accompanying me was my counterpart
Aaron Olsen. Airborne was quite an
experience for me, I enjoyed it very
much. The training was intense and
the instructors were serious but at
the same time they made it worthwhile with their demonstrations of
crossing, the Combat Water Survival Training (CWST), and Basic
Rifle Marksmanship (BRM).
To test us as leaders, many
cadets were selected to be part of
the cadet leadership in garrison. I
had the honor of serving in the roles
of squad leader, platoon sergeant,
and platoon leader while in garrison.
Once we went on our FTX during
the Bold Leader phase, our training
moved to a more tactical environment. We tackled water challenges
during “Call of the Wild” where we
raced zodiacs and created our own
rafts from our rucksacks and ponchos. During “Where Eagles Dare”,
we raced up alpine towers, climbing
walls, and the ropes course. Our
final two days of FTX were STX
lanes where many cadets were introduced to leading a squad in an actual mission against “enemy” 2LTs
who served as the OPFOR.
Our training capstone was
our 10k road march on our last day
of the FTX and we moved into the
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By CDT Becky Deal
technique and form. First week was
"Ground" Week, learning how to do
Parachute Landing Falls (PLF's) and
exiting the aircraft. Just imagine
yourself jumping off things and falling down constantly, that is exactly
what we did. Second week was
"Tower" Week, I went during the 4th
of July holiday and our week was cut
short and we actually didn't do any
tower drops at all. We saw them,
that’s about it. The last week was
"Jump" Week: what you train for. I
got on the first bird out and was
loading onto the C130 when the
Jumpmaster grabbed me by the arm
and dragged me to the end of the
line. When we got in the air, that's
when I realized that I was going to
be the first one to jump! I got the
"green light go!" and jumped right
out. Counted to four with a myriad
CADET FIELD TRAINING
From 16 June to 13 July
2008, I was fortunate enough to
attend the US Army ROTC Leader’s
Training Course (LTC) at Ft. Knox,
Kentucky. LTC was a fun and challenging experience in both developing my knowledge of core Army
values and skills and serving as a
platform for developing myself as a
future leader in the US Army.
LTC was divided into four
phases. The first phase or Soldier
First phase was designed to introduce us cadets to the Army and the
Army lifestyle. Described by the
drill sergeants tasked with keeping
us in check as “Basic-light”, we
learned the first steps of being a
soldier through drill and ceremony
and Army regulations. Following
the Soldier First phase came the
Warrior Leader phase where we
participated in exciting training that
introduced us to the many different
skills needed to be Army officers.
We participated in events such as
Land Navigation, rappelling, stream
3 ,
of swear words and it was nothing but
complete silence on the way down. I
was the first out but the last to land
(being I was a female and that I was
lighter than the males) and it was
noon (heat thermals). PLF on the
ground and the suspension lines got
wrapped around my neck and drug me
alone the DZ. I got a nice scar to remind me of that by the way. Later that
same day in the evening, we commenced our second “Hollywood”
jump, followed by a combat equipment jump and another “Hollywood”
jump the next day. On my fourth
jump I found the creek in the middle
of the DZ and came back to the
pickup site covered on my PLF side in
mud.... We finished on Wednesday
with a night combat equipment jump
and got our coveted Airborne wings
pinned on the next day.
By CDT Eric Krans
Future Leader
phase of training where we
celebrated our
acco mp lishments with a
family
day
and a graduation ceremony
where we were able to reflect upon
our accomplishments during our 28
days at Ft. Knox and prepare ourselves to return to our universities as
stronger cadets ready to tackle
LDAC the following summer.
In closing, LTC served as a
means to both teach and challenge.
