The Revere Recorder ROTC the best leader and management development program in the world!

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1 The Revere Recorder ROTC the best leader and management development program in the world! ARMY MIT Volume XV, Issue 1: Reporting for America s Oldest ROTC Unit Summer & Fall 2014 Contributing Writers LTC Peter Godfrin CDT Robert Costa CDT Anna Woudenberg CDT Alyssa Pybus CDT Andrea Moon CDT Nathan Williams CDT Caroline Bechtel CDT James Clarke CDT Edward Lowe CDT Andrew Hamel CDT Matthew Weinberg History of the Paul Revere Battalion at MIT The Paul Revere Battalion, an Army ROTC unit, was established at MIT in 1917, shortly after the passage of the National Defense Act of This is believed to be one of the first ROTC units in the Nation. During World War I, there were more Regular Army Officers serving in the Army from MIT than from any other school except West Point. Of the 1538 military participants in World War II from the Institute, 1335 were commissioned officers. The battalion now consists of students from MIT, Harvard University, Tufts University, Endicott College, Gordon College, Salem State College, and Wellesley College. The Battalion's history would fill many pages with individual actions of bravery on the battlefield as well as scientific and technical achievements in military laboratories. The history does not stop here, but continues to be made by the men and women of the Paul Revere Battalion whenever the call may come. 1

2 Words from the Professor of Military Science LTC Peter Godfrin Welcome Cadets, parents, and friends of the Paul Revere Battalion. It is my pleasure to be writing my first newsletter to you as the Professor of Military Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Currently, the ROTC program is strong and continuing to get better. We currently have 62 Cadets enrolled in the program including sixteen Seniors who are only months away from receiving their commission. The goal of our program is to develop, educate, and train agile and adaptive leaders that can solve the complex, ambiguous problems that these future Army Commissioned Officers will encounter. We accomplish this through a rigorous academic curriculum steeped in history, theory, and doctrine, as well as leadership practicums that focus on team-building, critical and creative thinking, and problem solving. It has been a busy Fall semester and the team has performed brilliantly. We recently attended our annual Dining-In event at the Misselwood estate overlooking the Atlantic Ocean at Endicott College. We participated in a Joint Pass-in-Review Ceremony during MIT s parent s weekend where we welcomed Vice Admiral Sean Pybus, Deputy Commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command, as our guest speaker. Additionally, we conducted a Leadership Training Exercise at Fort Devens focused on small unit leader development that included squad level troop leading procedures, key leader engagements, and platoon level scenarios. Finally, the Cadets have supported numerous community events including Honor Flights at Logan Airport, Color Guards at our multiple universities athletic events, and multiple Veterans Day events. Recent announcements of reductions in the Army force structure compounded by an era of significant fiscal constraints has resulted in a decline of available scholarships and a limit on the number of Cadets we can contract. Having said that, the Paul Revere Battalion is on pace to commission some of the largest classes in recent history. The Freshman Commissioning Class of 2018 currently has thirteen students enrolled including five who arrived with either a four-year or three-year advanced designee scholarship. The Sophomore Commissioning Class of 2017 currently has sixteen students enrolled including eight currently on scholarship. Additionally, we are in the process of finalizing several additional two and half year and three and a half year scholarship offers to currently enrolled freshman and sophomore Cadets. I d like to congratulate Cadet Park (Wellesley), Cadet Perkins (Harvard), and Cadet Darisse (Endicott) who we recently contracted into the Junior Commissioning Class of 2016 bringing the total for that class to seventeen including twelve on scholarship. Finally, I d like congratulate the Senior Commissioning Class of 2015 who have recently been notified of their component and branch assignments. This was a very competitive year across the board for assignments and the battalion faired extremely well. Seven of our Cadets will commission into the Active Army and all seven received one of their top three Branch choices. Five of our Cadets will commission into the Reserve Component; four into the Army Reserves and one into the Army National Guard. Additionally, the Army offers the opportunity for a select few Cadets nationwide to delay their commitment in the Army to attend graduate school before beginning their service. This Educational Delay option is extremely competitive and this year only 88 Cadets were selected for the program nationwide. I am pleased to announce that the following four Cadets from our program were selected for the Educational Delay program: Cadet Chua-Rubenfeld (Harvard) was selected for the 2

