News

Two EWU Cadets Earn ROTC Scholarships for over $34,000 Each

01/12/2022 by Crosby, Alexis Leave a Comment

Congratulations to Cadets Kristen Buckingham and Maximiliano Ruiz who both earned Army scholarships starting this quarter! Each scholarship includes $34,000 to pay full tuition for their degree as well as $1,200 per year for books and a $420 monthly stipend. These scholarships will enable Kristen and Max to complete their degrees at EWU and commission as U.S. Army Officers. Kristen is studying Exercise Science and Max, Biology. We are excited to have them join the team!

Cadet Kristen Buckingham

Cadet Maximiliano Ruiz

EWU ROTC Alumnus, 1LT Stanton, Selected to Serve in 75th Ranger Regiment

01/10/2022 by Crosby, Alexis Leave a Comment

Congratulations to 1st Lieutenant Bryce Stanton, class of 2019, on successfully completing the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program (RASP 2)! He will move on to join the 75th Ranger Regiment where he will lead some of the most elite combat Soldiers in the U.S. Army. This accomplishment follows after Bryce also earned the Expert Infantry and Parachutist badges. We are thankful that we were part of his journey and now get to see him flourish as a leader serving our nation.

1LT Bryce Stanton

For Third Year in a Row, EWU Army ROTC Recognized with Top Instructor Award

01/10/2022 by Crosby, Alexis Leave a Comment

The Eastern Washington University (EWU) Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), “Fighting Eagles” battalion is pleased to announce that for the third year in a row one of our faculty members has been recognized with a U.S. Army Cadet Command Instructor of the Year Award. Sergeant First Class (SFC) Ratliff was recognized as the 2021 Non-Commissioned Officer Instructor of the Year out of all 274 ROTC battalions across the country.

SFC David Ratliff

10 Fighting Eagles Cadets Commission as Officers into the U.S. Army

06/20/2021 by jstafford3 Leave a Comment

On June, 18 2021, the Eastern Washington University (EWU) Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) “Fighting Eagles” battalion conducted its Spring Commissioning Ceremony. Due to COVID mitigation measures, the ceremony was held in the EWU Fieldhouse with commissionees and guests wearing masks. The moderator for the commissioning ceremony was EWU Army ROTC Recruiting and Operations Officer (ROO), Ms. Linda Moody:

Ms. Linda Moody served as the moderator for the ceremony.

The path to this day was not an easy one for the commissionees. All the Cadets conducted up to 4 years of military training in the ROTC program, had to meet rigorous academic requirements, build strong physical fitness, among a host of other challenging requirements. The most challenging thing these young leaders had to face was having to commission in the midst of a deadly pandemic. The commissionees had to complete over a year of school entirely online and conduct their ROTC training partially online and in person with specified health and safety protocols. They are a truly remarkable group of young leaders well deserving to commission as Army officers.

Spring 2021 EWU Army ROTC Commissioning Class.

The commissioning ceremony began with the singing of the national anthem followed by opening remarks by the EWU Army ROTC Professor of Military Science, Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Jonathan Stafford.

Following the remarks from LTC Stafford, the guest speaker retired Chief Warrant Officer 5 Gary Nisker from the EWU Class of 1976 gave his speech. Chief Nisker provided some inspiring words to our Cadets about his time in ROTC to include a few humorous moments.

Following CW5 Nisker’s speech he was then inducted into the EWU Military Science Hall of Fame. EWU Army ROTC appreciates CW5 Nisker speaking to our Cadets and we congratulate him on becoming part of the Hall of the Fame:

LTC Stafford presents CW5 Nisker with the plaque that will hang in Cadet Hall inducting him into the EWU Military Science Hall of Fame.

After CW5 Nisker’s speech the Cadets the Cadets each came forward to be administered the Army Oath of Office to officially commission them as a 2LT into the U.S. Army.

2LT J.P. Dutton (left) receives the oath of office from his father retired Air Force Colonel James Dutton.

The Cadets then had family members pin their rank on their uniforms:

2LT Collin Galbreath is pinned his rank by his parents.

2LT Austin Bristow was pinned his rank by his uncle and grandmother.

2LT Megan Baker (center) was pinned her rank by her parents.

After the pinning, the Cadets then received their first salute from a current or former enlisted person. After receiving the salute the Cadet then gives the enlisted person a silver dollar:

2LT Christian Goldbach receives his first salute from his brother, Army Staff Sergeant Marcus Goldbach.