Sleep came rarely and the tasks were
constant and demanding. During my
time there, I felt myself grow more
proficient in my warrior tasks and
skills and become a more confident
leader ready to return to the Pirate
Battalion and continue our tradition
of excellence at LDAC along with
my fellow battalion members. ECU
ROTC – Sine Pari
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NURSE SUMMER TRAINING PROGRAM
By CDT Aaron Olsen
This summer I was given the opportunity to travel to Ft. Gordon, GA to
execute a nurse in training mission
known as NSTP or Nurse Summer
Training Program. I acted as
a registered nurse for one
month, able to experience life
as a new 2LT in the Army
Nurse Corps. The skills I was
able to practice while being mentored
by an Army Captain were extremely
beneficial. My mentor worked with
me on a one on one basis to ensure
that I was competent performing the
skills I needed to and the care I was
expected to provide. There were nine
other cadets from around the country,
all working on different areas of the
hospital. I worked in a Medical Intensive Care Unit and experienced
patients with conditions that one only
reads about in a book. I learned about
opportunities for nurses in the Army tients lives. We concluded NSTP
and something that everyone wants to with a day on the lake and a barbeknow about, the money. NSTP is not all que. I recommend NSTP to all my
patient care and measuring medications. fellow ROTC nursing and preEach cadet was assigned to nursing majors to experience life as
present a topic to the entire an Army nurse.
floor that he/she was
working on. These
topics required several days of research and a
creative way to present your
information. As group leader
of my NSTP class, I was in
charge of progress checks on
each cadet and collaborate
with all of them in order to
design a presentation in front
of the hospital chief and other
high ranking officers. The
treatment at Ft. Gordon was
great; I actually felt like a
real nurse in charge of paCDT Aaron Olsen giving aid to patients
CULTURAL IMMERSION INTERNSHIP TO SLOVAKIA
CDT Ted Brennis
This past summer I was selected to
participate in the Cadet
Cultural
Immersion
Internship to Slovakia.
This internship was the
first of its kind, and was
essentially the test run
for a cultural immersion program, which
Cadet Command wants
to widely expand in the Cadet Theodore Brennis in Bratislava, Solvakia
coming years. This program is one ties in Dulles included country briefs,
of the Army’s many responses to safety briefs, language training, and
the complex and increasingly diffi- team building exercises. Additionally
cult demands that are being placed each cadet was required to research a
on U.S. Army officers in the subject related to Slovakia and give a
GWOT. Fifteen Cadets from across thirty-minute presentation.
We departed Dulles on the
the country were selected for the
15th and arrived in Bratislava, Slovakia
internship.
The internship began in on the 16th. From the 16th to the 18th
Dulles, Virginia on 13 July. Activi- we were given free rein to explore Bra-
tislava and recuperate from jetlag. These
two days were one of the highlights of
the trip for me. Bratislava is a beautiful,
bustling city, which requires several
weeks to explore in any depth.
Our next stop was the heart of
the Slovak National Uprising, a town
called Banska Bystrica. Here we explored the Slovak National Uprising
Museum, which can be equated to every
20th century war memorial in Washington D.C. combined. During the evening
we were released to explore the town
and enjoy the authentic Slovak culture.
Our stay in Banska Bystica was voted
the favorite stop in our After Action
Report during our movement back to
Dulles.
On the 19th of July we arrived
at the Slovak National Military Academy at Libtosky Mikolas. There we
were given safety and weapons briefs
...cont. p5
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Leadership Development and Assessment Course
By CDT Justin Edwards
been nervous about
After flying from one end
the types of cadets
of the country to the other, folI would be pared
lowed by the hassle of the Sea Tac
with, but I was
airport and the confusion of getting
placed with some
on the bus, I was finally on the
great personalities
highway heading to Fort Lewis.
whose jokes helped
The first thing everyone seemed to
pass the time. By
notice was enormous Mt. Ranier
the time we went to
filling Washington’s eastern skythe field, which
line. For the next thirty three days
was around day 16,
I would see the mountain coneveryone
wa s
stantly yet its immense presence
working as a team.
never ceased to amaze me. The
This made the ten
first couple days of LDAC were
days out in the
spent familiarizing cadets with the
ins and outs and also getting ac- Cdt Justin Edwards Spent 10 days in the field with his field fly by. By
helping each other
quainted with each other. A few platoon, which is seen here.
out on STX and
days in came the first test—the
APFT. Here is where hard work, or was confident in my navigational patrol lanes, several of the people in
a lack thereof, was either rewarded skills, I was fully aware that acci- my squad earned “E” evaluations.
