Wildcat Warriors Newsletter

Transcription

1 Wildcat Warriors Newsletter Publis hed By Cadet Major Tanner L Inside this issue: Commander s Call Lt Col Jonathan S Spring 13 DET 270 Commander s Call 1 Cadet Commander s Call 1 Honor Guard Brief 2 Freshman Flight 3 Field Training Preparation 3 Ops Group Report 4 Salina Cadets Soaring 4 Pershing Rifles Review 5 AAS Update 5 Remaining Events Calendar 6 Letter from the Editor 6 Wildcat Warriors take a break to take a picture with their beloved mascot, Willie! Greetings to alumni, friends, and family. As all of you who are familiar with KSU AFROTC can imagine, the cadet wing stayed busy this past spring, and have continued to excel, both in preparation as future USAF officers and in the community. This latest newsletter covers the high points, and if you want to know more, I recommend checking out the Facebook page. We are deep into our celebration of our first 150 years as a land grant school, and our ROTC programs are in the thick of the events. Given that one of the key roles of land grant schools was to train officers, this commemoration is a great opportunity to re-connect with those before us who have served our nation in every war since the Spanish-American War. As part of the celebrations, this May we ll conduct our first joint commissioning ceremony in recent memory, presided over by one of our prominent grads, Gen Ron Keys. Also, mark your calendars for this fall s AFROTC/Army ROTC joint alumni reunion on 2 Nov. We re holding it in conjunction with KSU s Military Appreciation Day, and expect to hear more as we get closer to the date. Finally, my deepest thanks and appreciation for all of you who have continued to support the cadet wing with your ideas, time, and gifts. Never doubt that your support has made a difference in helping create this latest generation of great Airmen! Friend of Det 270: Want more Wildcat Warriors? Check us out on Facebook AfrotcDet270 Browse our YouTube channel WildcatWarriors Visit our cadet ran webpage Cadet Commander s Call Cadet Col Patrick R This semester has been unlike any other this Detachment has experience in the past. The first change started with the traditional cadet view point that Field Training Preparation is the sole focus of the Wing. When I was applied for Wing Commander, I knew I wanted to bring about this change because when I was a Field Training Officer during the Spring 2012 semester, I realized that the rest of the Wing was not receiving the same quality training that my AS 200 cadets were receiving. Immediately after the Change of Command ceremony in December, I informed the Wing that my staff and I will do everything in our power to not only maintain the same level of training in the Field Training Prep program, but to also raise the bar in training for the rest of the Detachment. (continued on page 2)

2 Page 2 Wildcat Warriors Newsletter Cadet Commander s Call (continued) The next change that the Wild Cat Warriors experienced was a change in scenery during our Leadership Laboratory s. The Fall 2012 Wing Commander, Cadet 1 st Class Tanner H, and his staff, did an outstanding job meeting a majority of the required objectives. As such, I wanted to take full advantage of this opportunity to stay out of the class room as much as possible and to experience Leadership Laboratories that would help develop their esprit de corps and warrior ethos. My Operations Group Commander, Cadet 1 st Class Tim M, has succeeded in taking up my challenge by orchestrating the best Leadership Laboratories I have ever experienced during my time here as a cadet. Cadet Tim M will of course go into more detail on the awesome Leadership Labs he provided us during his article, but what I will say is that the high quality training provided by our guests from Fort Riley, Army ROTC Cadre, Fire Department, Brig Gen Michel, and the CGO s from McConnell AFB, match and even exceeded some of the training and all the mentorship I received during my 6 years on Active Duty in Security Forces. This semester has truly been a successful semester. My entire Wing Staff and I couldn t have made this possible without the help of the entire cadet corps. I m so proud of how everyone has grown over this semester alone and it has been such an honor to serve as their Wing Commander. There is not a single person that I would not gladly serve with on Active Duty, and I look forward to the chance of being stationed and/or deployed with each and every one of them. Wing Commander Patrick R serves as a judge for a DET 270 Drill Evaluation There is not a single person that I would not gladly serve with on Active Duty. -C/Colonel Patrick R Honor Guard performs a special retreat in remembrance of 9/11 victims Honor Guard Brief Cadet Captain Chandrika B Some may think that Honor Guard during the spring semester is not as exciting as the fall semester due to the lack of football games. That is far from the case this year! Even without the football games, Honor Guard has done an impressive job of looking sharp on the basketball courts for our women s and men s teams. Not only that, but we have had some rare opportunities arise for us this semester. On 6 April, we traveled to St. Joseph Missouri to present the colors and to honor the POW/MIA table at the 139 th Airlift Wing Military Ball. Honor Guard has accepted an invitation to present the colors for the March of Dimes on 13 Apr in Bosco Plaza, which was an honor. We are also headed to Topeka Kansas on 27 April to represent for Detachment 270 at the Massing of Colors ceremony where we will be amongst a mixed crowd of ROTCs and JROTCs. This ceremony is to honor our flag. There will also be a parade featuring the Honor Guards in attendance. This is going to be an exciting event for us. We will not only get the chance to represent our school, but this will also be a great way to help us recruit JROTC cadets that will be in attendance that day! As you can see we will be on the road a bit to wrap up the semester, but we are all excited about finishing with a bang!

