Army ROTC Cadets from U of A Continue Training During Active Summer Session

Cadet Wilson in Burundi, learning the proper procedure to treat a fracture

Cadet Chris Gentry, center, while attending the Leadership Development and Assessment Course at Ft. Knox

Cadet Jack Powell trained with Georgian cadets as part of the Summer Basic Mountaineering Warfare Course in the Republic of Georgia.

Cadet Ryan Rogers teaching English to the cadets of Burundi.

Cadet Lysa Walterhouse (left) teaching a Vietnamese man English.

Cadet Ryan Rogers, bottom row, center, with his Cultural Understanding and Language Proficiency (CULP) team in Burundi

Photo Submitted

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Cadets of the University of Arkansas Army ROTC enhanced their leadership skills in a wide variety of programs this summer.

One of the programs -- Cultural Understanding and Language Proficiency (CULP) – took eight cadets to work in five foreign countries. CULP instills cultural awareness and foreign language proficiency skills through overseas immersions help give future military leaders experiences they can’t get in the classroom.

Cadets Eric Babcock and Jacob Miller went to the Cabo Verde islands, located off the coast of West Africa for three weeks to teach English to the soldiers of the Cabo Verde Military. 

 “The trip was a very humbling experience,” said Miller. He was impressed with the soldiers’ dedication in learning a new language, and enjoyed learning about a new culture himself. 

Cadets Lysa Walterhouse and Peter Pham spent three and a half weeks in Vietnam in support of Operation Tiger Roar, teaching English to Vietnamese Search and Rescue officers. Beyond the classroom the team toured areas of Vietnam.

 “We primarily stayed in Hanoi,” said Walterhouse, “but we also visited the U.S. Embassy, visited many historical sites, and volunteered at an orphanage.”

Cadets Ryan Rogers, Rachel Wilson, and Stewart Tice, traveled to Burundi with Major Lorne Kelley for the first CULP program in that country. The teams worked with the Burundian military to help with its shift from French to English in professional development courses. Cadet Wilson was one of a small group of cadets who took part in a medical readiness exercise. And all of the cadets spent time at a local village working to build a foundation for the region’s first maternity clinic.

Cadet Jack Powell went to the Republic of Georgia for a month to take part in a Summer Basic Mountaineering Warfare Course while building relationships with the Georgian cadets there. This was Powell’s first experience outside the U.S.

“The course was physically demanding and pushed me to new boundaries,” he said. “We did a two day 40 mile ruck march through the Caucus Mountains, we rappelled almost daily with heights ranging from 50 to 140 feet, and we rock climbed often.” All that, while being introduced to a completely new culture.

Cadet Justin McFadden spent most of June in Romania teaching English to his Romanian counterparts. Like many of the other cadets, this was his first time in a foreign country and it gave him a new perspective.

  “In today’s Army, leaders must be able to adapt and work in very different areas with sometimes very different people,” he said.

The cadets who remained stateside were still busy. Four cadets took part in Cadet Troop Leader Training, getting three to four weeks experience in Army Table of Organization and Equipment units, serving in lieutenant-level leadership positions in active-duty units. Cadet Tyler Brandt trained at Ft. Bliss; Cadets Joshua Brite, and Mason Gibbons were stationed at Ft. Bragg; Cadet Robert McQuilkin  trained at Ft. Stewart; and    Cadet Christopher Gentry traveled to Korea.

In addition Cadet Vivien Moreno had an Army Medical Internship at Ft. Lewis and Cadet Candice Catlett went to Nursing Summer Training in Washington, DC.

Cadets Jacob Miller and Trace Williams attended the rigorous, 10 day Air Assault Training course at Ft. Benning, to qualify to conduct airmobile and air assault helicopter operations.

Cadets Lysa Walterhouse and Jack Powell attended the voluntary Airborne Training at Ft. Benning to qualify cadets use parachutes while developing leadership, self-confidence, and an aggressive spirit through mental and physical conditioning.

Several U of A cadets attended the Leadership Training Course at Ft. Knox, an intense four-week classroom and field training program essentially an accelerated version of the first two years of the Army ROTC curriculum. Quintavis Cureton, Joshua Pultro, David Wommack, and Lauren Trinidad all completed the Leadership Training Course.

Finally, cadets between their junior and senior years at the U of A attended the Leadership Development and Assessment Course, which they must graduate to be commissioned as Army officers. The curriculum is focused on putting the cadets in leadership positions in which they direct squads and platoons of their peers in completing exercises and conducting operations. Officers and non-commissioned officers monitor, coach and evaluate the cadets’ performance. Cadets Chris Gentry, Robert McQuilkin, Tyler Brandt, Joshua Brite, Lance Lanier, Tyler Casey, Dylan Blasi, Austin Woolbright, Chase Richards, Madeline Ramos, Brennan Pelts, Vivien Moreno, and Ethan Sumrall all successfully completed the course this summer.