Eastern Washington University
This picture I found dated as being from 1983, shows Cadets out in the field preparing chickens to be cooked. Are there any alumni from 1983 that remember conducting this training?
By the way if anyone is wondering, no, we no longer do this training.
Eastern Washington University (EWU) student and ROTC Cadet Nicholas Null, has been selected as a finalist for the Harry Truman Scholarship. Cadet Null was one of five college students selected from Washington State as a finalist for the scholarship. Cadet Null is a MS-III (junior) Cadet in the university’s Fighting Eagles ROTC battalion.
Cadet Nicholas Null
The Harry Truman Foundation was created by Congress in 1975 based on the original idea from President Truman of having a scholarship that would support future generations who answer the call to public service. Public service by becoming an Army officer is what Cadet Null is currently working towards in the EWU ROTC program. However, becoming a military lawyer is Cadet Null’s ultimate goal and receiving this scholarship will bring him one step closer to attending law school as a graduate student.
Next up for Cadet Null is that he will be interviewed at a Harry Truman Foundation office in Seattle next month along with other Finalists from the Pacific Northwest. The Finalists with the best interviews will be offered a scholarship to attend a graduate school of their choice. The Fighting Eagles are very proud of Cadet Null being selected as a Finalist and wish him all the best next month as he conducts his final interviews to compete for the scholarship.
From 11-13 February 2019, the top ROTC Cadets from all 274 ROTC programs across the nation and the US Military Academy at West Point traveled to Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas to attend the George C. Marshall Leadership Seminar. Cadet Bryce Stanton from Eastern Washington University (EWU) represented the university’s Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) “Fighting Eagles” Battalion at the seminar. Cadet Stanton is an MS-IV (senior) Cadet that was chosen to attend the seminar after ranking first on the ROTC battalion’s Order of Merit List (OML). The OML is based on the Cadet’s academic performance, physical fitness test score, leadership, and achievements in the ROTC program.
Cadet Bryce Stanton at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas.
The George C. Marshall Leadership Seminar has been held annually since 1978. The seminar was originally held in Lexington, Virginia because Virginia Military Institute (VMI) was the alma mater of General George C. Marshall. Marshall as the Army Chief of Staff, grew the U.S. armed services from about 170,000 to more than eight million by the end of World War II. After the war, Gen. Marshall became the U.S. Secretary of State who formulated the famous “Marshall Plan” to reconstruct Western Europe.
The George C. Marshall Leadership Seminar was held in the Eisenhower Auditorium at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. (Cadet Command Photo)
During the seminar Cadets attended briefs and took part in round-table discussions with Army and defense experts on critical military and geopolitical subjects. The seminar was truly a unique opportunity for the Cadets to interact with senior civilian and military leaders.
Cadet Bryce Stanton (left) at the icebreaker for the George C. Marshall Leadership Seminar. (Cadet Command Photo)
The opening remarks for the seminar were given by Major General John R. Evans, Jr. the commanding general of the U.S. Army Cadet Command. In his remarks Maj. Gen. Evans challenged the Cadets to “Find their Fox” in reference to Major General Fox Connor. Maj. Gen. Connor is considered one of the greatest mentors in U.S. military history.
Major General Fox Connor
He is credited with mentoring many great future general officers to include General George C. Marshall. Here is what General Dwight D. Eisenhower had to say about Maj. Gen. Connor:
General Dwight D. Eisenhower served under, commanded, or worked closely with, GENs John J. Pershing, Douglas MacArthur, George C. Marshall, Omar N. Bradley, George S. Patton, Jr., and Walter Bedell Smith. However, when Eisenhower was asked who was the greatest American soldier he knew, he replied MG Fox Conner, adding, “In sheer ability and character, he was the outstanding soldier of my time.” [Army History.org]
I highly recommend listening to Maj. Gen. Evan’s opening remarks below and likewise encourage everyone to find their own Fox as well:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N9gVz6CY5E]
Finally during the seminar, the Cadets broke into small groups and were tasked with preparing briefings on various topics that were then presented to one of the eight ROTC brigade commanders. These briefings trained the Cadets to think critically on topics important to modern day military operations.