or punished. Everyone was nerv- dents can happen to anyone. My The days that followed our return
ous about the standards to which worries were in vain, however, when from the field seemed to drag on,
the push-ups would be graded. I the land nav course turned out to be since they were filled with “down
had no problem performing them to the easiest course I had ever been time.” The water confidence course
standard, but then again we had on! The next week or so that fol- was one of the highlights of camp,
been practicing the proper pushup lowed was spent training in prepara- even though the zip line was broken.
since freshman year in the Pirate tion for STX and Patrolling. Before I knew it, graduation had
Battalion. Some cadets had obvi- Among the events were the Hand come and gone. I said my goodbyes
ously not been practicing proper Grenade Assault Course, First Aid, and headed on back to the southeast.
form which resulted in low scores Rappelling, and the Obstacle Course. Five weeks had gone by in a flash,
and in some instances failure of the Some of these days were fun and and in the process I had gained conPT test. Pride over my PT was cut others were not, but no matter what fidence in my leadership skills and
short when I began focusing on the we were doing people in my platoon some friends I plan on keeping for
Land Navigation Tests. Although I made everything bearable. I had the rest of my life.
Summer Training Awardees
AIRBORNE
Stephen Connell
Rebecca Deal
Joshua Meekins
Aaron Olsen
Eric Krans
Jeremy Miller
Jeff Moyer
Nathan Rimpf
AIR ASSAULT
Kyle Bowen
Seth Crow
Justin Lujan
MOUNTAIN WARFARE
Theodore Brennis
Justin Lujan
NURSE SUMMER TRAINING PROGRAM
Aaron Olsen
CADET TROOP LEADER TRAINING
Justin Edwards
Matthew Kane
Steven Marrero
Jareth Melcher
Christopher Leyda
CADET FIELD TRAINING
Eric Krans
LEADERS TRAINING COURSE
William Mooney
Joshua Hagen
Maketa Dunn
Caylin Sandke
Courtney Souleau
BASIC TRAINING/AIT
Samantha Holland
David Buckley
William Crawford
Anthony Ramey
Anthony Bryant
(continued from page 3)
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LEADERS TRAINING COURSE
By CDT William Mooney
Have you ever wanted to fire
a grenade launcher, breach doors
using a shotgun, or slide down a 75
foot zip line into water? This summer I had the privilege of attending
Cadet Field Training (CFT) in West
Point, New York. While I was
there I fired a massive amount of
ammunition from a variety of different weapons systems. The main
purpose of CFT is not to fire weapons all month long, however. CFT
is designed to prepare rising MS
III’s for LDAC in Fort Lewis,
Washington, and give cadets exposure to different branches of the
Army. Part of the training actually
took place in Fort Knox where we
played around with tanks for three
days and learned about Armor. I
learned a little bit about every
branch of the Army, to include Infantry, Field Artillery, and Medical
Services. Even though I was the
only Pirate who went to CFT this
summer, I quickly made friends
with other cadets from around the
world. In addition to the West Pointers,
I met cadets from other ROTC programs
around the United States and foreign
countries such as Brazil, Taiwan, and
Bulgaria. We all lived in a place that
reminded me of a summer camp, complete with a lake and canoes. I would
recommend CFT to any cadet who
wants world class training from some
of the most experienced men and
women in the greatest Army in the
world. Plus, who doesn’t want to go
shoot a bunch of cool guns for a month
and get paid for it?
CDT Mooney getting “hands on” training during LTC.
DRILL CADET LEADERSHIP TRAINING (DCLT)
By CDT Christopher Leyda
With two years of ROTC
under my belt, the rift between
enlisted and officer widens and becomes more relevant every day.
Those in the Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP) with the Army
Reserves or National Guard have
invaluable insight how the everyday
soldier thinks and works because of
Basic Combat Training (BCT).
Locked into my scholarship, I cannot
get that training. Fortunately, I was
offered Drill Cadet Leadership Training (DCLT) in my MS II summer. It
is not a perfect analog, but it helps
bridge that enlisted-officer gap.
That first day was lots of
administrative paperwork and introductions to my company commander
and first sergeant of Alpha Company,
st
1 Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment.