3 Spring 13 Page 3 Freshman Flight Cadet Captain Tanner H It has been a great experience this semester to train the Freshman. Teaching the 100 level Aerospace studies classes these past two semesters has helped me build a mentor relationship with the Freshman. We have not had an all Freshman Flight since I have been in AFROTC. All of the Freshman from Salina and Manhattan are part of an integrated flight during Leadership Laboratories. Throughout the week at PT Cadet Brycen S. leads the Salina cadets at PT and I lead the Manhattan cadets. The Freshman are given more leadership positions inside of the flight without POC to guide them, this forces the Freshman to lead and follow each other. We allow them to make mistakes but we correct them and help them understand what each one should do better in order to succeed. This helps them to learn leadership skills within their class. Freshman benefit as well getting to know each other and are expected to spend time together throughout the week. As we expected, teamwork has grown rapidly within the class early and we hope it will help with retention! Since all the Freshman are trained by myself and Cadet Brycen S. assisting at Leadership Laboratories and meetings we have set up a system for all of the Freshman to be trained consistently by all of the instructions and regulations. The Freshman have already surpassed where I envisioned their teamwork maturing at this point. We believe that it will help them all be a strong and successful class! We all look forward to finishing the semester strong and remaining in a mentor/mentee relationship even into active duty. Alpha Flight, which consists of all freshman, practice a to the rear marching maneuver FTP cadets practice ORI procedures in Fiedler Hall Field Training Preparation Cadet Major Jack O Every spring semester, AS-200 cadets find themselves challenged mentally and physically as they prepare themselves for the rigors of Field Training. This semester is no different. The Field Training Preparation (FTP) staff and I had set up a demanding training schedule that has been designed to push the limits of the cadet s in order for them to realize their own potential. Over the winter break, cadets are required to memorize and learn various skills and material out of the Field Training Manual, Airman s Manual, and Drill and Ceremonies Manual. Throughout the semester the cadets have been quizzed and asked to recite material and demonstrate a skill at a moment s notice without preparation. It is designed to keep them on their toes and enable them to adapt to new environments and challenges. As a Squadron, they have had the opportunity and privilege to demonstrate their ability to adapt and work as a team at Kansas State High Ropes Course. This course has been designed to change oneself mentally by forcing the cadets to face their fears in a safe environment and allow them to over- come their fears and to prove to themselves that they have more potential than they first thought. As the Semester comes to a close, we will begin doing more hands on activities and drills that will prepare them for the coming summer. The AS-200 class has been performing magnificently and is on the right path for success. The FTP staff and I are very proud of this group of young men and can t wait to see the results of their training.

4 Page 4 Wildcat Warriors Newsletter Operations Group Report Cadet Lt Col Timothy M This semester we have had some excellent training opportunities for the wing. With the 150 th anniversary of Kansas State University, we were able to commemorate the event by bringing in local alumni of Det 270 to speak about the history of the detachment as well as how ROTC ties in with the founding of the university. Det 270 also had the most recorded speakers in recent history with over 35 officers from 16 different career fields coming to speak about their careers and offering helpful advice to cadets on how to succeed as a cadet and officer in the Air Force. You can read more about this on our alumni page. We have had the chance to train with the local ALO s from Ft. Riley this semester as well. Members of the 10 th ASOS trained our wing on water survival techniques in Ft. Riley. They taught us various techniques to stay alive in the water as well as valuable water confidence skills that we may need later in our career. We were also fortunate to train cadets on rappelling this semester. This was one of the most confidence building labs we have had as cadets faced their fear of heights by hopping down a 6 story wall backwards. We received excellent support from the local fire department who allowed us to use their facilities as well as show us some of their most impressive equipment including a 7 story tall ladder truck which took cadets up to look see the surrounding area. The Army ROTC cadre were also invaluable to us as they trained cadets how to rappel and allowed us to use their equipment. This semester we have received some great support and help from active duty officers in the area and are fortunate to get this kind of training for our cadets. We have truly improved our program with their help as well as your support as alumni of Det 270! Cadet Benjamin B demonstrates how to inflate a top to serve as a floatation device Cadets get some small group time with ALO s from Fort Riley Salina cadet Samantha H and Thomas B learn about Kansas State intertwined history with military affairs Salina Cadets Soaring Cadet Captain Brycen S K-State Salina has had an active influence in Detachment 270 for many years now, and the Salina cadets are having a stronger presence there now than ever before with the creation of a Salina Flight. The current cadets are all working on their civilian pilot ratings and this has helped them develop a very strong camaraderie that enables them to work in academics, military studies, and physical training and perform exceptionally well together. The cadets at Salina are very active around the campus. Cadets help promote a positive image of the Air Force and ROTC in groups such as SGA, Military Members Club, KSU Flight Team, SIFE, and Phi Delta Theta. The freshmen cadets even helped form the Military Members Club at the Salina campus, which is hosting a 5K run. There are ten total Salina cadets, two POC who help mentor the eight GMC with training and classwork. Three GMC cadets are working hard to receive a slot to go to Maxwell, AFB this summer for Field Training. They have been preparing this entire semester with extra physical training and academics to get a chance to receive officer training in Alabama. All the hard work is noticed by everyone and Salina will continue to grow for many years to come.

