Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets visited Exercise Rapid Trident 2013 in Yavoriv, Ukraine, in July as part of the Cultural Understanding and Learning Proficiency (CULP) program.CULP is a U.S. Army Cadet Command program that sends cadets from universities across America to other nations, allowing the cadets to spend up to three weeks abroad immersed in a foreign culture.Cadets travel in a small group with cadre and focus on humanitarian service, host nation military-to-military contact, and education on the social, cultural and historical aspects of their assigned country."These are...
Kevin Lothridge CEO National Forensic Science Technology CenterLondon Du’Bois Internship Program Manager Biometric and forensic science experience and understanding is a capability that continues to grow in importance to today’s Army.To help tomorrow’s soldiers, 12 Army ROTC cadets participated in the National Forensic Science Technology Center’s (NFSTC) 2013 Forensics and Biometrics Internship this summer.NFSTC sponsors the program, now in its fifth year, which uses intensive, hands-on site exploitation exercises featuring scenarios derived from real battlefield experiences.During the two...
As 12 years of fighting winds down, many Army ROTC Cadets who will be commissioned this year won’t experience war anytime soon. They will not wear a distinctive combat patch that unites soldiers in the profession of arms.But the absence of a patch in no way diminishes the critical role soon-to-be lieutenants will play in positioning the force of the future, the Army’s chief trainer told senior ROTC cadets at the George C. Marshall Awards and Leadership Seminar.As leaders of an Army that has operated at a feverish pace for more than a decade between Afghanistan and Iraq – with little downtime...
The U.S. Army Cadet Command will consolidate its senior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) summer training at Fort Knox, Ky., to improve the effectiveness and quality of the Cadet Leader Development Program and the quality of future Army officers.The consolidation relocates the Leader Development and Assessment Course (LDAC) from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., to Fort Knox.LDAC will be conducted at Fort Knox beginning in the summer of 2014.Cadet Command already conducts its Leader’s Training Course each summer at Fort Knox.Conducting both leader development courses at Fort Knox will...
The top students in Cadet Command’s cadet corps entered a new classroom April 15, this one led by senior leaders schooling them on some of the challenges they will soon face guiding the Army’s future force.The mission won’t be easy, a former vice chief of staff of the Army told the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets during the opening session of the 36th Annual George C. Marshall Awards and Leadership Seminar at Gillis Theatre located in the Center for Leadership and Ethics on the campus of Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Va.But, Gen. Richard Cody, USA, Ret., said he remains...
The U.S. Army continues to face challenges as it draws down and changes its missions following the longest conflict the United States has fought with an all-volunteer force – yet, America’s Army remains in the forefront of not only military operations, but also stabilization, humanitarian, peacekeeping, and nation-building efforts during very uncertain times, and with serious budget constraints.In the introduction to his "Marching Orders" – 38th Army chief of staff, Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, said that as America’s Force of Decisive Action and "as part of the Joint Force, the Army ensures...
As I write this article in the middle of August, yet again, we face an all-too-familiar situation in the defense legislative arena.The House has passed its versions of the defense authorization bill, the defense appropriations bill and the VA/Military Construction appropriations bills, while the Senate has passed none of those.It is unlikely that the Senate will complete their versions by the time the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30 since there are only 16 legislative days between the time they return from recess and that date.If they don’t finish, the Congress would need to pass a continuing...
AUSA’s Institute of Land Warfare has recently released a new publication: "The Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex: Winning the Future Fight" (Torchbearer Issue Paper, August 2013).This paper explores the Department of Defense’s largest training venue in Alaska – a location uniquely suited to the requirements of 21st century joint, interagency, intergovernmental and multinational training.The Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex (JPARC) enables large-scale joint training not available elsewhere, providing unparalleled opportunities across all domains – land, air, sea, space and cyber.It allows...
Greetings from the Association of the United States Army – our Army’s and our soldiers’ professional organization. Special thanks to AUSA’s Fort Leonard Wood Mid-Missouri Chapter for hosting my visit on July 31and Aug. 1. This amazing Association chapter was selected as the best chapter in their membership category for 2012. After my visit I know why, and I want to take this opportunity to share some of the secrets to their success.Command Sgt. Maj. Rick Morris, USA, Ret., past Association chapter president, did all the coordination for my visit. Rick is a longtime volunteer with the chapter...
The Army vice chief of staff, Gen. John F. Campbell said Carter is a reminder to all of America that there are "modern day heroes who live and walk among us."
The Army vice chief of staff, Gen. John F. Campbell, spoke with several groups at Fort Campbell, Ky., Aug. 1 about the Ready and Resilient Campaign as well as other key issues facing soldiers and families today.Campbell, the former commander of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), attended focus groups with Army leaders, soldiers, civilians, families, and program managers at the Kinnard Mission Training Complex.In a separate briefing with members of the local media, Campbell expressed his feelings on returning to the division he once commanded."It’s pretty awesome to come back and see...
The room hummed with the steady clicks of camera shutters as Staff Sgt. Ty Michael Carter and his wife, Shannon, were the center of attention during a press conference at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., in late July.Carter received the Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama during a ceremony at the White House, Aug. 26, for his courageous actions while deployed to the Nuristan Province, Afghanistan, in October 2009.He was a cavalry scout assigned to 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo., during his first of two deployments to Afghanistan.On Oct. 3, 2009...
Help me. Please. Help me," Spc. Stephan Mace begged as sniper bullets and rocket-propelled grenades landed all around him.His legs had been blown apart, and he tried to drag himself toward a nearby Humvee using his elbows. Although he’d nearly become incoherent because of the pain, Mace remained dry-eyed – he had lost too much blood to cry.Inside a Humvee, just 30 yards away, two other soldiers were trapped by intense enemy fire. They witnessed the scene around them, horrified."Mace is right there. He’s alive. I can get to him," then-Spc. Ty Carter told his superior."No," then-Sgt. Brad Larson...
The recently promoted four-star Army general who now commands U.S. Army forces in the Asia-Pacific region made his first trip to Korea in this capacity in early August.The U.S. Army Pacific commanding general, Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, and his wife, Dr. Carol P. Brooks, met American soldiers, civilians and families around the Korean Peninsula during their visit since he assumed command in July.As part of the U.S. military’s shift to the Pacific, Brooks became the first four-star general to command U.S. Army Pacific since 1974.Brooks said the elevation to a four-star general is an example of the...
Staff Sgt. Ty Michael Carter became the second soldier to receive the nation’s highest military award for extraordinary gallantry and selfless actions during the Battle of Kamdesh at Combat Outpost Keating, Afghanistan, on Oct. 3, 2009.After telling the story of the ambush, which raged for 13 hours between 53 soldiers and some 300 Taliban, and citing Carter’s complete disregard for his own safety, President Barack Obama placed the Medal of Honor around the 33-year-old cavalry scout’s neck in the White House East Room, Aug. 26.Near the Pakistan border, the Keating battle was the first since the...