A New Year Begins
As the school year begins again for Maranatha Baptist University (MBU), so too does the ROTC program in our pursuit of Leadership and Excellence. To do this at MBU we have engineered an orientation event to introduce new MSI(freshman) cadets (and even some returning cadets) to our program, faculty, student leaders, and opportunities here.
The day’s events began with the introduction of our ranking Professor of Military Science from University of Wisconsin Madison, LTC Katie Blue. She was followed by the introduction of MBU’s ROTC cadre: Mr. Derrek Schultheiss and CPT Jon DeGreeff, and MBU’s Cadet Executive Officer CDT Bryan Crane introduced himself as well.
The opportunities presented to the cadets ranged from extra-curricular to professional career choices. The captains of the Ranger Challenge team (an intense military skills competition team) and the Color Guard team (in charge of all formal ceremonies relating to the flag and a very public representation of Charlie Co.) both gave a quick summary of their respective teams and proceeded to recruit from our new cadets. Both of these extra-curricular programs provide a way for ROTC students to stand out among their peers and gain points for an Order of Merit List that will affect their what branch they are selected for and if they get active duty or not upon commissioning into the military (post graduation). Additional opportunities were presented through local members of the Wisconsin National Guard and U.S. Army Reserves. They introduced new cadets to the SMP (Simultaneous Membership Program). A program where cadets serve in either the National Guard or Reserves while attending college as a cadet. This allows cadets to get college paid for without winning a prior scholarship.
Following this, the cadet leadership organized everyone into their respective Platoon and Squad and headed outside for some fun! On the quad by the male dorms, first and second squad engaged in a race through an assault course, expertly crafted by our very own Ranger Challenge team, and subsequent obstacle course set up by the Wisconsin National Guard. These two events culminated in a squad Humvee pull.
The day’s events were concluded with a brief luncheon at Modular W, the HQ of the MBU ROTC world. Here cadets, both old and new, reminisced on past events and built espirit-de-corps through mutual camaraderie and new friendships. This new found spirit forged between cadets here will help carry us through our time at school for the remainder of the semester, as we look towards both our future and the future of the Cadet Corps.
CDT MSIV Sean Sutton