Cadet Bryce Stanton (far left) participates in small group activities at the George C. Marshall Leadership Seminar. (Cadet Command Photo)
Congratulations to Cadet Stanton for being selected to attend the George C. Marshall Leadership Seminar. It is a prestigious honor that only the top Cadets in the nation get to attend. Cadet Stanton’s academic achievements and his outstanding performance in ROTC have clearly demonstrated that he is one of the top Cadets in the nation that proudly represented EWU and the Fighting Eagles Battalion at the seminar.
School was closed today at Eastern Washington University (EWU) due to the approximately 6 inches of snow that fell around the Cheney area. All the snow made driving around Cheney challenging, but it sure made the university look more scenic than usual.
There is more snow on the way tonight for the Spokane area, but in the meantime enjoy the below pictures from around today’s nearly deserted EWU campus:
Picture of the front of Cadet Hall.
Our ROTC pickup truck covered in snow.
Cadet Hall covered in heavy snow.
Wall course below Cadet Hall.
The Computer and Engineering Building located adjacent to Cadet Hall.
The main pathway through the EWU campus.
The historic school house located on the EWU campus
Snow accumulated on a table in front of Patterson Hall.
Snow piled up in front of Roos Field.
On February, 7 2019, the Eastern Washington University (EWU) ROTC battalion conducted its weekly leadership lab at John F. Kennedy (JFK) Field. The temperatures were well below freezing, but this did not stop the Fighting Eagles Battalion Cadets from executing an outstanding leadership lab. This week Cadets went over how to properly execute movement formations and techniques and how to cross a linear danger area (LDA) in squad size elements. After first formation, the officer in charge (OIC) Cadet Ryan Smith, gave an overview brief of the sequences of events for the lab before releasing each platoon to their assigned stations.
Cadet Haley Bent (center) instructs Cadets on proper movement formations.
At each station there was one senior Cadet (MS-IV) assisting and evaluating the squads in each platoon on proper movement techniques. Each platoon started out with movement formations where their MS-IV Cadet showed them how that station should be done. This allowed the junior (MS-III) Cadets an opportunity to see what the performance standards on how the training should look if properly executed. The first station the platoons executed and were evaluated on was movement formations. The movement formations consisted of a wedge, line and file formations. These formations are used in different terrains so that personnel can more easily move through it while maintaining security.
EWU ROTC Cadets practice how to conduct a wedge formation in front of the EWU Computer and Engineering building.
After movement formations, the Cadets then trained and tested on movement techniques. The techniques Cadets executed were “traveling”, which allows personnel to move at a faster pace, but has the least security. The next technique was “traveling over watch”, which is a slower pace than traveling, but provides better security. Finally “bounding over watch” which is when personnel move at a slower pace, but it provides the best security.
Cadet Tyler Roylance (center) provides instruction on how to execute proper movement techniques.
The last training objective that the Cadets executed was a Linear Danger Area (LDA) crossing. This technique is used when personnel are moving towards an objective and have to get across any road or linear area safely. LDA crossings consist of setting up security on both sides of the road, then having the other side of the road secured before the rest of the element crosses the road.
Cadet Megan Anderson (left) trains Cadets during the weekly leadership lab at JFK Field.
After completing each station, the Cadets had an after action report (AAR), that allowed the MS-IV to brief the MS-III Cadets on how their squads performed. Each MS-III was graded at the station with quantifiable performance measures. This helped Cadets know what they need to work on the next time they ran through that station again. The lab ended when all the squads were able to pass the evaluation for each station. The skills trained on during the lab further builds the basic solider knowledge for the Cadets as they prepare for the Winter FTX next month.
The Eastern Washington University (EWU) ROTC “Fighting Eagles” Battalion had the honor of hosting the 8th ROTC Brigade Command Sergeant Major, CSM Mark Cashman. As the senior non-commissioned officer (NCO) in the 8th ROTC Brigade, CSM Cashman is responsible for providing mentorship to the brigade’s NCOs and Cadets in 30 different ROTC battalions in the western United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Guam. Being a career Infantryman, CSM Cashman looked forward to starting his day by doing early morning physical training (PT) with the Fighting Eagles Cadets in the EWU Fieldhouse. CSM Cashman showed the Cadets what true leadership is by putting in hard work at PT and then hosting a question and answer session with the Cadets afterwards.
