BATTALION NEWSLETTER September 2016 UPCOMING EVENTS: Ranger Challenge: All battalions from Task Force 11 will meet at Stones River National Battlefield on October 8 to determine which school has the fittest Ranger Team. Other schools in attendance will be Vanderbilt and Middle Tennessee State University. Haunted Half Marathon: The Golden Eagle Battalion will field a relay team in the race on October 15. Our runners won last year and we are looking forward to a repeat victory! Norwegian Foot March: An elite team of Golden Eagle cadets will travel to the University of Southern Indiana to earn the prestigious medal in a 19 mile ruck march on 29 OCT.
Cadet of the Month These cadets are doing excellent work in the battalion and are a shining example of what being a leader looks like! Be sure to check out Cadet Luke Hornby s video on our Facebook Page or at www.tntech.edu/armyrotc/cadet-world AUG 27 Battalion Cookout at Fall Creek Falls State Park. The Golden Eagle Battalion came together for a fun day of swimming, hiking, and grilling out. A great way for cadets at all levels to get to know one another and build friendships to last the next 4 years and beyond!
AUG 30 In the classroom, Golden Eagle Cadets learned basic soldiering skills including proper wear of military uniforms and how battalions, companies, and platoons are organized. Our cadets then moved outside for some hands on drill and ceremony instruction. Cadets will draw upon this knowledge for the rest of their Army careers. SEP 1 Cadets took their first Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) of the semester. Many of our freshman cadets struggled to meet the Army s standards in their first exposure to the APFT. This may be a typical result, but with a strong shot of determination and a few sessions of remedial PT, most of our cadets found success later in the month. Sophomore, junior, and senior cadets must meet a higher standard to avoid remedial PT on Wednesday and Friday mornings.
SEP 1 A new year means a mostly new cannon crew and home football games mean ROTC comes out to support! Starting this year s season off with a bang for the Golden Eagles! SEP 10 A small team of cadets showed up early to support Cookeville s Fall Fun Fest. Cadets M Wager, C Scott, and L Hornby set up water points at Jere Whitson Elementary School and on campus at TTU.
SEP 14 The Golden Eagle Battalion welcomes a new eaglet to the family this week. Congratulations, Cadet Mason Johnson on the birth of your baby girl, Addie Rae. Cadet Johnson is a senior nursing student at TTU. At 1:45 pm, the first baby he got to deliver was his own!
SEP 17 2 nd Annual Gold Bar Golf Scramble. Cadets, alumni, and honored guests gathered at Southern Hills Golf and Country Club for a morning tournament. While most golf scrambles are initiated by a shotgun start, ROTC begins its event with the sound of cannon fire. This was a great opportunity for Cadets to learn the game of golf and raise some money in our only fundraiser of the year Winners (Left to Right) Les Dolente (Team Captain), Lance Wyatt, Cody Wilhite, and Michael Cunningham; Cadet Hancock (ROTC Battalion Commander)
SEP 20 Golden Eagle Cadets graduating this year learned which Army component they would serve in (Active Duty, National Guard, or Army Reserve). All those competing for active duty were successful in their pursuit, verifying TTU Army ROTC s commitment to excellence. Branch choices (Infantry, Engineer, Signal etc.) will be announced next semester.
SEP 20 Golden Eagle Cadets engaged one another force-on-force in this week s leadership development exercise! Squads battled one another with paintball markers in scenarios of capture the flag. Those who combined effective teamwork with quality IMTs were victorious! SEP 27 Our future officers took on the rappel tower as part of this week's leadership development! Golden Eagle cadets practiced on the short wall before jumping off the main wall and open-face rappel. Tennessee Tech University, Where Leaders Soar!
SEP 29 TTU Army ROTC teams up with the TN Army National Guard to recruit at the fall career fair in the Hooper Eblen Center.
Matthew Robinson A member of the Golden Eagle family was injured in an unfortunate motor vehicle accident while travelling to Annual Training this summer. Matthew was a passenger in the accident in which both he and the driver, Cadet Lee Porter, were lucky to survive. Matthew fractured his neck and was partially ejected from the vehicle which rolled several times on Highway 840, south of Nashville. Thankfully, he was asleep when the accident occurred. Matthew spent almost a month in a comatose state and was fitted with a halo during that time. Since waking up, Matthew has made incredible progress, in some cases recovering faster than facilities have been able to keep up with. The halo was removed on September 1 st and Matthew is currently going through rehabilitation in Tampa, FL. On September 4 th Matthew asked his girlfriend of 2 years, Angela McGee to be his fiancé (pictured together at a friend s recent wedding). He is expected to make a full recovery and is eager to return to the Golden Eagle Battalion. Cadet Robinson is an inspiration to us all. Golden Eagles Don t Quit!