3 Aliquam dolor. Judge Advocate General Corps program, Cadet Lowe (Tufts) was selected for the Chaplain Corps program, and Cadets Larcom (Tufts) and Moon (Tufts) were selected for the Medical Corps program. Finally, the top 20% of Cadets nationwide earn the distinction of Distinguished Military Graduate. Six out of sixteen of our Cadets, over 37%, earned that distinction. Congratulations to our Distinguished Military Graduates: Cadets Chua-Rubenfeld (Harvard), Dubin (MIT), Kiefner (Tufts), Lowe (Tufts), McFadden (Harvard), and Scopa (Harvard). I am thrilled and humbled to be part of this amazing team. I d like to thank everyone who has welcomed me including the cadre, the university administrators and staff from all of the schools, the multiple alumni organizations that volunteer their time and efforts for the betterment of the program, and most importantly the Cadets of the battalion. I m constantly amazed by the discipline, intelligence, and motivation of this entire organization. This next generation of our Army s officer corps is amazing and I m proud to be a part of their development. byline Lorem Ipsum LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE! LTC Peter F. Godfrin Jr. Professor of Military Science CTLT at Fort Jackson By Cadet Robert Costa Following my graduation from LDAC (Leadership Development Assessment Course), I was given the opportunity to attended CTLT (Cadet Troop Leader Training) at Ft. Jackson in South Carolina. CTLT is an opportunity for Cadets to shadow a 2LT, usually a platoon leader, at a unit for two to three weeks. At Ft. Jackson I was given the opportunity to serve as a Platoon Leader for a Basic Combat Training (BCT) Platoon. I was immediately assigned to a Platoon in A Co and for three weeks worked with the Company Commander and Drill Sergeants, instructing and supervising basic training Soldiers throughout the day. Each day was extremely structured and started with physical training at 0530 and training until about During my three weeks at Ft. Jackson, my company was in the White Phase, which is the middle phase of the BCT program. In this phase, basic training Soldiers learn the basics of marksmanship and continue to build off of these fundamentals, learning to engage targets from different positions, from behind barriers, and using different optics and night vision. I also had the opportunity to conduct the night infiltration course (NIC) with basic training Soldiers, which is an extended low crawl around obstacles with live fire, artillery simulators and flares being shot overhead. CDT Costa is a senior at Tufts University and is majoring in History Overall, CTLT at Ft. Jackson was a great experience and I would recommend the opportunity to any Cadet following his or her graduation from LDAC. 3

4 All in a Summer s Work: NSTP and Airborne School By Cadet Anna Woudenberg This summer I had the opportunity to attend Army Nurse Summer Training Program. NSTP is a 4-week internship at an Army Hospital. I completed my internship in the Intensive Care Unit at the Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, HI. NSTP gives nursing Cadets valuable experience in the clinical setting to prepare them for their senior year of nursing school and future jobs in the Army Nurse Corps. I worked with my preceptor full time, resulting in 150+ clinical hours. My preceptor was a 1LT in the Army Nurse Corps and was able to mentor me as a nurse and also as a future Army officer. During my 4-week rotation I was also able to shadow a nurse in the Operating Room and Cardiac Cath Lab. Other students asked for alternate days in Labor & Delivery, Emergency Room, NICU etc. The opportunities to further ourselves in our nursing skills were endless at NSTP, and the opportunity to explore the Hawaiian island of Oahu for a month was unforgettable. CDT Woudenberg is a senior at Endicott College and is majoring in Nursing Following NSTP, I also had the opportunity to attend Army Airborne School. This was a great opportunity and I was able to earn my jump wings by the end of the three-week training. Training was thorough, rigorous, and entailed three levels including ground week, tower week, and jump week. The first two weeks are vital to prepare you for the testing phase of jump week. You are trained and assessed by Airborne instructors by jumping from towers to learn aircraft exit technique, practicing parachute landing falls, and learning how to control a parachute in the air. By the end of the first two weeks, the instructors have trained you well enough for you to make 5 jumps from a C-130 aircraft. Depending on the weather during jump week, 1 of the 5 jumps will be a combat jump and 1 will be a night jump. Jump week is an unforgettable experience and by the time you make your last qualifying jump you cannot believe the experience is over. I met a lot of close friends during Airborne school, and getting pinned as an Army Paratrooper is something I will never forget. 4

