EWU College of Social Sciences Dean Experiences COI Training at Ft. Knox

Besides being home to the United States gold reserves, Fort Knox, Kentucky is also the home to the U.S. Army Cadet Command’s premier training event, Advanced Camp.  At Advanced Camp, Cadets from Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs spread out across 274 college campuses, come together to conduct leadership training at Ft. Knox.  Cadets generally attend Advanced Camp the summer between their Junior and Senior years of college.  Passing Advanced Camp is a requirement for every Cadet who wants to commission as an officer after graduating from college.

EWU ROTC Cadets (From Left) Megan Baker, Austin Pfennig, & Chad Triplett participate in Advanced Camp 2019 at Ft. Knox, Kentucky.


In effort to help university faculty and community leaders better understand the training ROTC Cadets conduct at Advanced Camp, select personnel from across the nation are invited to attend a one-week course at Ft. Knox.  Recently our very own Dean of the College of Social Sciences (CSS) at Eastern Washington University (EWU), Dr. Jonathan Anderson had the opportunity to attend this course known as Centers of Influence (COI) Training.

While at Fort Knox Dr. Anderson attended a number of informational meetings about ROTC and also participated in training Cadets experience during Advanced Camp.  These events included a Leadership Reaction Course and rappelling.

Dr. Anderson (upper right) participates in an informational brief.


Dr. Anderson (center) prepares for rappel tower training.


For a very select few of the personnel that attended the COI training, they were able to participate in a jump with the U.S. Army’s Golden Knights parachute demonstration team. Dr. Anderson was chosen as one of the few COIs to participate in the parachute jump.

Dr. Anderson prepares to jump with the U.S. Army’s Golden Knights parachute team.


Dr. Anderson flies off with the Golden Knights.


Dr. Anderson parachutes over Ft. Knox, Kentucky with the Golden Knights.


EWU ROTC thanks Dr. Anderson for attending the COI training and the strong support we receive from the College of Social Sciences.

Go ROTC!  Go Fighting Eags!

Eastern Washington University Military Science Department Recognized as Team of the Year

This past month featured Finals Week for the students followed by the Eastern Washington University (EWU) graduation.  It was also time for end of the academic year awards for the various colleges within the university.  One of the awards being given by the College of Social Sciences (CSS) was the Team Excellence Award.  This year the award went to the EWU Military Science Department that operates the university’s U.S. Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program.  Over the past year the ROTC program known as the “Fighting Eagles” battalion has trained up to 100 Cadets and commissioned 12 of them as Second Lieutenants into the U.S. Army.  The ROTC battalion also hosted the first ever German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge (GAFPB) competition on the Eastern campus, executed a number of volunteer events in the community, and their Cadets received ratings above the Cadet Command average at the ROTC Advanced Camp.

From Left: Major Nicholas Carbaugh, Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Stafford, Mr. Jeff Greer, Sergeant First Class David Ratliff, Mr. Rob Riedel.


The Military Science Department also had personnel receive prestigious individual recognition over the past year.  Sergeant First Class Jason Hennig was recognized as the Cadet Command Instructor of the Year and the Spokane Armed Forces Person of the Year, and Ms. Linda Moody was recognized as the Cadet Command Human Resources Administrator of the Year.  The EWU Military Science Department was the only university in the nation to win two Cadet Command annual awards.  Cadets in the program also won personal recognition, with one winning a EWU Student Leader Excellence Award and the other receiving the City of Cheney Award for their volunteer service.  Another Cadet was awarded the prestigious Chertok Scholarship from the College of Social Sciences this year.

Thank you to the College of Social Sciences for recognizing the Military Science Department with this award.

Eastern Washington University ROTC Cadet Awarded the Prestigious Chertok Memorial Scholarship

It is university award season and for one Eastern Washington University (EWU) Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Cadet, his outstanding performance was recognized by being selected for the Jeffers Chertok Memorial Scholarship. The Chertok Scholarship is given to deserving College of Social Science (CSS) students between their Junior and Senior years of college.  Cadet Chad Triplett was one of two CSS students selected for the scholarship this year that provides funding towards his senior year college tuition.


The scholarship was created to honor the life of Professor Jeffers W. Chertok, PhD, who worked at EWU for more than 34 years.  He was well known on campus for his scholarship, generosity and passion for Eastern.  Dr. Chertok passed away in 2004, but his legacy towards EWU continues with this scholarship.

Cadet Chad Triplett (right) is pictured with Dr. Jonathan Anderson the Dean of the College of Social Sciences after being recognized as one of the two recipients of the Jeffers Chertok Memorial Scholarship.


Chad Triplett is definitely a CSS student that Dr. Chertok would be proud of.  Chad is a Criminal Justice major who has maintained a high GPA, scored a perfect 300 on his Army Physical Fitness Test, was part of the university’s Ranger Challenge team, was awarded a Gold German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge, and active in volunteer activities in the community.

Cadet Chad Triplett


In addition to his college activities, this summer Cadet Triplett is attending ROTC Advanced Camp at Ft. Knox, Kentucky which is Cadet Command’s premier training event.  Following Advanced Camp Cadet Triplett will then be heading off to Ft. Benning, Georgia to attend the U.S. Army’s Airborne School where he will train to be a paratrooper.  Congratulations to Cadet Triplett and thank you to the College of Social Sciences for selecting Chad as a recipient of the prestigious Jeffers Chertok Memorial Scholarship.