Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia Army ROTC Bulldog Battalion recently held a ceremony for 14 cadets who were commissioned as second lieutenants and have been sent to various military units throughout the country for officer training and then possible deployment with their first unit.
“The University of Georgia Army ROTC program has a reputation of training and producing top military officer candidates,” said Lt. Col. Kurt Felpel, commander of the Bulldog Battalion and professor of military science at UGA. “This class was no exception. Our sole mission is to produce quality leaders for the U.S. Army, and we succeeded in doing that with these officers.”
Of this year’s 2012 graduating class, seven cadets received distinguished military graduate status, which is the academic classification for the top 10 percent of cadets nationally; 12 cadets received active military duty; one received National Guard orders; and one received a U.S. Army Reserve assignment. The average grade point average for the class was 3.45.
The second lieutenants, their hometowns, active duty commission and the location of their basic training are:
Slade M. Barron, Dalton
Transportation Corps
Fort Lee, Va.
Dave M. Campbell, Lawrenceville
Military Intelligence
Fort Huachuca, Ariz.
Nick A. Coleman, Dacula
Military Intelligence, Field Artillery Detail
Fort Sill, Okla.
Collin S. deCamp, Charlottesville, Va.
Field Artillery
Fort Sill, Okla.
Chris W. Farran, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Quartermaster Corps
Fort Lee, Va.
Stephen R. Hanley, Lawrenceville
Field Artillery
Fort Sill, Okla.
Chris Iannacone, Lawrenceville
Military Intelligence
Fort Huachuca, Ariz.
Matthew C. Lustig, Berkeley Lake
Medical Service Corps, Georgia National Guard
Medical College of Georgia
Aaron D. Mathys, Kabetogama Lake, Minn.
Corps of Engineers
Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
Graham A. Painter, Hull
Infantry
Fort Benning, Ga.
Ben Pereski, Ringgold
Military Intelligence, Army Reserves
Fort Huachuca, Ariz.
Angela V. Pocta, Augusta
Signal Corps
Fort Gordon, Ga.
Nick A. Trevena, Peachtree City
Military Intelligence, Infantry Detail
Fort Benning, Ga.
Austen M. Turner, Cartersville
Ordnance Corps
Fort Lee, Va.
Lt. Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, commanding general of the Third Army/U.S. Army Central, swore in the cadets as second lieutenants and delivered the commissioning ceremony’s keynote address. During his presentation, Brooks advised the 14 officers to employ three “Ls” as they transition into the next phase of their military career: lead, learn and listen.
Brooks’ command maintains administrative control over all U.S. Army forces in a 20-country region stretching between Egypt and Kazakhstan. The Third Army/U.S. Army Central has supported the operations in Iraq and played a key role in the final reduction of U.S. forces after nine years of operations. Brooks took command of the Third Army and Army Forces Central on June 3, 2011, and relocated the headquarters of the command to its new home base at Shaw Air Force Base near Sumter, S.C., with portions of the command continuously deployed to the Middle East countries of Kuwait, Qatar and Afghanistan.
According to Felpel, eligible Bulldog Battalion cadets must be medically qualified, pass an Army physical fitness test, maintain a 2.0 minimum grade point average, and pass the Army height and weight standards. Freshman and sophomore cadets take basic ROTC courses and make a decision to contract with the Army during this time period. If they choose to become a contracted cadet, they will participate in advanced ROTC leadership and assessment programs. Upon graduation from UGA in good standing, the cadets are elevated to the rank of second lieutenant and are commissioned to serve the Army for four years of active duty and four years of individual ready reserve or eight years of National Guard or Reserves duty.
A unit of the UGA Office of the Vice President for Instruction, Bulldog Battalion is one of the oldest ROTC programs in the nation. While a military-education presence has been evident since the establishment of classes on the UGA campus in 1801, Army ROTC became official on June 30, 1919. More than 20 U.S. generals began their military career with the Bulldog Battalion.
For more information, see http://www.armyrotc.uga.edu/.
##