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!
Eastern Washington University
Fighting Eagles Cadet Receives ROTC Scholarship Worth Over $90,000
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/
EWU Army ROTC Alum Becomes First to Earn the Expert Soldier Badge
2019 Eastern Washington University (EWU) graduate 2nd Lieutenant (2LT) Haley Isaacson became the first reported alum from the university’s Army ROTC program to be awarded the Expert Soldier Badge during testing held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), Washington.
In effort to improve the tactical skills of Soldiers and increase individual and unit readiness, the U.S. Army in Fall 2019 created the new Expert Solider Badge (ESB). To qualify to take the ESB test, Soldiers must first pass the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), qualify “Expert” on the M4 or M16 rifle, and be recommended by their chain of command. During the five day test the participants have to again take the ACFT, conduct day & night land navigation courses, and be tested on their Warrior Tasks and Drills that include:
- Building fighting positions
- Search an Enemy Prisoner of War
- Reacting to an improvised explosive device (IED) attack
- React to chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear contaminated areas
- Weapons proficiency lanes
- Patrolling
- Conducting a nine-line medical evacuation and many other skills
After completing the Warrior and Tasks and drill testing, the participants then need to complete a 12-mile ruck march in under 3 hours. Standards for the ESB are age and gender neutral. In October 2019, the Army conducted its first ESB testing where only 11 of 56 soldiers passed. During testing in November 2019 only 3 out of 100 soldiers passed which demonstrates the difficulty of receiving this badge. During June 2020 testing at JBLM, 2LT Isaacson was one of only 39 soldiers at JBLM to pass the test held at JBLM from June 22-26. Major General Xavier T. Brunson and Command Sergeant Major Robin Bolmer, the 7th Infantry Division Command team recognized all the competitors that earned their badge during an award ceremony.
2LT Isaacson was a Distinguished Military Graduate from EWU’s Army ROTC program in 2019. She currently serves as a Military Intelligence officer in the 2-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team at JBLM. Here is what 2LT Isaacson had to say when asked about any advice she would like to give to EWU Army ROTC Cadets interested in competing for the Expert Soldier Badge in the future:
The ESB is something that challenges you physically and mentally with its 34 stations and a final 12-mile ruck march. It is something that you should go after early in your career to set you apart from your peers. You get the chance to train alongside infantry personnel who are competing for the Expert Infantryman Badge (EIB) where about 80% of the ESB stations are the same. It is a unique experience to work with soldiers you don’t work with on a day to day basis. Receiving this is very rewarding especially when you’ve been training for it for about a month.
Hard work pays off, Go Eags🦅!
EWU Army ROTC congratulates 2LT Isaacson on her accomplishment. She has definitely shown that she is Eagle Strong!
EWU Army ROTC Cadet Receives Prestigious Award from the Society of American Military Engineers
The Eastern Washington University Army ROTC, “Fighting Eagles” battalion is pleased to announce that Cadet, Christian Goldbach was selected for the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) ROTC Award of Merit.
This award was established to annually recognize outstanding engineering Cadets across the nation. The SAME ROTC Award of Merit is a bronze medal that was first authorized for Cadets back in 1948. To be eligible for the award Cadets had to be a junior or senior engineering student, be in the Top 25 percent of the engineering class, in the Top 25 percent of their ROTC class, and display exceptional leadership skills. Cadet Goldbach was 1 of the 20 Cadets selected nationwide for the award from the country’s 274 ROTC programs.
Christian is a Mechanical Engineering major entering his final year at Eastern. Besides excelling academically he has also been a four year member of the university’s Ranger Challenge team and regularly achieves the maximum score on the Army Physical Fitness Test. He further displayed his high level of fitness by earning the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge. The badge is one of the few foreign service awards authorized for wear on U.S. military uniforms. He has been part of the Color Guard and Cannon Crew that support EWU’s sporting teams as well. He was also selected for a military exchange program where he spent the summer at the Escuela Militar de Chorrillos, Peru’s version of West Point located in the capitol city of Lima.
Congratulations to Cadet Goldbach for earning this prestigious award.
Go ROTC! Go Fighting Eags!
How to Apply for a 2021 ROTC National High School Scholarship
The 2021 Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) National Scholarship season began on June 12, 2020. Army ROTC National Scholarships are for qualified high school seniors planning to attend a four-year university and are interested in training to become a future officer in the U.S. Army. If you have already graduated high school please contact the Eastern Washington University (EWU) ROTC office because we have other scholarship options available.
EWU ROTC Cadets from the class of 2019 commission as officers into the U.S. Army.
