The Lance
Liberty Battalion Army ROTC
11/24/2013
Volume 3, Issue 1
Air Assault School
CDT Welch ‘15 reflects on earning his AAS Badge
In this Issue
This past summer, I was given
training and within 3 hours
a slot at the Army Air Assault
we had about 6 people drop
School located at Ft. Benning,
out and/or pass out from the
Georgia. At that point I was
heat and humidity. That
only two years into the ROTC
really
program and a bit nervous
dangerous the climate can
about training outside of an
be. The next day we went
ROTC setting without other
through the obstacle course,
cadets. It didn’t help that the
which is normally the day
only information I received
where most soldiers drop
showed
me
how
Air Assault School………...1
Dandelion Middle School..2
A Semester in Sarajevo.......3
Leader’s Training Course..4
On Contracting…..…...…...5
I arrived at Ft. Benning, Georgia on the first day of
training and within 3 hours we had about 6
people drop out and/or pass out from the heat
and humidity
from older cadets was that Ft.
out. I luckily had no problem
Benning was miserable and
and breezed through it. After
that my 12-day period of
the obstacle course I was able
training was during one of the
to hangout for most of the
hottest times of the year.
day and finally socialize with
other soldiers training with
me.
The
consisted
next
of
3
days
classroom
training throughout the day.
We were familiarized with
helicopters and pathfinder
I
arrived
at
Ft.
Benning,
operations as well as hand
Georgia on the first day of
and arm signals. At the end
of the 3 days were had a
This phase culminated with a
Although it was hard, I still
written and hands-on test. The
90-foot rappel from UH-60
really enjoyed the experience. I
next phase consisted of 3 days
Blackhawk. Although we only
received training I would have
of outdoor instruction on sling
went down once from the
never received anywhere else
load operations, which was the
Blackhawk
still
and came away with a very
hardest material to learn. At
rewarding. The final phase
large sense of pride and
the end of the 3 days we had
consisted of a 12-mile ruck
accomplishment.
another written and hands-on
march,
highly
test. Throughout these first 6
completed in 3 hours. I don’t
specialty school to anyone
days we also had morning PRT,
believe
who is looking for a challenge
2 mile timed runs, and 6-mile
because everyone just wanted
ruck marches. The next phase
to get his or her wings at this
was rappelling. We practiced
point. We had a small pinning
different types of rappels all
ceremony and then headed
day on a 70-foot high wall.
back to the airport to go home.
it
which
was
had
anyone
to
be
failed this
I
would
recommend
this
with big rewards.
Cadets Abroad
CDT Kollmer and CDT Briskin give us an update what they are doing overseas …
Dandelion Middle School by CDT
rural areas of China.
If a
Kollmer ‘14
family decides to move to the
necessities.
This is where
Dandelion School comes in,
For my Fall 2013 semester, I
decided to spend my final co-
The school is an oasis, gated from the dirty streets
op working at the Dandelion
littered with trash, and taken over by aggressive,
Middle School in Beijing. This
shop owners
school was the first school in
Beijing
that
was
set
up
specifically for the children of
city in order to provide better
providing
China's migrant population.
opportunities for their family,
migrant students that do not
The government of China,
they forfeit their Hukou, along
have access to the mainstream
during the first year of the
with the privileges that come
education
People's Republic of China
with it.
students come from a variety
established
populations,
a
household
These "migrant"
approximately
of
education
system.
different
to
These
economic
registration system, called the
150 million in number, are
backgrounds and hail from all
Hukou.
This system bound
forbidden to own land, barred
different parts of China.
Chinese people to their places
from the most promising jobs,
of birth, immediately limiting
are
opportunities
subsidized
for
economic
growth for those born in the
denied
access
education
to
and
medical care, among other
This school is located in a more
rural area of China, about an
hour outside of the city. The
school is an oasis, gated from
the dirty streets littered with
levels, I have to create lesson
trash, and taken over by
plans that cater to every
aggressive, shop owners. The
student, I must communicate
students range from 7th to 9th
my lessons to them, I work
grade, and their school day
personally with the students
stretches from 0730 to 2130. I
that are struggling, and I get to
am currently working with
see which training methods
Miss Chen and her 7th grade
are effective or ineffective for
English classes, as well as
each student. Not being able
populate the ground in the
capital city of Bosnia. My
coworker casually described
experiencing the siege of
Sarajevo while in the Bosnian
Army during the early 90s
over coffee. My flat still has
bullet holes coating the eastern
wall.
providing additional help to
the 8th grade teachers, taking
Every facet of life in Bosnia has ties to the brutal
my own classes, and training
war that took place only two decades ago
the teachers.
