EWU Army ROTC Cadet Receives the Major General Barbara R. Holcomb Nurse Cadet Excellence Award

The Eastern Washington University (EWU) Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program is pleased to announce that Kylie Crooks has been awarded the Major General (MG) Barbara R. Holcomb Nurse Cadet Excellence Award.  The award recognizes the top nursing Cadet in the 8th ROTC Brigade that covers the 30 different ROTC programs across the west coast of the United States to include major universities such as USC, UCLA, Oregon, Washington, Washington St. etc.  MG Barbara Holcomb is a 1987 graduate from the Seattle University’s ROTC program and the former Chief of the Army Nurse Corps.  She retired from active duty last year and established this award to recognize nursing excellence in the brigade.

Kylie Crooks
EWU Army ROTC Cadet, Kylie Crooks.

Cadet Crooks is studying nursing and is on pace to graduate with honors.  She has also demonstrated a high level of physical fitness by scoring above 90 points on each event of the Army Physical Fitness Test.  She has further demonstrated her fitness by receiving a Gold German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge (GAFPB) during testing held by German Army officials at EWU.  She was also selected for a Randy Van Turner ROTC Scholarship that is currently paying her full tuition.  Kylie last summer completed ROTC Advanced Camp at Ft. Knox, Kentucky where she received the highest rating of “Outstanding”.  Besides being a Cadet, Kylie also serves as a watercraft engineer in the U.S. Army Reserve’s 467th Transportation Company.

After graduating from EWU and the Washington State University College of Nursing in December 2020, Kylie will commission as an officer into the U.S. Army Nurse Corps.  She will then attend basic officer training and be assigned to an Army hospital where she hopes to specialize in being an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurse.  She also has a long term goal of pursing a Doctorate Nurse Practitioner in the future. EWU Army ROTC wishes Cadet Crooks all the best in her future endeavors and congratulate her for receiving this prestigious award.

Cadet Crooks
Cadet Crooks after completing a 12-mile ruck march.

Is Army Nursing for You?

Any EWU student who wants to be a healthcare professional and has an interest in serving their country should consider Army nursing.  If you are not sure if the Army is for you, ROTC is the one way to explore military service with no obligation to join.  Our nursing Cadets complete their first two to three years of Nursing and ROTC pre-requisites on Eastern’s Cheney campus. The nursing Cadets then complete their final two years at the Washington State University (WSU) College of Nursing in downtown Spokane.  The WSU College of Nursing reserves seats in each class for ROTC Nurses that achieve their admissions standards.  To qualify for one of the reserved nursing seats you must make the decision to contract into ROTC by then.

EWU Army ROTC currently has the largest Cadet nursing program in Washington State and the Inland Northwest.  We have a proven track record of our nursing Cadets receiving scholarships and going on to become healthcare professionals in service to our nation.  You can learn more about our nursing program at this link and feel free to contact us at this link with any questions.

Go ROTC!  Go Army Nursing!

Fighting Eagles Battalion Holds Contracting Ceremony for Army ROTC Nursing Scholarship Winner

olivia roble

This week the Eastern Washington University (EWU) Army ROTC battalion conducted a contracting ceremony for Cadet (CDT) Olivia Roble.  CDT Roble is a second year Cadet at EWU who is originally from Auburn, Washington. In high school CDT Roble applied for an Army ROTC National Scholarship to help her achieve her dream of becoming a nurse. CDT Roble was selected for a National Scholarship that will pay for four of the five years required for a nursing degree.  After finishing her first year at EWU, she became eligible this year to contract into the U.S. Army and activate her scholarship benefits.

Contracting Ceremony
EWU Army ROTC Cadet Olivia Roble, (right) prepares to take the Oath of Enlistment administered by Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Stafford (left).

During the ceremony Cadet Roble was given the Oath of Enlistment by Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Stafford, the Professor of Military Science for the EWU Army ROTC program.

Olivia Roble
EWU Army ROTC Cadet, Olivia Roble takes the Oath of Enlistment.

The contracting ceremony was a special moment for CDT Roble since her dad, a retired Coast Guard veteran was on hand for the event.  After taking the Oath of Enlistment, her father placed the EWU patch on her right shoulder sleeve signifying her as being a contracted Cadet.

contracting ceremony hug
EWU Army ROTC Cadet, Olivia Roble receives a hug from her father after contracting into the U.S. Army to become a nurse.

Contracting into Army ROTC activated CDT Roble’s scholarship benefits which include:

  • Full tuition and mandatory fees (or $10,000 annually for room & board)
  • $1,200 annually for books and supplies
  • A monthly stipend of $420
  • Ability to apply for Army sponsored internships
  • Opportunity to attend advanced military training
congratulations
EWU Army ROTC Cadet, Oliva Roble (center) is contracted for contracting into the Army by fellow Cadets, Cierra Neumann (left) and Isabell Pannell (right).

