On January 21st, 2021 Eastern Washington University (EWU) Fighting Eagles Battalion Cadets conducted Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TC3) training. TC3 was created by the U.S. Department of Defense in order to teach soldiers life-saving techniques and strategies to be used on the battlefield or wherever necessary. Cadets will need to be proficient with these techniques when they become commissioned officers leading soldiers.
Fighting Eagles Cadets stand in formation as they prepare for the start of Leadership Lab.Cadet reacts to contact during TC3 training.
During the lab Cadets were first attacked by an opposing force (OPFOR) enemy. This forced to Cadets to practice their react to contact battle drills. The steps included returning fire, getting to cover and shouting the distance, direction and description of the enemy (three D’s). After the attack the Cadets then had to demonstrate the TC3 skills they learned to administer first aid to themselves or their buddy.
Cadets Chapple (left) and Kuhnel (right) evaluate a casualty.
As the winter quarter progresses, the Cadets will learn more squad level skills such as special teams, clearing objectives, handling of enemy prisoners of war, and performing aid and litter. All the skills learned during this quarter’s leadership labs will culminate in our Winter Field Training Exercise (FTX) in March.
On January 14, 2021 the Fighting Eagles Cadets from the Eastern Washington University Army ROTC program conducted their second leadership lab of the Winter Quarter, the Communications and Reporting Lab. During this training the Cadets were divided up into their three platoons in three different outdoor areas to mitigate COVID-19 infection. They also wore masks and socially distanced to further mitigate COVID spread during the training.
Cadets stand in formation before the start of training.Cadets prepare to start training.
The primary trainers for the lab were the MS-III (Junior) Cadets. The lab gave them practice preparing and executing the training plan for the MS-I (Freshman) and MS-II (Sophomore) Cadets.
MS-III Cadet, Olivia Roble was one of the primary trainers during the Communications and Reporting Lab.
During the lab, the EWU ROTC Cadets rotated through three stations where they received instruction on how to operate the ASIP radio, perform a SALUTE report, and a situation report (SITREP). During the first station each Cadet had the chance to put an ASIP radio together and set it up to the right channels and frequency to communicate with each other. In the SALUTE report station, Cadets were placed on a hill overlooking a mock scene replicating an enemy position. The Cadets then had to use proper SALUTE procedures to report what they saw at the enemy position to their higher headquarters.
MS-IV Cadet, Christopher Millward demonstrates how to use the ASIPS radio.
The last station the Cadets were trained on was the SITREP station. Cadets were taking the SALUTE report they created at the last station and formed it into a SITREP. This report provides for detailed information for the chain of command. A SITREP is used for giving the commander a report of what their unit is seeing. These stations are bettering the Cadets to use proper communication with the ASIP radio and what reports to use on the radio system.
MS-III Cadet, Zachary Becker low crawls and rights down surveillance information for his SALUTE report.
During the upcoming Winter quarter labs, the Cadets will learn additional skills in addition to radio reporting to prepare them for squad operations training. All the skills they are learning in the labs this quarter will culminate with executing the winter field training exercise (FTX) that is scheduled in March.
It was an auspicious start to the 2021 Winter Quarter with some nice sunrises seen over the campus of Eastern Washington University.
Cadet HallThe view across the EWU campus.The view over the Communications Building and southern Cheney.
ACFT
Before Cadets from the EWU Army ROTC “Fighting Eagles” battalion could see any sunrise, they had to get up early to take the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT). The ACFT was held under the bright lights shining on the Inferno at Roos Field. It is always a great experience for the Cadets to do physical training on the famous red turf of Eastern’s home football field.
Cadets conduct the hand release pushup event on the Inferno at Roos Field.
The ACFT is supposed to become the test of record for the U.S. Army within the next two years. The ACFT assesses Soldiers on six events:
Deadlift
Power Throw
Hand Release Pushups
Sprint-Drag-Carry
Leg Tuck
2-Mile Run
Unlike the prior Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), the ACFT is both age and gender neutral for scoring. Scoring instead of age and gender will be based on a Soldier’s job. Non-combat MOS’s have the lowest minimum standards while Combat Arms have the highest standards. EWU Army ROTC conducts ACFT testing every quarter to ensure Cadets can continue to assess their progress at improving in each event of this new test.
Leadership Lab
During the weekly leadership lab held each Thursday, the Fighting Eagles Cadets conducted a welcome back lab. During the lab the Cadets conducted icebreaker events to welcome new Cadets into the program. .
Cadets line up for first formation.Cadet Olivia Roble conducts icebreakers with her squad to welcome new Cadets.