CSM Mark Cashman (center) conducted physical training with the EWU ROTC “Fighting Eagle” Cadets.
Later that morning, CSM Cashman met with one of our great ROTC partners on campus, the Dean of the College of Social Sciences (CSS), Dr. Jonathan Anderson. Dr. Anderson was presented with a 8th ROTC Brigade coin by CSM Cashman due to the support he has provided the university’s ROTC program over the years. The visit with Dean Anderson also allowed CSM Cashman an opportunity to see the beautiful EWU campus.
8th ROTC Brigade Coin
Later that day CSM Cashman was able to sit in on a class with the MS-III (3rd year) Cadets, attend a luncheon with a sub-set of Cadets from the battalion, followed by attending the weekly leadership laboratory at John F. Kennedy (JFK) Field. During the lab the Cadets trained on how to conduct what the Army calls “special teams”. The special teams lab taught the Cadets how to execute aid and litter, perform Enemy Prisoner of War (EPW) procedures, and conducting site exploitation.
EWU ROTC Cadets Collin Galbreath (left) and Ian House (right) participate Special Teams training.
At first formation, the officer in charge of the training, Cadet Tyler Roylance briefed the unit on what they will be conducting during the lab. After the brief the Cadets split up in their respective platoons and went to their assigned stations. At each station there were two senior Cadets to demonstrate what they will be doing at their station. This allowed the more junior Cadets an opportunity to see what the performance standards were for the station and how the training should look if properly executed. Every cadet was given the performance measures a week prior to lab so they were able to train on their own in preparation for the lab.
EWU ROTC Cadets participate in the weekly leadership lab training.
The first station conducted was aid and litter training. At this station Cadets had to conduct life saving measures on a simulated casualty that had fallen in combat. They had to treat the casualty’s injures so they could be moved to safer location and be evacuated to a simulated helicopter MEDEVAC (Medical Evacuation). Once the casualty was moved to a different location the Cadets had to call up a MEDEVAC order known as a 9-Line, which they had learned at the prior week’s lab. The next station was EPW training, where Cadets learned how to search captured enemy combatants. The training focused on how to search the person for any information they may have on them, while making sure they had 360 degree security so that they were not in any immediate danger.
Cadet Marcos Sanchez communicates a medical evacuation during the weekly leadership lab.
The final station was site exploitation. This station was where Cadets were trained on how to look for vital information and enemy equipment on the objective after they had secured the area. This trained Cadets to thoroughly search for any sensitive information or equipment such as maps, explosives, etc. The training is important because it teaches the Cadets how to handle these sensitive items and properly report it up the chain of command in case it could be useful for future operations. Overall the lab’s training allowed Cadets to better their skills in special teams, which is always used after any engagement they encounter in squad operations.
After the conclusion of the lab a short award ceremony was held to recognize some of the battalion’s outstanding Cadets. First the top two squad leaders from the leadership lab training were recognized with a commander’s coin from the EWU ROTC Professor of Military Science Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Jonathan Stafford. Cadets Hunter Smith and Christian Goldbach received the highest total scores from the evaluators located at each station and were this week’s “Heroes of the Lab”.
Cadets Hunter Smith (left) and Christian Goldback (right).
Additionally during the award ceremony CSM Cashman recognized three high achieving Cadets with an 8th ROTC Brigade coin. The recipients were Madelynn Woodland who is a highly motivated first year Cadet, Jameson Palmer who is a third year Cadet who has been doing a phenomenal job as the Fighting Eagles First Sergeant, and fourth year Cadet Megan Anderson who has excelled at managing the battalion’s training activities each week.
CSM Mark Cashman (far left) recognizes Cadets Madelynn Woodland (2nd from left), Jameson Palmer (center) and Megan Anderson (right).
EWU ROTC thanks CSM Cashman for taking the time to visit the great Cadets of the Fighting Eagles battalion. The Cadets had a fantastic day hosting and receiving mentorship from one of the most senior leaders in Cadet Command. Leaders make time for things that are important and visiting the brigade’s Cadets is a major priority for CSM Cashman.
Go ROTC! Go Fighting Eagles!
Register to Vote
© 2024 INSIDE.EWU.EDU