Cadet Roble is part of the largest Army ROTC nursing program in Washington State and the Inland Northwest. If you want to become a future Army nurse like Cadet Roble, EWU ROTC can help get you there.  We have scholarships available to qualified applicants.  You can read more about how to become an Army nurse by clicking the below tab or contacting the Army ROTC office at rotc@ewu.edu .

Army Nursing

Go Army Nursing!  Go Fighting Eags!

U.S. Army’s March 2 Success Program Helps Students Prepare for the SAT and ACT

One of the main criteria for the awarding of ROTC scholarships is that applicants must demonstrate strong academic potential.  Applying for an ROTC scholarship requires applicant to have minimum academic credentials of:

  • Having a high school GPA of at least 2.50
  • Score a minimum of 1000 on the SAT (math/verbal) or 19 on the ACT

Of course having academic credentials that far exceed the minimums will make you more competitive for an ROTC scholarship.  Some people may hire tutors or buy expensive software to improve to improve their ACT or SAT scores.  The U.S. Army has now offered its own free alternative to help students prepare for these and other tests.  The program is called March 2 Success which is a website that gives users free access to online study materials the improve their standardized test scores.  These standardized exams includes state exit exams, college entrance exams, the military entrance exam (ASVAB) and others.

The website provides self-paced study in the subjects of Math, English, and Science for high school aged students.  The program even offers a pre-assessment test that is used to generate a custom learning path for each student.  The program also 7 full-length practice tests for both the SAT and ACT that is timed and scored similar to the real test.  The program also has decks of flashcards to help students study for the SAT and ACT.

Learn more about March 2 Success and improve your chances of receiving an ROTC scholarship at the below link:

Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity Awards Scholarship to EWU Army ROTC Cadet

The Eastern Washington University (EWU) “Fighting Eagles” Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) battalion is pleased to announce that Cadet James P. Dutton has been awarded a 2019 Randy Van Turner ROTC Scholarship.

The scholarship is in honor of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity’s EWU chapter co-founder First Lieutenant Randy Van Turner.  Randy was a 1968 graduate from the EWU ROTC program who was a recipient of the Silver Star and was killed in action in 1969 during the Vietnam War.  His fraternity brothers decided to honor his service by establishing an ROTC scholarship in his name.  The scholarship is awarded to EWU ROTC Cadets that demonstrate academic excellence, high physical fitness, leadership, and financial need. Through a board process, Cadet Dutton was chosen as the fourth Randy Van Turner ROTC Scholarship recipient this year.  He will receive one-year of paid tuition to EWU.

Cadet Dutton comes from a military family with his dad having spent 22 years in the U.S. Air Force.  He moved to Washington two years ago from Colorado to pursue a double major in Environmental Science and Biology at EWU.  James this past summer excelled at Basic Camp at Ft. Knox, Kentucky and is currently preparing to attend Advanced Camp next summer.  James’ goal is commission as an officer and pursue a career in Aviation in the Washington Army National Guard.  The Randy Van Turner ROTC Scholarship has helped lift the financial burden of paying for his college tuition over the next year so he can spend more time focusing on ROTC and pursuing his dream of becoming a pilot and a wildlife biologist.


Note: If you are interested in donating to the Randy Van Turner ROTC Scholarship please contact the EWU Foundation at 509-359-6703 for more information.

EWU ROTC Cadet Receives 2019 Randy Van Turner ROTC Scholarship

The 2019 Randy Van Turner ROTC Scholarship was issued this week to Cadet Kylie Crooks.  Kylie is an incoming MS-IV Cadet with the Eastern Washington University (EWU) Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program.  The scholarship is in honor of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity’s EWU chapter co-founder First Lieutenant Randy Turner.  Randy was a 1968 graduate from the EWU ROTC program who was a recipient of the Silver Star and was killed in action in 1969 during the Vietnam War.

Cadet Kylie Crooks (center) is pictured with members of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity and the EWU Professor of Military Science.


This year his fraternity brothers decided to honor his service by establishing an ROTC scholarship program.  The scholarship is awarded to EWU ROTC Cadets that demonstrate academic excellence, high physical fitness, leadership, and financial need.  Through a board process, Cadet Crooks was chosen as our second 2019 Randy Van Turner ROTC Scholarship recipient.  Cadet Crooks is studying nursing and is on pace to graduate with honors.  She has also shown a high level of physical fitness by scoring a maximum 300 on her Army Physical Fitness Test.

Kylie also recently completed ROTC Advanced Camp where she received the highest rating of “Outstanding”.  Besides being a Cadet, Kylie also serves as a watercraft engineer in the U.S. Army Reserve’s 467th Transportation Company.

Cadet Crooks after completing a 12-mile road march.


The scholarship worth $7,545 will pay her full tuition next year as she pursues her nursing degree and a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army.  Congratulations to Cadet Crooks for being awarded the Randy Van Turner ROTC Scholarship and a big thank you to Pi Kappa Alpha for sponsoring this scholarship in support of our outstanding EWU ROTC Cadets.

Go ROTC!  Go Fighting Eags!