5 Spring 13 Page 5 Pershing Rifles Review Cadet Captain Samuel F The remaining weeks of the spring semester, although typically more calm in years past, are going to be quite busy for Company G-7 here at Kansas State University. Because of the large number of students graduating, we are planning on making up the numbers with a pledge class that will start and finish in just a few short weeks. This means there will be extra practice in a given week, but these candidates will have an exclusive opportunity to join the nationally recognized G- 7 Headhunters in a process that normally takes the bulk of a semester. We got back from NATCON 2013 in Jacksonville, Florida, at the beginning of spring break. Despite not winning any trophies to bring back, we did receive some critical tips and experience that will hopefully make for a better company next year. First of all, different ideas were presented for how to manage finances and acquire sponsors for fundraising. Next, the National Society of Pershing Rifles is hoping to operate better on the regimental level, so we may be attending an annual REGCON as well as NATCON starting next year. And lastly, we gained more insight on the other companies and are going to revise how we attack NATCON. The period will be full of trial and adversity, but we will meet it with determination and success. Cadet Mark M waves to the camera before rappelling off the six story rappelling tower Cadet Nathan S stands guard in front of the Vietnam Memorial Cadet Nathan P gains confidence at the High Ropes Course Arnold Air Society Update Cadet Major Tanner L This past semester, AFROTC cadets had the outstanding opportunity to learn of Kansas State s military history. The cadet wing was extremely fortunate to hear the history from the words of Det 270 alumni themselves. As a member of the Arnold Air Society (AAS) Lt Vohries Squadron, one reference that really stuck out to me was the strength of the Arnold Air Society in years past, as mentioned by (Ret) Lt Col Fryer. In recent years, that could not be said of AAS at Kansas State. For those of you who are not familiar, AAS is a professional, honorary service organization. As a group, we look to improve cadets and our communities. I am proud to say that the Lt Vohries Squadron is well on its way to it s former glory. Nearly one third of the entire cadet wing is a part of the squadron. Our funds are at the highest they have been in as long as any member has been at the university. Our commitment to the community is a growing presence. Our cadets are exhibiting exceptional leadership qualities. Last time cadets of the month were announced, four of the four cadets recognized belong to the squadron. As a society, Kansas State is making leaps and bounds in terms of progress. If you read the AAS article in the last newsletter, you read that our Squadron beat out the Air Force Academy to be area staff. This means our squadron will oversee the squadrons from 11 schools spanning across six states. This is an outstanding leadership opportunity for us. Recently, our squadron sent four cadets to NATCON to accept their transition as leaders for the Area VIII Air Pirates. Arnold Air Society is an outstanding opportunity for cadets to gain leadership experience and to give back to their community. Furthermore, Arnold Air Society is an organization that gives back what you put in. From a personal perspective, everything I have given to the society, it has given back in full. I speak for more than myself when I say I have loved my experiences in AAS thus far and look forward to what lies ahead!

6 Contact Us AFROTC Detachment 270 Kansas State University 108 General Richard B Myers Hall Cadet Tanner J blows a kiss to all of the Wildcat Warriors supporters before rappelling down the six story training tower Letter from the Editor Cadet Major Tanner J Friends of the Wildcat Warriors! Thank you for reading this newsletter. The fact that you are concerned with the activities of America s future leaders, particularly those who are beginning their military careers from such a fine training institution, shows your commitment to this great nation. The effect of your support can not be measured. This semester, detachment 270 has taken great strides to connects its cadet affairs with its supporters. We as a cadet wing would absolutely love for you to be connected as well, if you are not already. I would like to explain how you can do so. First of all, we have a Facebook page that is growing in its reach every day. On this page you can find photos and activities our cadets are involved in on a weekly basis. Second, we have a YouTube channel that highlights some of our keynote speakers and activities. This channel allows you to experience some of the opportunities and lessons our cadets receive. Finally, a cadet ran website has been published this semester highlighting semester activities and functions. Amongst other items on the site, you can find an alumni page. The cadet wing would love to recognize its alumni. Please, visit the page and if you have any photos of yourself or other alumni submit them to the detachment and we will do our best to get them on the website, within reason. All of these media sources can be found on the front page of the newsletter. Thank you and have an excellent Air Force life!