5 Project GO: A Cultural Immersion By Cadet Alyssa Pybus This past summer, I had one of the best experiences of my life. Project Global Officer, a government-funded program for ROTC students, sends Cadets to faraway countries like China, Jordan, Korea, and many others on scholarship to study foreign languages. I had the chance to go to Shanghai, China on a Project GO funded program with the University of Mississippi for 8 weeks to take two semesters worth of Chinese language study at the University of Shanghai and stay in their international student s dormitory along with 18 other ROTC students from all different schools and all three branches. There were 10 Air Force Cadets, 6 Army cadets, and 3 Navy midshipmen from schools like Norwich, Gonzaga, Wake Forest, Cornell, UCSB, and other places. A typical weekday would consist of 2 hours of class in the morning followed by an hour of lunch then 2 more hours of class. We then had a half hour of tutoring with Chinese students in Master s degree programs where we would either go over lessons from class or just converse in Chinese. Afterwards, around 5 pm, we had the rest of the day to ourselves to go out to dinner or take the subway and explore the city. For the first 4 weekends, we had planned trips to tourist destinations in Shanghai and the nearby cities of Suzhou and Hangzhou. We visited Buddhist temples, old city markets, a couple of museums, beautiful gardens, and the famous West Lake of Hangzhou. The last 4 CDT Pybus is a junior at MIT and is majoring in Biological Engineering weeks, we were free to make our own weekend plans, which gave us more freedom to explore Shanghai. During my time in China, my Chinese language ability improved exponentially. The opportunity to converse with native speakers and hold conversations was invaluable. Apart from language study, I also treasured the opportunity to make friends with ROTC students from different services and backgrounds. Many close friendships were formed over the course of the 8 weeks, and I definitely know more about the Navy and Air Force than I did before the start of the summer. If you are considering going abroad for the summer, I guarantee there s no better way to do it than on full scholarship studying the native language with a bunch of other ROTC students. AMEDDIP: Army Medical Department Internship Program By Cadet Andrea Moon This past summer, I participated in the Army Medical Department Internship Program (AMEDDIP), a program sponsored by the Office of the Army Surgeon General. During the four-week internship, I was exposed to a variety of medical fields and introduced to Army Medical Facilities, while also learning how to be an effective leader in the medical arena. The AMEDDIP is an excellent opportunity for all Cadets interested in a career in medicine. I did my internship at the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood, TX. It was a great facility to do the internship; as one of the larger Army medical facilities, it contains everything from a psychology department to a neurosurgery clinic. During my time there I rotated through family medicine, emergency medicine, labor and delivery, ICU, surgery, CDT Moon is a senior at Tufts University and is majoring in Biology 5

6 orthopedics, and radiology. The first department I rotated through was family medicine. I was assigned a third-year resident as my preceptor, and she showed me the ropes of the logistics of the clinic and her everyday routine. They would first have morning call at 0630, which was similar to a team huddle amongst all the health care providers in the clinic including attendings, residents, interns, nurses, and physician assistants. Then, the real day would begin with the first patients arriving at 0800 and lasting until Once a week, they would meet for an After Clinic Conference in which they discussed interesting cases amongst each other. During the 5 days I spent in family medicine, I observed many procedures including vasectomies, toe amputations, mole biopsies, neurological exams, as well as many obstetric and gynecological procedures. In orthopedics, I saw orthopedic procedures ranging from repairing a torn ACL to inserting screws and a metal rod into a patient s fibula. While in the Emergency Department, I observed how doctors quickly retrieved patient history and dealt with multiple crises at once. In Labor and Delivery, I witnessed my first three lives births, and while in the ICU, I spent a lot of time doing research on rabies as we admitted a patient with rabies. The internship itself was flexible and accommodating to the Cadets interests. This gave me the opportunity to shadow doctors in fields I knew very little about. I was also able to follow some patients through the course of their treatment, from the day of admission to discharge. This was particularly rewarding. AMEDDIP gave me the opportunity to interact with patients, provided me with a chance to understand what life as a doctor is really like, and solidified my desire to go into medicine. MSI Year By Cadet Nathan Williams When I first joined Army ROTC, I expected the program to make the transition to college harder. However, in a strange twist, ROTC has made my college experience easier. I m not arguing that ROTC itself is easy; rather, the Cadets themselves help take some of the weight off my shoulders. In other college programs, you ve got your typical bunch of careerists. Most students only look after themselves, lending a hand to others only when such action benefits their interests. However, the Cadets in our battalion remind me that there are still those who care for more than themselves. Throughout the entire semester, I have yet to see any Cadet left behind. Whenever a Cadet struggled with an activity, their peers stepped forward to encourage and motivate them. Although it may seem like a small or even ordinary behavior to some, the care and camaraderie within our battalion is inspiring. Sure, sometimes Cadets are blunt. Hell, some Cadets are downright strange. But they re some of the best company I ve encountered in college yet. You might say getting up at 0515 isn t the most enjoyable way to start a Monday, or that the Fall LTX (Leadership Training Exercise) wasn t the ideal way to spend Halloween weekend, but in the end, as cheesy as it sounds, the Cadets make the program worthwhile. CDT Williams is a freshman at Harvard and is majoring in History 6