Day two, I hit the ground running attaching myself to 4th Platoon, checking
equipment before a five mile ruck
march to an obstacle course, getting
smoked for too many people falling out
of the movement, eating a quick MRE
lunch, assisting a class on proper gas
mask use, jumping into the CS gas
chamber with 4th Platoon, puking, crying, and flapping my guts out, rucking
back to the company AA, getting
smoked again for too many people falling out during the march, eating for a
minute at the Dining Facility, getting
smoked for soldiers talking in formation, teaching a BRM class in the barracks, getting smoked for soldiers not
maintaining muzzle awareness, and finally bed for the soldiers. The Drill
Sergeants and I planned for the next
day and performed an After-Action
Review, and then I stayed with one of
the Drill Sergeant for the night watch.
Turns out, that was a slow, uneventful
day. Nice.
Three weeks later you figure
out a few ideas. DCLT is simple: listen, learn, execute. DCLT is a grey
area: you will be a platoon leader, a
soldier, and shadow a drill sergeant.
DCLT answers questions: what do soldiers, NCOs, and officers expect and
want from me, what do I expect and
want from soldiers, NCOs, and officers? DCLT is an opportunity to learn:
how hard soldiers train, how much
harder Drill Sergeants and NCOs work
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CULTURAL IMMERSION INTERNSHIP TO SLOVAKIA(CONT.)
for the week we were about to
spend with 2nd year Slovak
cadets during their four week
summer training camp.
On the 20th we arrived at Military Training
Area Lest. We were issued
equipment and then thrown
into the barracks with the 2nd
year Slovak cadets without
any explanations. The first
few minutes in the barracks
were comical. We were on
one side, and they were on the
other. Then one Slovak cadet,
who I equate to their version
of CDT Olsen, took off his
shirt and began singing a song
in English and showing off his
build. That was the only icebreaker we needed.
From then on the Slovak cadets were quick to
help us, and we were eager to learn and get to
know them. A few spoke excellent English, but
most knew very little. Surmounting the language barrier proved to be very difficult, but
was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve
had. It is hard to describe how real friendship
and camaraderie feels without the bond of a
common language, but those are experiences
and friendships I will not soon forget.
We spent most of the week tagging
along with the Slovak cadets during their training, which consisted of squad and platoon tactical exercises, and weapons training. The Slovak cadre issued each of us the standard Czech
made Slovak firearm, the SA-58. The SA-58 is
very similar to the AK-47, except in its size,
which is considerably smaller than that of the
AK-47. We received training from the Slovak
Fifth Special Forces Battalion, a
tough unit comparable to our Green
Berets or Delta Force.
On our last day at Lest, we
elected five out of our group of fifteen to participate in the Commander’s
Challenge,
which was a day long
interclass
competition
much
like
ROTC’s
Ranger Challenge Competition. I was one of the
five cadets selected to
participate in the competition. There were nine
events:
Marksmanship,
Vehicle Push, Obstacle
Course, Log Carry, Grenade Assault
Course, First Aid, Gas Masked Anti
-tank Mine Carry, Land Navigation,
Raft Race, and a 35 Kilometer Ruck
march. My team took first place in
Marksmanship, First Aid, Obstacle
Course, and Vehicle Push, and tied
two of the other three teams for second place in one other event. We
were ranked fourth place overall
however, since our movement time
was the slowest.
On the 26th of July, we
arrived back at the military academy
to continue our cultural immersion.
Some of the highlights of the last
five days of our stay in Slovakia
included a climb to the top of Mt.
Krivan (the tallest peak in Slovakia
and a symbol of national pride), a
mountain bike ride through the
beautiful Low Tatras Mountains
(which aren’t so low), visits to several medieval castles, a guided tour
of the Dulka Pass WWII Memorial
Battle Site (one of the bloodiest
battles of WWII), and much more.
On the 1st of August we
returned to Dulles International Airport and
went our separate ways.
It was a fantastic and
invaluable experience.
We all learned important
lessons about the importance of cultural sensitivity and awareness in
today’s Armed Forces. I
hope the program is expanded to include as many cadets as
possible in the future.
DCLT
(cont from page 8)
for their soldiers, how well you can lead and
motivate despite exhaustion and restlessness,
and how much you really have left to learn.
There is no substitute for training and
exposure. DCLT is NOT BCT. But is the time
worth spending? Does three weeks make that
big of an impact?
