EWU Army ROTC – Page 5 – EWU Army ROTC

EWU Army ROTC Conducts 2020 Contracting Ceremony

09/25/2020 by jstafford3

On September 24, 2020 the Eastern Washington University (EWU) Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program contracted 6 Cadets into the U.S. Army. The Contracting Ceremony was held in front of the historic Showalter Hall on the EWU campus. Showalter Hall is the oldest building on EWU’s campus that was built back in 1915 when EWU was a teacher’s college. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the Contracting Ceremony was attending by a small number of Cadets and family members and masks and social distancing requirements were followed. Full video of the ceremony can be viewed below:

During the ceremony the 6 Cadets recited the Oath of Enlistment given to them by Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Stafford, the Professor of Military Science for the EWU Army ROTC program. The first Oath of Enlistment was developed during the Revolutionary War when the Continental Congress established different oaths for the enlisted men and officers of the Continental Army. The first Oath of Enlistment under the Constitution was approved by an Act of Congress on 29 September 1789. It applied to all commissioned officers, non-commissioned officers, and enlisted Soldiers in the United States military.

EWU Army ROTC Cadets, Isabell Pannell, Caleb Geringer, Nik Chapple, Charles Golding, Giovanni Beegen, and Kyle Collins stand in formation preparing to contract.

Contracting Cadets salute the unfurling of the U.S. flag.

Contracting ceremony officer in charge (OIC) Cadet Crystal Cruz turns over the formation to LTC Jonathan Stafford.

The oath would receive minor modifications during the 1800’s, but the current oath recited by the contracting Cadets has remained unchanged since 1959. Here is the current Oath of Enlistment:

“I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”

Cadets are given the Oath of Enlistment by LTC Jonathan Stafford.

LTC Jonathan Stafford contracts 6 Cadets into EWU Army ROTC.

Following the reciting of the Oath of Enlistment, the 6 Cadets were then given their right shoulder sleeve EWU Army ROTC patch. The patch was presented by Master Sergeant Michael Zehring who explained the importance of the right shoulder sleeve patch that recognizes combat service in the active U.S. Army. In the EWU ROTC program the right should sleeve patch recognizes these Cadets’ commitment to serve their country by contracting into EWU ROTC.

Cadet Charles Golding proudly displays his EWU ROTC patch after contracting.

By contracting the Cadets can now activate scholarship benefits, receive a $420 a month monetary stipend, attend advanced training, internships, and other opportunities to help them towards their goal of becoming a U.S. Army officer after graduating from EWU. Congratulations to all six of our newly contracted Cadets!

Isabell Pannell
Caleb Geringer
Nik Chapple
Charles Golding
Giovanni Beegen
Kyle Collins

Note: More pictures from the ceremony can be viewed on our Flickr page.

How to Contract into ROTC

When Cadets first enroll into an ROTC class, they have no military obligation. Taking an ROTC class is the one way to explore military service without having to contract into the military. For students who find that military service is something they want to pursue they can then contract into ROTC. Contracting requires the Cadet to meet specified academic, physical fitness, character, and medical requirements. The are various options to contract and a college student does not have to join ROTC as a first year student to explore military service. We have many transfer students, sophomores, and juniors and even Masters students enroll into ROTC to explore military service before making a decision to contract. Please read our Contracting page or reach EWU ROTC through our Contact page for more information on contracting options.

EWU Army ROTC Completes Annual Jump Start Training Despite Real World Challenges

09/23/2020 by jstafford3

From 15-18 September 2020, the Eastern Washington University (EWU) Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) battalion conducted both our Jump Start program for new Cadets and Basic Camp for Cadets looking to contract this year. In a normal year Basic Camp Cadets are sent to Ft. Knox, Kentucky to conduct training. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced Cadets to conduct this training with their local ROTC battalion. The ongoing pandemic has caused many adjustments to training delivery and the recent forest fires that brought unhealthy smoke levels to the Spokane region caused further challenges. The smoke caused a number of training events that were planned to be conducted outside to be shifted to virtual instruction.

Smoke obscures the sunrise over Roos Field on the EWU campus.

Despite the smoke the Cadets were able to move into the dorms, complete inprocessing into ROTC, and be issued their gear. On Friday the smoke levels improved to where the Cadets conducted Drill and Ceremony and Land Navigation training outdoors. They conducted all this training in a modified environment due to COVID-19 with all Cadets wearing masks and maintaining social distancing standards.

Cadet Geringer holds the Fighting Eagles Battalion guide-on during first formation.