ROTC National Scholarship Requirements
- Be a U.S. citizen
- Be between the ages of 17 and 26
- Have a high school GPA of at least 2.50
- Have a high school diploma or equivalent
- Score a minimum of 1000 on the SAT (math/verbal) or 19 on the ACT (excluding the required writing test scores)
- Meet physical standards
- Agree to accept a commission and serve in the Army on Active Duty or in a Reserve Component (Army Reserve or Army National Guard)
If you meet the basic requirements, below are the instructions on how to apply for a ROTC National Scholarship. You can get about 75% of the application completed in under an hour.
ROTC National Scholarship Process:
Step #1: You need to complete an on-line application that you can access through this link. Applicants must initiate the on-line application by 4 February 2020. Remember your login and password for your cadet portal. Your login is the email you use to establish your account.
Step #2: Submit high school transcripts (at least through junior year) and SAT or ACT scores. You can upload PDFs through your account in the Cadet portal.
Step #3: Take the ROTC Basic Fitness Test. A coach or PE teacher can administer this for you.
Step #4: Conduct an interview at one of the university ROTC programs (ideally where your first choice of college is). We can do this any time here at Eastern after you start the on-line application. We are more than willing to conduct a Skype interview if you live several hours away. Please reach us through our Contact page or call 509-359-6110 to setup an interview.
Make sure to read the below articles to help you with the ROTC scholarship process:
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10 Tips for a Successful Army ROTC National Scholarship Application
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Top 10 Reasons to Join ROTC
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U.S. Army’s March 2 Success Program Helps Students Prepare for the SAT and ACT
ROTC National Scholarship Timeline
The Army understands high school students could still be in the process of taking SATs and ACTs during their senior year. Because of this the Army has three different boards that meet throughout the year to select ROTC scholarship winners. Below is the board timeline.
1st Board
09 October 2020: All four steps listed above must be completed on the GoArmy site before this date to be considered by the first board. The application will not be considered if any of the steps are not completed. A benefit of completing the ROTC packet in time for the first board is that even if your packet is not selected it will be looked at again by the second and third boards thus increasing your chances of receiving a scholarship.
19 October 2020: This is the date that the first board convenes and reviews every packet that was submitted by the 09 October 2020 deadline.
2nd Board
15 January 2021: All four steps listed above must be completed on the GoArmy site before this date to be considered by the second board. The application will not be considered if any of the steps are not completed. A benefit of completing the ROTC packet in time for the second board is that even if your packet is not selected it will be looked at again by the third board thus increasing your chances of receiving a scholarship.
25 January 2021: This is the date that the second board convenes and reviews every packet that was submitted by the 15 January 2021 deadline.
4 February 2021: This is the deadline to initiate new 2019-2020 ROTC scholarship applications. If an application is not initiated by1159pm EST it will not be considered by the final board. Those who already have an application open can continue to modify it passed this deadline.
3rd Board
05 March 2021: All four steps listed above must be completed on the GoArmy site before this date to be considered by the third board. The application will not be considered if any of the steps are not completed.
15 March 2021: Board convenes and runs until every packet that was board ready by the start of the board, has been reviewed.
Please view the below video for more information about submitting an ROTC scholarship application.
ROTC Scholarship Selection
Selection for ROTC scholarships are highly competitive and at EWU ROTC we recommend getting your application complete and seen in time for the second board. The majority of scholarships are issued from the second and third boards and getting the application complete by the second board will increase your chances of receiving a scholarship. Decisions on the scholarships awarded are usually released two to four weeks after each board. Periodically check the Selection Status tab on your GoArmy application to see if you were selected.
An ROTC National Scholarship recipient to Eastern Washington University received scholarship benefits worth $77,000.
If you were not selected after the third board do not give up hope of receiving a scholarship. There is a secondary process for applicants to earn a scholarship. Any ROTC program can make an alternate offer to applicants that were not offered a national award. We get most of our new, incoming freshman on scholarships using this alternate process. Applying for the national scholarship is simply the first step. It is very simple and easy for us to make an alternate offer, but you first have to put together the ROTC application.
Please contact the EWU ROTC office for any additional details about how the scholarship selection process works.
Follow EWU ROTC
Keep up-to-date on all the latest news and notes from the EWU ROTC program and Cadet Command in general by subscribing to our website using the sign up widget in the right sidebar. You can also follow EWU ROTC at the below social media channels:
Remember if you have any questions about the ROTC National Scholarship process, please leave a comment, contact our office, or reach out to us through our social media sites. We are here to help and want you to be as successful as possible to receive an Army ROTC scholarship.
Go ROTC! Go Fighting Eags!