After conducting these icebreakers they then conducted a review or upcoming training events and some initial skills training with the new Cadets.
Cadets conduct initial movement skills training.
After the lab the new Cadets began their process of receiving their initial entry gear from the Cadet Hall supply room. It was great to see a high number of new Cadets at lab and we hope they all have a great experience in ROTC. You can view more pictures from the lab on our EWU Army ROTC Flickr page.
On September 24, 2020 the Eastern Washington University (EWU) Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program contracted 6 Cadets into the U.S. Army. The Contracting Ceremony was held in front of the historic Showalter Hall on the EWU campus. Showalter Hall is the oldest building on EWU’s campus that was built back in 1915 when EWU was a teacher’s college. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the Contracting Ceremony was attending by a small number of Cadets and family members and masks and social distancing requirements were followed. Full video of the ceremony can be viewed below:
During the ceremony the 6 Cadets recited the Oath of Enlistment given to them by Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Stafford, the Professor of Military Science for the EWU Army ROTC program. The first Oath of Enlistment was developed during the Revolutionary War when the Continental Congress established different oaths for the enlisted men and officers of the Continental Army. The first Oath of Enlistment under the Constitution was approved by an Act of Congress on 29 September 1789. It applied to all commissioned officers, non-commissioned officers, and enlisted Soldiers in the United States military.
EWU Army ROTC Cadets, Isabell Pannell, Caleb Geringer, Nik Chapple, Charles Golding, Giovanni Beegen, and Kyle Collins stand in formation preparing to contract.Contracting Cadets salute the unfurling of the U.S. flag.Contracting ceremony officer in charge (OIC) Cadet Crystal Cruz turns over the formation to LTC Jonathan Stafford.
The oath would receive minor modifications during the 1800’s, but the current oath recited by the contracting Cadets has remained unchanged since 1959. Here is the current Oath of Enlistment:
“I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”
Cadets are given the Oath of Enlistment by LTC Jonathan Stafford.LTC Jonathan Stafford contracts 6 Cadets into EWU Army ROTC.
Following the reciting of the Oath of Enlistment, the 6 Cadets were then given their right shoulder sleeve EWU Army ROTC patch. The patch was presented by Master Sergeant Michael Zehring who explained the importance of the right shoulder sleeve patch that recognizes combat service in the active U.S. Army. In the EWU ROTC program the right should sleeve patch recognizes these Cadets’ commitment to serve their country by contracting into EWU ROTC.
Cadet Charles Golding proudly displays his EWU ROTC patch after contracting.
By contracting the Cadets can now activate scholarship benefits, receive a $420 a month monetary stipend, attend advanced training, internships, and other opportunities to help them towards their goal of becoming a U.S. Army officer after graduating from EWU. Congratulations to all six of our newly contracted Cadets!
Isabell Pannell Caleb Geringer Nik Chapple Charles Golding Giovanni Beegen Kyle Collins
Note:More pictures from the ceremony can be viewed on our Flickr page.
How to Contract into ROTC
When Cadets first enroll into an ROTC class, they have no military obligation. Taking an ROTC class is the one way to explore military service without having to contract into the military. For students who find that military service is something they want to pursue they can then contract into ROTC. Contracting requires the Cadet to meet specified academic, physical fitness, character, and medical requirements. The are various options to contract and a college student does not have to join ROTC as a first year student to explore military service. We have many transfer students, sophomores, and juniors and even Masters students enroll into ROTC to explore military service before making a decision to contract. Please read our Contracting page or reach EWU ROTC through our Contact page for more information on contracting options.
With the continuation of the Washington State stay-at-home order, ROTC activities for the “Fighting Eagles” Cadets at Eastern Washington University have continue to be conducted over virtual platforms. Our physical training (PT) activities are conducted over the Zoom app. Responsibility for conducting PT shifted this week to our second year (MS-II) Cadets conducting the conditioning drills with third year (MS-III) Cadets providing oversight.
EWU Army ROTC Cadets, Olivia Roble (left) and Adam Burnside (right) lead physical training conditioning drills over the Zoom app.
After the conclusion of the Zoom portion of PT the Cadets have been continuing to track their mileage on Strava. A unit competition on Strava has been initiated between each class the and the Cadre to determine who can log the most mileage this quarter. Here are the current standings:
MS-I Class: 198.6 miles
MS-II Class: 577.44
MS-III Class: 936.5
MS-IV Class: 821.6
Cadre: 629.2
Military Science Classes
The weekly Military Science curriculum is all being held online as well. The classes are taught over Zoom with presentation slides, assignments, and quizzes presented over the university’s Canvas software. Online training may not be as effective as in person classes, but our Military Science instructors have put in maximum effort to make the online classes as organized and effective as possible at training our Cadets.
