AUSA on the Hill. The AUSA director of government affairs, Bill Loper, and other representatives from various military and veterans’ associations were invited to a recent roundtable meeting hosted by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.Joined by 11 other Democratic members of the House, including the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, Norm Dicks, and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, the group discussed the problems caused by the lingering threat of sequestration that would gut defense accounts and could affect veterans’ education accounts.Another topic of discussion was the...
While typical cadets run, jump and work together during the Leadership Development and Assessment Course (LDAC), Reserve Officers’ Training Corps nursing students put in IVs, give medication and work late nights in the ER inside Madigan Army Medical Center on the other side of Joint Base Lewis-McChord.Many of these interns already completed LDAC or will do so after their time at the hospital.The 29-day Army Nurse Summer Training Program was once a mandatory activity for all ROTC nursing students, but is now optional and competitively selected.Nursing students apply for their top three choices...
AUSA’s Institute of Land Warfare recently released a new publication titled "U.S. Army Operational Testing and Evaluation: Laying the Foundation for the Army of 2020" (Torchbearer National Security Report, October 2012).The report explores the unique combination of traditional methods and new initiatives that the Army employs to ensure that its soldiers continue to be the best-equipped in the world.Operational testing and evaluation is not a new concept for the Army, whose time-honored methods demonstrate that a reliable, interoperable, broadly capable tactical network would be a tremendous...
Addressing the 266 George C. Marshall Army ROTC Award winners, then-Lt. Gen. Dennis L. Via, deputy U.S Army Materiel (AMC) commander, who has since been promoted to general and AMC commander, framed an important theme that was revisited many times during the three-day leadership training and national security seminar held April 15-17, 2012, in Lexington, Va., on the campuses of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and Washington and Lee University.He said, "While many of you here tonight are 21 or 22 years old, on September 11, 2001, you were only 10 or 11 years old, and every day since then...
Enlisted soldiers who may have an interest in furthering their Army careers by becoming commissioned officers can learn more by exploring U.S. Army Cadet Command’s Green-to-Gold option, an in-service recruitment program to attract junior soldiers with leadership potential.Cadet Command is accepting applications now as part of "Operation Officership," a campaign designed to attract talented enlisted and noncommissioned officers who want to complete a college degree and compete to become second lieutenants.The Army’s Green-to-Gold program offers several options, including:Option 1 – The Green-to...
As the U.S. Army continues to face challenges as it draws down and changes its missions in Iraq and Afghanistan – following the longest conflict the United States has fought with an all-volunteer force – 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 Chief of Staff, U.S. Army," Gen. Raymond T. Odierno said that as America’s Force of Decisive Action and "as part of the Joint...
Prior to 2001, the Army had not incorporated cultural curriculum and guidance into its general preparation and training.
Eight Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets from colleges and universities around the country took part in Cadet Troop Leader Training with the 212th Combat Support Hospital in Miesau, Germany, for several weeks this summer.Their training within the 212th Combat Support Hospital includes shadowing officers and leading soldiers through a variety of situations including planning for training exercises."I’m more confident going to my unit after I graduate knowing that I have a little bit of experience in a real unit, rather than just straight out of ROTC," said Cadet Claire Marlow from the...
Nine of the Army’s very best noncommissioned officers gathered recently at Fort Eustis, Va., to compete in this year’s AIT Platoon Sergeant of the Year Competition.This elite group underwent physical and mental challenges designed to test their knowledge of warrior tasks and battle drills and, most importantly, to test their ability to teach these tasks to new soldiers in initial entry training.This year’s top honor went to Sgt. 1st Class Delroy G. Barnett, 32d Medical Brigade, Fort Sam Houston, Texas.When informed that he had won the competition, his reaction was just what you would expect...
Featured on the cover of the 2012-2013 ARMY Magazine Green Book is Sgt. 1st Class Marc Westenbarger, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, as he participated in the first annual Best Tanker Competition at Fort Benning, Ga., in May.The competition among Abrams tank crews representing armor brigades throughout the Army determined the best tank crew and highlighted the completion of the U.S. Army Armor Center and School’s relocation to Fort Benning, joining the U.S. Army Infantry Center and School to form the Maneuver Center of Excellence.Members of the winning crew, from the 2nd Armored...
Nine scholarships to deserving Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets will be presented at the Association of the United States Army’s 2012 Annual Meeting and Exposition during the ROTC luncheon for cadets, cadre personnel and invited guests.The luncheon, hosted by Maj. Gen. Robert L. Nabors, USA, Ret., a member of the Association’s Council of Trustees, will take place at 12:30 p.m., Oct. 22, at the Renaissance Washington DC Hotel, 999 9th Street, NW, one block from the Walter E. Washington Convention Center where the three-day AUSA professional development forum will be held.AUSA’s national...
Abrams Medal
More than 200 cadets from Indiana Public Schools’ Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps trained at Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center July 9-14 in the annual JROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge.The program, held at Camp Atterbury for over 12 years, allows high school students in JROTC programs across the state to participate in military-style training such as rappelling, land navigation, various obstacle courses and more."It provides these kids the opportunity to do a lot of things they aren’t normally able to do in their schools," Col. David Sholly, director of Army instruction for...
The Association of the United States Army Family Programs Directorate has selected Capt. William Mendelsohn and family, 224th Sustainment Brigade, California Army National Guard, to receive the 2012 AUSA Volunteer Family of the Year Award.The award will be presented at the opening session of the AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition, Monday, Oct. 22, at 9:30 a.m., in the main ballroom of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.AUSA congratulates Mendelsohn, his wife, Debra, and their two children, Emelie and Douglas, "for their outstanding contributions to their military and civilian...
The 2012 recipient of the Sergeant Major of the Army William G. Bainbridge Medal for Exceptional Service to the Noncommissioned Officer Corps is Sgt. 1st Class Ron Taylor, USA, Ret.Ron, from Thomasville, Ga., retired from active duty with over two decades of selfless service to America’s Army.During his distinguished military career, he held positions of increasing responsibility culminating with his last assignment as the deputy chief of the Fort Hood Consumer Affairs Office.Ron currently serves as the senior vice president of the Fort Hood National Bank.This award is named in honor of...