2LT John Drohman (left) receives his first salute from retired Navy Chief Warrant Officer 3 Thomas Clark.

2LT Liam Hewey receives his first salute from his father retired Air Force Master Sergeant Robert Hewey.

Congratulations to the following Cadets for commissioning as officers into the U.S. Army:

2LT Megan Baker / Nurse
2LT Austin Bristow / Transportation
2LT John Drohman / Engineer
2LT James Dutton / Engineer
2LT Collin Galbreath / Engineer
2LT Destin Garcia / Quartermaster
2LT Christian Goldbach / Aviation
2LT Liam Hewey / Armor
2LT Samantha Knight / Nurse
2LT Christopher Millward / Air Defense Artillery

Note: You can view many more pictures of all the commissionees on our EWU Army ROTC Flickr page.

Fighting Eagles Battalion Opens New Obstacle Course on the EWU Campus

06/15/2021 by jstafford3 Leave a Comment

EWU Army ROTC on May 4, 2021 opened its new obstacle course adjacent to Cadet Hall on the EWU campus. The obstacle course opening was attended by the 8th ROTC Brigade Commander Colonel Ben Bird, the EWU President Dr. David May, many other college officials, alumni, and supporters.

EWU Army ROTC Professor of Military Science, Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Stafford provides opening remarks before the opening of the obstacle course.

The $10,000 obstacle course was funded by alumni donations and allows EWU Army ROTC to better train Cadets attending Advanced Camp, competing for Airborne/Air Assault schools, and the Ranger Challenge team.

EWU Army ROTC Cadet, John Drohman hurdles over an obstacle.

Cadet Isabell Pannell climbs a wall obstacle.

Cadet Charles Golding climbs the rope obstacle.

Cadets were timed as they ran through the obstacle course with the Cadet receiving the top time receiving the “Iron Eagle” trophy from the PMS. MS-1 Cadet Nik Chapple ended up having the fastest time during the inaugural opening of the obstacle course.

Cadet Nik Chapple holds his Iron Eagle trophy.

At the end of the obstacle course demonstration COL Bird presented the PMS, LTC Jonathan Stafford and the Assistant PMS, Major Nick Carbaugh with their end of tour awards. Both officers served for three years at EWU Army ROTC and are now moving on to the next assignments, LTC Stafford to Japan and MAJ Carbaugh to Germany.

COL Ben Bird the 8th ROTC Brigade commander presents Meritorious Service Medals to LTC Jon Stafford and MAJ Nick Carbaugh.

More pictures from the obstacle course opening can be viewed on our EWU Army ROTC Flickr page.

Fighting Eagles Cadets Earn the Norwegian Foot March Badge

06/15/2021 by jstafford3 Leave a Comment

A Friday night is usually when college students are ready to wind down after a busy week. However, for Cadets in the Eastern Washington University Army ROTC program they instead found themselves on bus to Ellensburg, WA to complete the 18.6 mile long Norwegian Foot March. The foot march is one of the few foreign service badges that U.S. Army personnel can compete for and wear on their active duty uniforms.

Cadets stand in line to complete registration and weigh their rucks prior to the start of the Norwegian Foot March.

EWU Army ROTC Cadets and Cadre pose before the start of the Norwegian Foot March at Ellensburg, WA.

The foot march has to be completed before sunrise on a dirt trail. This year’s foot march hosted by Central Washington University Army ROTC was held on the John Wayne Pioneer Trail in Ellensburg and began at 9:00 PM. During the ruck each Cadet had to carry 25 pounds of weight in their ruck. See below for more details about the standards for the Norwegian Foot March:

Cadets that could complete the march within the required times based off of gender and age received the Norwegian military’s Marsjmerket badge to wear on their uniforms.

The late start, unimproved trail surface, and windy conditions during the march made for a challenging competition. The teamwork and shared motivation during the march allowed the vast majority of EWU Army ROTC Cadets to meet the required time to earn their badge.

Cadets Everett Kuhnel, (left) and Destin Garcia (right) stand next to EWU Army ROTC Professor of Military Science, Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Stafford (center) after the completion of the ruck march.

Great job by the all the Cadets that earned their badge and big thanks to CWU Army ROTC for inviting us to participate in this great event. EWU Army ROTC plans to host the next Norwegian Foot March event sometime in the next academic year in Cheney for Cadets, active duty, National Guard, Reservists in the Spokane region to attend. Monitor our EWU Army ROTC social media channels for the latest information on when the event will occur. Eagle Strong!