I began studying Chinese at
to communicate with them in
Northeastern because it was a
English is an obstacle that
priority language for the US
makes the rest of this infinitely
Army, and I wanted to have a
more difficult. Knowing that I
job skill that set me apart from
can
my peers. My job at Dandelion
effectively teach students that
School helped me develop my
speak a completely different
language
most
language makes me all the
importantly, my leadership
more prepared and excited for
skills.
my future career in the US
skills
and
I feel as though
breakdowns
in
communicate
and
Army.
communication and general
lack
of
responsible
knowledge
for
are
countless,
preventable mistakes.
As a
A Semester in Sarajevo
CDT Briskin ‘15
platoon leader, some of my
responsibilities will include
identifying the weaknesses in
my unit, creating training
plans to bridge that gap, and to
communicate my plans and
intentions effectively (along
with
endless
amounts
of
paperwork). Working at the
Dandelion
School
is
very
similar. I have students with a
variety of different English
Maroon memorials, concrete
scars filled with resin marking
the location of artillery rounds
called
Sarajevo
Roses,
I've been interning at the
Organized
Crime
and
Corruption Reporting Project
in the capital city of Bosnia and
Herzegovina for two months
now.
Going to school in
Boston acclimated me to living
in a city rich with history, but
I've never lived anywhere like
Sarajevo before. Every facet of
life in Bosnia has ties to the
brutal war that took place only
two decades ago. Scars from
bombs and bullets are evident
in streets and buildings and
Bosnians
will
always
remember
what
they
experienced at the hands of
fellow Yugoslavs.
I pass
graffiti on my way to work
that reads "NEVER FORGET
SREBRENICA", and I know
the residents here never will.
Sarajevo exists now as a de
facto monument to the war.
While the city hosts a formal
memorial to the assassination
of Austrian Archduke Franz
Ferdinand, whose death in
Sarajevo in 1914 provided the
catalyst for World War I, the
majority
of
monuments
commemorating the Bosnian
War are organic. They serve as
a constant reminder of what
this city and its people
underwent, and as a future
leader in the United States
Army, they inform me of the
impact of modern war and the
ability of the United States
military to help end it.
My time in Bosnia has taught
me to be grateful that I grew
up in a nation with an
unrivaled military. I never
lived in fear of invasion from a
My time in Bosnia has given
me insight into the damage of
modern war. My day to day
schedule involves walking
past the damage the fighting
left behind, and every Bosnian
I've met has a personal
connection to the conflict.
Some fled, some fought, some,
like my Bosnian flat mate,
learned to walk in a bomb
shelter. I see the lasting impact
of war every day, and I know
how important international
peacekeepers are in the
modern world.
Leader’s Training
Course (LTC)
CDT Leahy ‘15 describes her
LTC experience this summer
The Leader’s Training Course
was overall a great experience.
Prior to going to LTC, I was
able to learn about what my
experience would be like from
a Northeastern cadet who had
attended the previous summer.
I prepared as much as I could,
but I still did not know exactly
what to expect. On the way
War
in
Yugoslavia
was
Some fled, some fought, some, like my Bosnian
flat mate, learned to walk in a bomb shelter.
down to Kentucky, I was
relieved
to
find
another
student from the Boston area
that was heading to the same
place. We were both anxious
foreign country. The United
States military has kept me
safe for two decades and I
have never had to live through
what happened to the Bosnian
people.
My time in Bosnia has
highlighted the importance of
a strong relationship between
the United States military and
foreign nations. Bosnia ranks
towards the very bottom in
corruption
indexes
of
European nations, an example
of what can happen to nations
that
receive
military
intervention but fail to receive
comprehensive infrastructural
reconstruction.
brought to a close only when
foreign powers implemented
effective
and
cohesive
intervention. The damage to
Bosnia would be more severe;
the statistics even more
shocking and horrific. The
international community was
more than slow to act in the
Balkans, but when other
nations -- the United States
included -- decided that they
would see no more of the
brutal and bloody war, it was
brought to an end. Hearing
the stories of Bosnians has
reinforced the idea in me that
some conflicts require military
intervention, and I will be
proud to commission with an
institution that shares some of
the responsibility for ending
the Bosnian War.
and excited to begin LTC.
After we landed in Kentucky
and left the airport, we were
greeted at Fort Knox by drill
sergeants
who
quickly
ensured that we knew how to
properly stand and address
them.
LTC consisted of four phases,
each one building upon the
experiences and skill sets from
the previous one. The phases
were the Soldier First Phase,
the Warrior Leader Phase, the
Bold Leader Phase, and the
Future Leader Phase. The
Soldier First Phase consisted
mainly of discipline teaching
and
learning
knowledge
basic
from
the
Army
drill
sergeants that were assigned
the rest of the platoon was at a
Contracting substantiates my
to our company. We then
deficit
continued
proceeded to the next phase
where we started to focus on
skills such as land navigation.