Yeah, it’s bigger than Stuttgart, and
you better believe it.
AASLT School “The Ten Hardest Days in the
Army” (training plan from Air Assault School)
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ROGUE GALLERY: ALUMNI UPDATE
LTC Pat Day (ECU ‘89) Hitting golf balls into the lake
surrounding Saddam’s palace in Baghdad Iraq.
LTC Pat Day (ECU ‘89) in Taji, Iraq at
the PAX Terminal.
WHERE ARE YOU NOW??
This is a shout out to all the
Alumni of the Pirate Battalion. We’re requesting pictures and/or stories from you
to help keep everyone updated on your whereabouts
and to inspire the current
Pirate Cadets by showcasing
to them the rich heritage of
the Pirate Battalion.
LTC Van
Jarrell (ECU
’90) assumes
command of
102nd Signal
Battalion in
Wiesbaden,
Germany.”
Photo of the Month:
EAST CAROLINA
UNIVERSITY ARMY ROTC
UPCOMING EVENTS:
10/1110/14 Fall Break
10/27 Class Registration
11/2611/30 Thanksgiving Break
We’re on the Web:
ECU.EDU/AROTC
Rawl 305A ECU
Greenville, NC 27858-4353
Phone: 1-866-ECU-ROTC
Photos Needed!
SLB0204 @ECU.EDU
Fax: 555-555-5555
E-mail: [email protected]
GO PIRATES!
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1st Annual Pirate
Battalion Army ROTC
Wounde d Warrior 10K
and 1 Mile Road Races
“Warriors Supporting Warriors”
Benefiting the Fort Bragg Wounded Warrior Program
Saturday, November 8, 2008, 8:30 AM, Greenville, NC
A Brand New Event from East Carolina Road Racing
East Carolina Road Racing, and the Pirate Battalion Arm y ROTC Cadets, are
proud to announce our 1st Annual Wounded Warrior 10K and 1 Mile. The brand
new , single loop 10K is dead flat, has w ide roads, is ver y fast, w ill be US ATF
certified before race. State records have been set on our 5K and 8K in this same
neighborhood, and any 10K records broken w ill be submitted. In honor of our
Wounded Warriors, all are w elcome to participate by running, w alking, hand
crutches, race chairs, sports chairs, or hand crank bikes. There are 2 speed
humps on the 10K course, but after that clean sailing. All proceeds from the
event w ill benefit the Wounded Warrior Program at Ft Bragg in Fa yetteville, NC
Organization, Timing and Scoring - by East Carolina Road Racing. Course maps, entry forms, results, and more info
at ecrun.org
Registration - $20 if postmarked by November 3, $25 after and race day. 1 Mile, $15 pre-registered and $20 after.
Please do not mail entries after November 3, just bring to the race. Entry fee includes unique, quality and memorable tshirts to the first 150 to register. Registration from active.com ends on October 31. We will not be able to print more
shirts for 2008, if you want a shirt in your desired size, just sign up early. All Wounded Warriors participating will have
their registration fee’s waved.
Awards, 10K - For the top 3 Male + Female overall, the top 3 M + F in each age group, the oldest M + F finisher,
And to the top 3 Male + Female race chairs. We invite all chair athletes to enter, and to leave the runners in your dust!
Awards, 1 Mile – Trophies to the top 3 Male and Female overall. All finishers will receive their time and placing.
10K Age Groups - 15 and Under, 16-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-99, and oldest M+F finishers.
Register – at Lynndale Court, starting at 7:00 AM. You can register on race day, come early if you want a t-shirt.
Awards Ceremony – Enjoy great food and drink as soon as you finish, followed by Awards Ceremony starting shortly
after the last finishers, at about 10:00 AM. This is a perfect workout before the home ECU football game later! Arrgh, and
Go Pirates!
Date:
November 8
Time:
Location:
Contact:
8:30 AM
Greenville
Kip Sloan
Phone:
252-355-3180
http://www.ecrun.org/calendar_detail.php?
id=24
Website:
Make checks payable to “ECU Army ROTC 10K”
and mail to ECU Army ROTC, 346 Rawl Building,
Greenville, NC 27858, Attention - 10K Race