MS-IV Cadet, Andreas Brazier gives a brief about improvements to Infantry weapon systems inside the Brigade Combat Team over the Zoom app.
Leadership Labs
This week’s virtual Leadership Lab continued to be conducted over the Fortnite software. The platoons each executed specific tactical training in customized virtual worlds created by the EWU ROTC Cadre. 1st Platoon was assessed on Movement to Contact and Attack battle drills, 2nd Platoon was assessed on Ambush and Defense battle drills, and 3rd Platoon was assessed on Recon and Raid battle drills. Despite using gaming software, the Cadets have maintained professionalism throughout the labs as they train on using the tactical skills they learned earlier in the year on this virtual platform. The Cadets have been responding favorably to this innovative approach to training which is allowing them to conduct hands on practice of their tactical skills without relying on Powerpoint presentations that make up the vast majority of online training.
Despite the limitations caused by the current pandemic, EWU Army ROTC leadership is committed to providing the highest quality training possible to prepare our Cadets to become future Army leaders. If you want to explore a Military Science course, it is still possible to sign up for ROTC this Spring Quarter. If you are interested in joining us in one of our virtual classes, physical training workouts, or Leadership Labs please contact us using this link or email us at rotc@ewu.edu to learn more.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused much change in the lives of people around the country to include here at Eastern Washington University (EWU). In response to the pandemic all classes for Spring Quarter have been moved online to include the entire Military Science curriculum. One of the biggest characteristics of being an Army officer is to be adaptable to changing conditions and the “Fighting Eagles” Cadets of the EWU Army ROTC program are learning that first hand right now.
Cadet Christian Goldbach logs into the Fortnite software to prepare for his weekly Leadership Lab. As an evaluator Cadet Goldbach has his Ranger Handbook and other documents ready to train assess Cadets during the lab.
Physical Training
This first major adaption has been with the unit’s physical training program (PT). The ROTC program’s mandatory PT sessions are held on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday mornings. To keep a sense of normalcy, the ROTC Cadre has kept the PT schedule the same during the pandemic, however the Cadets meet up in a virtual Zoom classroom each morning.
Cadet Beier briefs the morning PT session over Zoom.
Two Cadets are assigned to lead each PT session for the other Cadets to follow along with over their smartphones. After the completion of the warmup exercises they then brief the workout plan for each Cadet to complete that day that is also posted on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-wxiUMBbhT/
After the completion of the workout the Cadets then log the workout on to the Strava app. Strava gives the program the ability to track the total distances and times of the exercises for each Cadet.
Strava App
Leadership Labs
Another challenge the program faced was being able to conduct Leadership Labs in a way that would still give Cadets the ability to practice platoon level tactics and leadership. During Spring Break the EWU Army ROTC Cadre experimented with a number of first person gaming platforms to determine one that would best virtually replicate a Leadership Lab. It was decided that the Fortnite software was the best one to handle the large number of Cadets and give the Cadre the flexibility to build virtual worlds to replicate the terrain the Cadets train in during standard Leadership Labs.
In the first two weeks, Fighting Eagles Cadets have familiarized themselves with the program and conducted a Platoon Formations and Order Of Movement (FOOM) training, practiced actions when crossing a Linear Danger Areas (LDA), and Actions on Contact (AoC).
Signs in the game direct Cadets to start point of their next training lane just like in real life.Cadets assault through an objective.
The Cadets are divided up into three different platoons and enter their assigned virtual world accompanied by a cadre member and a MS-IV Cadet evaluator to guide and assess them. Inside the virtual world the Cadets are evaluated on how they perform their movements and tactics as if they were in the real world. During the lab the Cadets communicate with each other through the Discord app. This allows Cadets in leadership positions to perform their Troop Leading Procedures (TLP’s) and give out orders during the platoon training lanes.
The current pandemic has created a challenging training environment, but part of leadership is overcoming adversity. Former General of the Army, George C. Marshall understood this very well:
The lack of equipment, the lack of food, the lack of this or that are only excuses; the real leader displays his quality in his triumphs over adversity, however great it may be.” – General of the Army George C Marshall, and former Secretary of State & Secretary of Defense
Despite the limitations caused by the current pandemic, EWU Army ROTC leadership is committed to providing the highest quality training possible to prepare our Cadets to become future Army leaders. If you want to explore a Military Science course, it is still possible to sign up for ROTC this Spring Quarter. If you are interested in joining us in one of our virtual classes, physical training workouts, or Leadership Labs please contact us using this link or email us at rotc@ewu.edu to learn more.