Drill and ceremony has played a critical part in military history throughout the world. Drill and ceremony teaches precision and obedience to orders which helps prepare troops for battle. For the most part the drill procedures are very similar to the tactical maneuvers used on the battlefield. It allows commanders to move their forces from different points in an orderly fashion and maneuver forces as a situation develops.

Cadets prepare to conduct drill and ceremony training.

Our EWU Army ROTC Cadets continue a long line of drill and ceremony training for the United States Army that dates back to the Revolutionary War. During the war General George Washington, through the assistance of Benjamin Franklin who was the American Ambassador to France, was able to secure the aid of a Prussian officer named Baron Friedrich von Steuben to drill the troops of the Continental Army.

Von Steuben arrived at Valley Forge on February, 23 1778 and found the Continental Army half-starved and ill equipped for battle. To correct the conditions he witnessed he immediately began a rigorous training regimen of drill and ceremony to improve the military bearing of the troops. It had an immediate impact on discipline, professionalism, and confidence of the troops to respond to commands during battle that helped lead to the ultimate defeat of the British military during the war.

After receiving their initial training the Cadets were then tested with giving and receiving commands while navigating through an obstacle course. The Cadets were next blindfolded and given commands to march through another obstacle course. This built the Cadets confidence to accurately give and receive commands from each other.

Cadet Jonathan Thiessen (left) gives commands to Cadet Caleb Geringer (right) to navigate him through an obstacle course.

Cadet Zackary Becker navigates through an obstacle course.

Cadet Nik Chapple is blindfolded and executed commands he received to march through an obstacle course.

During the Jump Start and Basic Camp training the Cadets also conducted Land Navigation training. This training focused on teaching the Cadets the following skills:

Tracking present location
Determining Distance
Sense of direction
How to read a topographic map
Terrain and map association
Spatial skills
Planning safe, practical routes

Cadet Christopher Millward briefs the trainees on the Land Navigation course.

The practical hands on training was conducted at the Cheney Waterworks property near the EWU campus. There the Cadets were issued grid points that they had to accurately plot on a topographic map and then plot their course to find their assigned points. The Cadets then used their new compass, terrain analysis, and pace count skills to find the points in the surrounding forest.

Jump Start Cadets, Nicholas Beier (left) and Mykenzie Belliotti find their first land navigation point in ROTC.

Basic Camp Cadet, Corina Lindsey finds a point on the land navigation course.

At each point there is clicker that the Cadets use to mark their score sheet. After the Cadets found their points they then returned to the start point to have their points graded by the evaluator to ensure they found the correct points.

Cadet Gervacio Camacho evaluates the points that the trainees turn in after completing the land navigation course.

All the Cadets did a great job completing the training despite the various real world circumstances they had to adjust to. Being flexible and adaptable is part of being an effective leader and all of our Cadets learned that important lesson during the week long training.

Go ROTC! Go Fighting Eags!

Note: More photos from Jump Start and Basic Camp training can be viewed on our Flickr page.

Throwback Thursday: 1970 EWU Army ROTC Commissioning

09/17/2020 by jstafford3

From our EWU Army ROTC archives comes this newspaper clipping of Kenneth W. Attebery being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant 50 years ago back in 1970. Back then EWU was known as Eastern Washington State College. Attebery was commissioned as an officer into the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. According to the caption he was a graduate of West Valley High School and majored in Urban Planning. His wife Diane and his mother Phyllis pinned the gold bars on his uniform. Does any of our Fighting Eagles alumni remember Kenneth Attebery?

Attebery

9/11 Tribute Video from EWU Army ROTC

09/14/2020 by jstafford3

The below video is a time lapse of the American flag that flew over Cadet Hall on the Eastern Washington University (EWU) campus on September 11, 2020. In 2019 this American flag along with an EWU flag were flown over Kabul, Afghanistan. On this 19th anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, EWU Army ROTC gives a big thank you to all our first responders that are keeping our communities safe. Together we are all Eagle Strong!

Fighting Eagles Cadet Receives ROTC Scholarship Worth Over $90,000

09/14/202009/01/2020 by jstafford3

EWU Army ROTC is please to announce that incoming transfer student Mykenzie Belliotti has been awarded a scholarship to Eastern worth over $90,000. Welcome to our Fighting Eagles 🦅 team! Read more about MyKenzie at the Instagram post below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CEnC-nzhqbe/

Throwback Thursday: Lieutenant Colonel Coonelly With A Big Smile in 1981

08/20/2020 by jstafford3

In this 1981 archive image, the former Professor of Military Science at Eastern Washington University, Lieutenant Colonel, Thomas Coonelly looks at and gives a big smile to a Cadet while checking a radio. If any alumni have any stories to share about LTC Coonelly please share them in the comments section.

Go ROTC! Go Fighting Eags!