7 MSII Year: Climbing the Ladder By Cadet Caroline Bechtel MS-01 year can be pretty overwhelming. Everything is dauntingly new, from college to 0630 PT to that whole squad tactics thing why are we laying down in a field, again? There might not be a whole lot of time commitment to ROTC on paper as an MS-01, but the unfamiliarity of it all magnifies the stress and time devoted to ROTC. MS-02 minimizes these stresses. Similar to the first year, the second year of ROTC requires only little responsibility and simple ROTC class work. Unlike the first year, though, everything is familiar and clear. I now understand why we do what we do (most of the time), how to assemble my ruck (maybe), and that the answer to most questions is METTTC. Knowing the routine puts me in a place similar to MS-01 year minus the anxiety of naiveté, freeing me to truly observe and learn from the MS-03s, MS-04s, and cadre. I m free to think about my military goals and myself where do I want to go in the army? How will I get there? What do I need to do to make this happen? Rather than getting bogged down in that undignified sophomore slump MS-02 year is an opportunity, a time to develop the self and one s goals. Before the avalanche of 3 year comes crashing down, collapsing on the whirlwind of 4 year, it s nice to have this time to think. CDT Bechtel is a sophomore at Wellesley College and is majoring in Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies MSIII Year: A Continuation of Growth By Cadet James CDT Clarke is a junior at Harvard University and is majoring in Government As an MSIII, there are many topics about which to write. The specter of CLC (Cadet Leadership Course, the replacement for LDAC) looms, the challenges of delegation are ever-present, and the emphasis placed on leading by example is greater than ever. Yet, despite these many worthwhile topics, I think it more prudent to write about the importance of growth. This growth occurs in four stages: observation, learning, execution, and teaching. When you enter the program, you must observe. Phrases don t make sense, acronyms abound, and there is often a general sense of confusion. By your second year, the concepts begin to fall into place and you are able to finally begin to learn. In your third year you are expected to execute. It is no longer enough to understand the lessons; now you must prove that you can apply them. The growth culminates in your fourth year, when you are asked to teach these lessons to the other cadets. Growth, though, is continuous. Moving from one stage does not mean that the previous one is no longer necessary; rather, you have added an additional branch to the tree. Continued growth is crucial for success, whereas stagnation almost certainly leads to failure. 7

8 A Reflection on MSIV Year: Ranger Chaplain, Hooah! By Cadet Edward Lowe Back when I was a naive MSIII I thought that MSIV year would be fun I mean look at all of them, they get to be OPFOR for every lead lab lane. Or when we re busy training and leading troops into battle they just watch and write notes on those blue cards. CDT Lowe is a senior at Tufts University What are they even writing majoring in Biology anyway? and Spanish In any case, I thought being an MSIV would be super easy and relaxed. Then the S-shop hit me. I had no idea what I was in for. In fact, I didn t even know where the Cadet supply room was. And those hand receipts, I mean filling those out is like AP Calc combined with college-level physics and molecular biochem how am I supposed to know how to fill those out properly? What a travesty! It dawned on me at LDAC: Cadet Summer Training is no longer an evaluation. Therefore we will no longer be training the younger cadets to succeed at LDAC and instead might actually be training them on how to be real Army officers. For the rest of you, however, don t get too excited about MSIV year. Also, take all your hard classes now because you re not going to have time to take them when you are busy maxing out all your PT tests! Warheads on foreheads! In all seriousness though, Cadet Command is transforming before our very eyes. New branches are being added to Accessions, standardized tests are the new Army standard, and the APFT is going to include an abdominal test designed personally by CDT Caroline Bechtel. Well, that last part may not be entirely accurate. On the other hand, Cadet Command is earnestly attempting to change its standards and training schedule in order to better prepare cadets for life as an Army officer in whatever capacity that may be Infantry, Cyber, Ordinance, M.I., or even the Chaplain Corps. During this process of change and transformation, it s important for the younger cadets to share their thoughts and ideas about what they think is going on and what they think can go better. You, MSI s and MSII s, are the future of Cadet Command and your opinions matter. Ranger Challenge: Revere s Rangers By Cadet Matthew Weinberg On Columbus Day weekend, nine Paul Revere Battalion Cadets departed for Fort Dix in Central New Jersey to compete in the annual Second Brigade Ranger Challenge Competition. The weekend event was the culmination of multiple months of training that started in the spring of The team began by establishing goals for the placing in the competition and training outcomes in order to establish objectives to work towards throughout the months of practice. The training began with physical preparation. Over the early spring weeks, members of the Ranger Challenge team met and trained via ruck marches and other physical challenges that had arisen in past Ranger Challenge competitions. CDT Weinberg is a sophomore at Tufts University and is majoring in Biology Upon reconvening in the fall, the team s training became more regimented, consisting of two extended sessions per week that focused on both physical and tactical preparation. The team spent Saturday mornings and afternoons throughout September and October conducting ruck marches, 8 8 Paul Revere Battalion, December 2014

