EWU – Page 26 – EWU Army ROTC

Eastern Washington University Celebrates Its 137th Anniversary

04/03/2019 by jstafford3

Today is the 137th anniversary of the opening of Eastern Washington University all the way back in 1882. Back then a donation of $10,000 by Benjamin P. Cheney allowed the school to open its doors to 200 students. At its opening the university was called the Benjamin P. Cheney Academy. A few years later in 1889, the academy changed its name to the State Normal School at Cheney. 1889 was the same year that Washington received its statehood. The college would go through a few more name changes over the years until 1977 when the state legislature officially named the campus Eastern Washington University.

Historical photo of the original Cheney campus.

Modern day Eastern Washington University Campus.

At its founding the university focused on education degrees for its initial 200 students. Since then EWU has expanded to approximately 12,000 students with multiple colleges with over 100 fields of study. One of the fields of study that students can pursue is Military Science. The EWU Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program has been teaching students military science and commissioning officers into the Army for 67 of the university’s 132 years. The future of the Fighting Eagles Battalion shines as bright as ever and will continue to be an important part of EWU history and developing leaders of character for service to our great Nation.

0730 – MS403 Class

05/27/201904/02/2019 by jstafford3

MS403 class for MS-IV students.

Eastern Washington University Ranked #4 By Field and Stream Magazine for Hunters and Anglers

03/29/2019 by jstafford3

According to Field and Stream magazine, Eastern Washington University is the 4th best university for Hunters and Anglers:

Eastern Washington University (EWU) sits roughly five miles north of Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, which is home to 18,000 acres of the Channeled Scabland. It’s a gateway to diverse terrain replete with coyotes, waterfowl, elk, turkey, and even black bears.

Eagles can get range time with the EWU Archery Club or go fishing with the EWU Fishing Club. [Field and Stream Magazine]

Fish Lake is located 5 miles from the EWU campus and is one of dozens of lakes in the Cheney area popular for fishing.

ROTC is a great way to experience the outdoors in the Cheney area. For example the Channeled Scablands terrain mentioned in the article is where we hold many of our leadership labs, our Expert Fighting Eagles Badge competition, and most recently our Winter Field Training exercise. Anyone looking to improve their hunting marksmanship should also consider signing up for the Basic Rifle Marksmanship class offered by EWU ROTC this Spring quarter

If you want to experience the outdoors attending EWU and joining the ROTC program is a great way to do it.

Go ROTC! Go Fighting Eags!

US Army Combat Studies Institute Conducts Staff Ride with EWU ROTC Cadets

03/22/2019 by jstafford3

On March 21, 2019 a team from the United States Army Combat Studies Institute conducted a staff ride with Cadets from the Eastern Washington University (EWU) Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program. A staff ride is an in-depth study of a historical campaign or battle. The intent of the staff ride is to educate participants on lessons learned from the battle. Typically a staff ride is conducted on the actual terrain of the battle. However, for a battle in a location such as Afghanistan, the US Army Combat Studies Institute conducts what are called Virtual Staff Rides.

Dr. Dan Jordan from the US Army Combat Studies Institute conducts a Virtual Staff Ride of the Battle of Wanat.

For a Virtual Staff Ride an Army historian using digital mapping technology is able to replicate the terrain from the battle without participants having to actually visit it. Conducting a staff ride is a commissioning requirement for all ROTC Cadets. For the Virtual Staff Ride, 19 MS-IV Cadets from the EWU ROTC program nearing commissioning attended the event.

MS-IV Cadets from the EWU ROTC program participate in a Virtual Staff Ride.

The Virtual Staff Ride featured one of the deadliest days for the US Army in Afghanistan, the Battle of Wanat. The battle occurred on July 13, 2008 and featured an insurgent attack on US troops from the 173rd Airborne Brigade. After the battle 9 US paratroopers were dead and 27 more wounded. The battle featured many good small unit leadership lessons that the future US Army lieutenants in attendance were able to learn from.

EWU ROTC thanks Dr. Dan Jordan and Mr. Joe Gonzalez from the US Army Combat Studies Institute for executing a fantastic Virtual Staff Ride for our outstanding EWU ROTC Fighting Eagles Cadets.

EWU ROTC Throwback Thursday: 2nd Lieutenant Lawrence Bieber Commissions in 1969

03/21/2019 by jstafford3

Here is a old clipping from the Cheney Free Press that covered the 1969 commissioning of 2nd Lieutenant Lawrence Bieber. He was commissioned by Professor of Military Science Colonel Andy Pribnow. Back then Eastern Washington University (EWU) was called Eastern Washington State College. Do any of our alumni remember 2LT Bieber during their time at Eastern?

Eastern Washington ROTC Cadet Defends Capstone Project Focused on PTSD Treatment

03/08/2019 by jstafford3

Congratulations to Cadet Andrew Norby for successfully defending his Capstone Project today to members of the Eastern Washington University faculty.

Cadet Norby’s capstone was about how the drug MDMA combined with psychotherapy has the potential to help treat people that suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The EWU cadre and fellow Cadets that attended his presentation learned a lot about this topic that is important to veterans and first responders. Great job by Cadet Norby for researching and successfully defending his capstone project.