Commanders Corner - Army ROTC - Colorado State University

The
Frontline
Special summer 2011
edition
Published by
Colorado State University’s Ram Battalion
cadets
Above: CSU Army ROTC’s Cadet Joe Frechette (front left) featured on the front page of a Korean
newspaper competing against Korean cadets during physical training.
Summer madness
Not only did this 2011 summer provide the
largest class to ever attend the ROTC Leadership
Development Assessment Course (LDAC) at Ft.
Lewis, WA with over 6,000 participating cadets,
but LDAC was also the Army’s biggest training
event of the year. The Ram Battalion (Ram BN)
participated by sending 30 of its cadets who had
just completed their 3 rd year in ROTC at CSU or
UNC to Ft. Lewis.
In addition to LDAC, the Ram BN sent cadets
to American & foreign military installations
around the world to receive & provide world class
training during the months of May, June, July, &
August. Our cadets attended Airborne, Air Assault,
Mountain Warfare, the Special Forces Underwater
Operations Combat Diver Schools; the Cadet
Troop Leader Training Program (CTLT); the
Leader’s Training Course (LTC); & participated in
the Army’s Cultural Language Program (CULP).
This special edition of The Frontline contains
photos & stories from several Ram BN cadets who
attended summer training.

Rwanda, Africa
By Cadet Alex Coslow
This summer, I was selected to participate in the
Cultural Understanding and Language Proficiency
(CULP) program. This program is designed to
maintain & improve foreign relations with the host
nation while developing individual leadership skills
of the participating Cadets & providing them with a
unique and worldly experience outside of the United
States.
Above: Cadet Coslow tutoring Rwandan soldiers in English.
Our mission in Rwanda was to conduct English
language training, teaching Rwandan Defense Force
(RDF) officers & noncommissioned officers. We
applied an innovative style of teaching as opposed to
a traditional lecture style, which was intended to
provide each RDF soldier with maximum exposure to
the English language. We taught Monday through
Friday but generally had the weekends off & were
often able to go on trips across the country to
experience Rwandan culture & learn about the
country’s history. We climbed a volcano in the
Northern Province bordering the Congo & went on a
day trip to one of the natural preserves where we
experienced the country’s diverse wildlife. Rwanda is
one of the smallest countries in Africa but it is the
most densely populated, so animals can only be
found in the few natural preserves. We also went to a
few Genocide museums & memorial sites where we
learned about Rwanda’s recent history of genocide &
how Rwanda is recovering.
One of the most memorable excursions was to an
orphanage on top of a mountain overlooking the
southern shores of Lake Kivu, one of the Great Lakes
of Central Africa. We spent a weekend there
interacting with the children who had been orphaned
by war, genocide, & the devastating HIV/AIDS
epidemic. In a country where only a low percentage
of the population finishes primary school, this
orphanage was sending its children all the way
through secondary school to ensure that they have a
2
decent future away from the orphanage. This visit &
the children left a lasting impression on all the Cadets
and served as a memento to how violence causes so
much suffering.
Above: Cadet Coslow (American on right) with Rwandan
soldiers.
This entire program helped develop my personal
leadership skills & gave me an entirely different
outlook on Rwandan culture. It has been a great
experience & I would recommend it to anyone who is
eligible.
Benin, Africa
By cadet sean homburger
Our CULP trip was a deployment to the Republic
of Benin, Africa. There were 10 American cadets
who were quick to make friends & bond with each
other & our OIC, a Lieutenant Colonel & seasoned
combat engineer whom we all greatly respected. We
spent a week in Fort Knox in-processing & being
poked and prodded with needles to ensure we did not
contract any African illnesses. Upon arriving in
Benin, we were quickly overwhelmed by the smells,
people, & atmosphere of the country. We visited the
US ambassador to Benin & the Commanding General
of the Military forces of Benin; both in first day. The
heat, humidity, & jet lag were not going to stop us
from making a good impression with the Benin
military personnel.
Above: Cadets from Homburger’s group on the Benin range
shooting AK-47s.