9 perfecting its one rope bridge technique, preparing for the grenade assault course and reviewing various strategies for competition weekend. Additionally, the team was afforded two opportunities to travel to Hanscom Air Force Base for practice sessions in weapons assembly, disassembly and functions checks. Upon the arrival of competition weekend, the team felt highly prepared and highly motivated. The team stepped off on a rainy Saturday morning and was met first with the Grenade Assault course, an event for which it had prepared extensively. One rope bridge followed, an event that the team had also practiced, coming one person shy of completing the element successfully. Unfazed, the team pushed forward into the weapons assembly challenge and delivered a very strong performance. After a collection of physical challenges that included obstacle and confidence courses, a PT challenge, log carry and Humvee push, the team rucked up and pushed onward to the final event, the commander s challenge. The commander s challenge consisted of a first aid event that involved successfully carrying a casualty to a nearby extraction point. After an evening of rest, the final event of the weekend was the ruck march. Revere s Rangers pushed forward and delivered a strong performance, despite some obstacles along the way. Overall, the team did very well, improving on the efforts of the 2013 squad. The weeks of preparation made each team member a more well-rounded Cadet, having been exposed to a wide variety of training opportunities. The team looks forward to making a statement come Columbus Day, FALL LTX (Leadership Training Exercise) By Cadet Andrew Hamel The lanes at this year s LTX gave Cadets great experience in leadership as well as conducting the operations process. The lane OIC s (Officer in Charge) did a great job setting the young Cadets up for success. The OIC s for each lane were in charge of creating a real world scenario, setting up the conditions for movement during the lane, the composition of the enemy, as well as many other factors. I was in charge of the first KLE (Key Leader Engagement) lane. I started planning for this lane about a month before the LTX, and was able to create a scenario in which cadets were able to demonstrate their communication and cultural awareness abilities. The scenario I created for the cadets is one they may face as future Army officers. The cadets were required to meet a village elder at a known location, and create a positive relationship with that village to help with future operations. Both iterations of the lane were successful, and I believe the Cadets in the Paul Revere Battalion gained valuable experience that will help develop them as leaders. Along with the KLE lanes, Cadets also conducted movement 9 to contact, and squad attack lanes. These lanes assessed the squad leader s ability to critically think in a stressful environment. The movement to contact and squad attack lanes CDT Hamel is a senior at were located in the middle Endicott College and is of the woods, in order to majoring in Criminal give the Cadets the most Justice realistic experience possible. Also, the Cadets were given classes on how to conduct a Key Leader Engagement, and basic land navigation skills. The instructors for these classes were well prepared and extremely knowledgeable in their fields. We have a cadet who is a former civil affairs Soldier. He was able to help the cadets conceptualize the engagement through his instruction and expertise. Even though these classes capped the end of a long first day of training, the cadets where able to take in the information and utilize it for the next day s training. Overall, we were able to incorporate great training into the LTX. 9 Paul Revere Battalion, December 2014

10 Highlights From Fall 2014 New Cadet Orientation Joint Services Sports Day Combat PT Dining-In 10

11 Highlights From Fall 2014 Leadership Labs Ranger Challenge Team LTX Pass-In-Review Ceremony Paul Revere Battalion, December 2014

12 Congratulations to all MSIV s who will be starting a new journey upon commissioning in May 2015! Congratulations to All MSIV s on Branching in the Greatest Army in the World! Active Duty Robert Costa Field Artillery Andrea Dubin Cyber James Kiefner Aviation Molly McFadden Military Intelligence Joel Perkins Ordnance, EOD Will Scopa Armor Anna Woudenberg Nurse Corps National Guard Shane Wilson Reserve John Bowlus Andrew Hamel Jeff Hodder Kerry Simmons Educational Delay Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld Judge Advocate General Corps Chad Larcom Medical Corps Edward Lowe Chaplain Corps Andrea Moon Medical Corps CONTACTING MIT ARMY ROTC MIT Army ROTC--The Paul Revere Battalion 201 Vassar Street, Building W-59 Room 192 Cambridge, MA Telephone: Don t forget to check out our Facebook Page at: Or scan this code onto your smart phone! Editor of the Paul Revere Recorder, Summer/Fall 2014 Edition: CDT Andrea Moon, MS IV, Tufts University