Dean wins award at Military Ball
The USU ROTC hosted their annual Military Ball on Saturday evening. This year, Maj. Ammon Campbell, the ROTC deputy department chair, announced two awards special to this year’s event.
The Esprit de Corps Award was given to the Air Force for winning their annual competitive games against the Army. After going over some archives, Campbell realized the ROTC previously had a tradition of giving the award and wanted to revive the tradition.
The Army and Air Force students compete against each other every year, but this year was the first time they competed to win the award.
“It was a team effort, everyone had fun,” said Cadet Col. Michael Swanson, who received the award on behalf of the Air Force classmen.
The second award announced was the Leadership and Service Award.
“It recognizes an individual here on the campus community that embodies service ship and leadership,” said Campbell.
It was given to College of Humanities and Social Sciences Dean John Allen. Allen, a World War II veteran, lives in Logan and has been a member of the USU faculty for more than 35 years.
The award was given to honor a veteran faculty member who has passed away.
“We presented it honoring a past professor Eldon M. Drake, who embodied leadership and service by serving in the Marines in WWII and the several years in higher education at USU,” said Campbell.
“The Leadership and Service Award was the first annual award, and we hope that it goes for many years to come,” Campbell said.
Recipients of this award are recognized on behalf of the ROTC. These individuals are men and women who embody leadership and service to the campus community and don’t necessarily have to be affiliated with the military or the ROTC, Campbell said.
According to Campbell, the dinner is invitational and part of the class curriculum for those enrolled in ROTC. The cadets wore dress uniforms or their Army service uniforms, which were decorated with the medals and colors awarded to them.
The Military Ball and banquet is a leadership training opportunity for cadets from both the military and the Air Force to participate in a planning committee to organize the events of the evening. They chose the colors and the menu, which consists of beef, chicken and pasta. This menu fit the needs of guests with food preferences or allergies, according to Cadet Maj. Jon Castor.
Castor said the event planning also provided an opportunity for students to learn to work with one another.
The 23rd Army Band, based out of West Jordan, Utah, came to play live music for the ball during the banquet, dancing time and the social segment.
The ROTC is an educational training program with the purpose of training students to be future military officers. Campbell said students can earn any degree from USU while earning a four-year minor in military science or aerospace studies.
“The four year degree is a requirement to be commissioned as an officer in the military,” said Campbell.
Campbell said ROTC students must be willing to serve in the military after completion of the degree.
Upon graduation, Cadet Garret Forner, a junior in anthropology, will be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Force. He said he wants to be an intelligence officer and analyze satellite images of enemy bases.
Forner said the ROTC challenges him to be assertive.
“The hardest thing for me to learn was being outgoing and confident,” he said.
ROTC students are trained in a variety of tactical scenarios that help prepare them for probable situations outside of training. Cadet Angelina Smith was tested on her ability to read terrain by using a land map, a compass and a protractor. The most difficult element of this training was done by herself, doing land navigation in the middle of the night in a blizzard.
Smith wanted to join the ROTC because she saw the advantages it provided in scholarship opportunities and being able to see the world.
“I really like the training you get and friends and close family,” Smith said.
Cadet Jeffery Davis, a senior graduating in the spring, said the ROTC is like being part of something bigger than himself. When commissioned, he is assigned to a space and missiles specialty. His goal is to be an LDS Air Force chaplain.
The Army unit of the ROTC has 120 students. The Air Force has 80, 10 of which are female. The most common age of ROTC students is generally 19 to 20, according to Castor.
“It was a pretty big learning curve at the beginning,” Davis said.
His challenge in the ROTC was growing use to all the rules and coming to attention when a superior officer entered the room. He said eventually, it became natural.
Cadet William Burton, a student of the ROTC, said the program produces more officers than any other university except West Point. In order to be competitive to become an officer, students must maintain a 3.2 GPA.
Leadership is vital to the ROTC morale and conduct of their students.
“We learn difficult strategies and the core leadership Army values,” Smith said. “It teaches you leadership in stressful situations. You have to learn to make good judgment choices.”
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