The
third
phase
was
an
accumulation of the many
skills we had learned in the
previous phases. Events such
as team building, OPORD
practice and battle drills all
came together when we had to
complete STX lanes. After the
I also learned a lot about my
capabilities as a person both
mentally and physically. I was
very surprised that I was able
to get from point to point,
pulling myself across a rope,
but with the motivation of
both my drill sergeants and
my squad members, I was able
to do it.
STX lanes were complete, our
Lastly, I think that the most
final event as a company was a
important lesson that I took
six-mile ruck march. After the
away from LTC was the
march, all of the cadets were
importance
individually assessed on their
positive
performance at LTC.
constantly putting in a good
In order to be successful at
LTC, it was critical to work
with the people around you to
get everything done. I was
placed in a squad with people
from California, Texas, Puerto
Rico, and Virginia, but by the
end, it had been as if we had
of
having
attitude
efforts
becoming
an
towards
adroit
professional. It also reaffirms
my goal of being a leader and
an adept soldier. As a cadet
and future Army officer, I
represent more than myself. I
am working to become a more
qualified
professional.
Contracting
represents
this
goal.
a
and
effort. At LTC, there were
many difficult tasks, both
physical
and
mental,
that
needed to be accomplished.
Regardless of one’s knowledge
base
and
abilities
to
do
everything correctly, if they
approached everything with a
positive attitude, they were
Army officers are trained to be
Army officers are trained to be living
representations of professionalism and strong
moral fiber
living
representations
of
professionalism and strong
moral
fiber.
Whether
in
uniform or out, Army officers
are held to a higher standard.
known each other for much
successful.
degree are intrinsic to being an
more than 30 days. Teamwork
was the most critical during
these activities because if one
person was not prepared, then
Leading people and utilizing a
New Additions to the
Army Family
CDT Silver ‘16 reflects on
contracting
Army
officer.
These
characteristics motivate me to
become an Army officer.
As a future Army officer, you
that I have set in Army ROTC
the Liberty Battalion and a
are surrounded by likeminded
will aid me.
student at Northeastern, I have
people whose commitment to
the mission is resolute. It is a
gratifying experience to be
amongst a group of dedicated
people. The work ethic and
military discipline acquired
through
Army ROTC can
benefit almost anyone. I am
By being a cadet in Army
ROTC, I am gaining military
discipline while earning a
degree. In a sense, I have an
advantage over anyone not in
ROTC. I am an individual
student, but also a member of
frequently surprised to hear
all the necessary tools to start
becoming a professional today.
I
will
gain
experiential
learning experiences through
the
Liberty
through
University’s
Battalion
and
Northeastern
cooperative
people were commissioned
This lifestyle will be many things, but it is unlikely to
officers through Army ROTC
be dull
before gaining recognition in
another field. An example of
this is Supreme Court justice
Samuel Alito. Justice Alito
graduated from Princeton’s
Army ROTC program. He was
honorably discharged in 1980
with the rank of Captain.
Justice Alito lived in my
a team. I am learning, but also
education program. I will have
leading. The duality of being a
relevant job experience in my
student and cadet provides a
field prior to graduation and I
unique perspective. Suffice to
will be a 2nd Lieutenant. That
say I learn as much through
is a powerful combination.
Army ROTC as I do through
my classes at Northeastern.
hometown of West Caldwell,
What I learn in ROTC is
New Jersey prior to being
applied, practical knowledge.
nominated for the Supreme
At some point, I will definitely
Court by President George W.
use the knowledge and skills
Bush. This and similar success
acquired in Army ROTC. I
stories make me feel that I am
cannot
on the right path towards
everything I learn in college.
achieving my goals.
The bottom line is I gain more
As an Army officer my life for
the next decade will likely be
filled
with
experiences.
profound
I
may
life
have
real
say
that
world
about
preparation
through Army ROTC than I
would through a traditional
college education.
multiple jobs and live in places
The Liberty Battalion Army
around
This
ROTC program is one of the
lifestyle will be many things,
best Army ROTC programs in
but it is unlikely to be dull.
the United States. The success
Wherever I go, the foundation
of
the
world.
its
cadets
is
perhaps
unparalleled. As a member of
Liberty Battalion Army ROTC trains and commissions Army officers from
Northeastern University, Boston College, Wentworth Institute of Technology,
Simmons College, Suffolk University, Emmanuel College, Regis College,
Framingham State University, Massachusetts College of Art and Design,
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and Berklee College of
Music
Visit us online at rotc.neu.edu or facebook.com/libertybattalion