For the three weeks we were in country we taught
English to former non-commissioned officers
(NCO’s) studying to be officers of the Benin military.
A majority of the class (22 members in all) was
completely inexperienced with English, but by the
end of the three weeks almost all of the cadets were
fluent. On the weekends our group would travel the
countryside where we went on a safari, watched
locals sacrifice goats & birds in a voodoo ritual,
jumped from a 60-foot-high waterfall, & visited local
villages & their communities.
Above: Cadet Homburger (front row, 3 rd from left)
with fellow cadets & Benin soldiers.
Our most shocking experience was an up close &
personal interaction with the people of West Africa.
We witnessed the poverty & low quality of life,
especially in the children. Swollen stomachs, rust
colored hair, & even balding did not stop the children
from joyously jumping around the Americans,
playing games, & running around. Although Benin is
an impoverished nation & underdeveloped, it is
politically stable, growing economically, & there is a
generally optimistic spirit among its people. The
deployment was a great success & the best
experience of my life.
Republic of Korea
By cadet Joe frachette
This summer I was lucky enough to be picked as
one of the cadets to be sent overseas to conduct
cultural and language emersion in the Republic of
Korea (R.O.K.). While there we (the 23 other cadets
and myself) were exposed to a wide variety of
Korean culture, ranging from their military life to
their civilian life. We conducted physical training
(PT) with the R.O.K. Army as well as eat raw
stingray & live octopus.
Although the entire trip was incredible, there were
two parts that stood out as my most memorable
3
moments: First & foremost was our time spent in the
R.O.K. barracks interacting with the R.O.K. Army
Cadets. As many of you may know, the United States
and the Republic of Korea have shared a very close
bond since the Korean War in the early 1950s. This
bond has grown strong amongst the military
personnel stationed in Korea due to the immense
hospitality of the Koreans as well as the immense
similarities between our two militaries. From our
time observing and training with the R.O.K. Army it
became very clear that the Korean military functions
in many of the same ways as our military. The
Korean Cadets even have a training camp similar to
our LDAC that we were lucky enough to observe.
While there we stayed in the barracks with their
cadets; conducted PT; & had friendly but extremely
intense competitions, which ranged from arm
wrestling in the barracks to racing with tires strapped
to our backs on the parade grounds (featured on the
cover page). We were able to observe their cadets
running through their battle drills, which, like many
things in their military, are a mirror image of ours.
After we completed our time with these cadets,
they were kind enough to host each of us at their
home for a night to show us how Koreans function
outside their mandatory military service. The cadet I
went with, Park Han Sol, and his family were kind
enough to take me out to a traditional restaurant, take
me on a tour of their city, & show me what they
enjoy doing with their free time. Even with the
language barrier between Han Sol’s parents & me,
(they didn’t speak English and he had to translate)
their hospitality was overwhelming. Overall the
Korean Cadets, Officers, & NCOs made our trip a
challenging & enjoyable one. I encourage all CSU
Cadets to apply for the CULP program so they can
experience what I was lucky enough to experience.
Above: Cadet Frechette (middle in the black shirt) at
the train station with Korean soldiers, a fellow cadet, &
the OIC for the deployment.

Other Schools
attended by Ram BN
cadets
Airborne:
Craig, Doryland, zbacnik
Mountain Warfare:
Donaldson
Air Assault:
Murphy
Special Forces
Underwater Operations
Combat Dive School:
Wetlesen
4
Above: Cadet Nate Wetlesen (2 nd from right) graduated
one of the most intensive schools the Army has to offer:
Special Forces Underwater Operations Combat Dive
School.
Below: Some of the underwater training Cadet
Wetlesen underwent while at school in Key West,
Florida
LDAC (Leadership
development assessment
course:
Ackley, Allen, Bass,
Biondilillo, bleich, brown,
buss, Byram, cypert, Goodwin,
hendrick, king, koolmees,
kucera, lewis, linzmeier,
Meredith, Navarro, peer,
peter, rosa, ruzkowski,
scavuzzo, seitz, Shaffer,
Shockley, Vazquez, klein,
pierson, rock

Above Left: Cadet on the obstacle course at LDAC
Above Right: All cadets at LDAC were sent through
the “gas tent” where they were exposed to tear gas. An
unforgettable experience for ALL!
Cadets were required to pass the Army Physical
Fitness Test at LDAC, which includes a 2-mile run
(pictured above), 2 minutes of push ups, & 2 minutes of
sit ups.
Below, from left: CSU Cadets Seitz, Byram, & Lewis
from LDAC’s 9 th Regiment pictured after the last day
of 4 grueling days of Situational Tactical Exercises.
5
Start Strong!
The 2011 Fall Semester is just now underway
at both CSU & UNC, which means the Ram BN
is gearing up to begin training its juniors (called
MS3s) in Squad tactics (STX) & operations
orders (OPORDS). We expect this semester to
run smoothly with a BN staff consisting of 30
seniors led by the cadet Battalion Commander,
Cadet Brandon Peer, & a competitive junior
class. The sophomores (MS2s) & freshmen
(MS1s) will be expected to support the MS3s in
their efforts to demonstrate their leadership
abilities.
While the Fall Field Training Exercise (FTX)
approaches quickly & preparation for LDAC is
in progress, please keep the Ram BN cadets in
your thoughts & prayers.
CSU cadets & cadre are proud to be one of the
top Army ROTC programs in the nation, & we
intend to keep it that way! Ram Tough & Army
Strong!
Published by CSU’s Ram Battalion�
Edited by cadet Jeremy byram