Fall 2012 - Army ROTC - Texas Christian University

Frog Strong.
Leaders Made Here!
Official Horned Frog Battalion Newsletter
ISSUE 01 VOLUME 03
Cadets Liu, Kresowaty, Cabral, and Aviles with MSG Rogers doing color guard at a TCU volleyball game
In this Issue:
BC Blurb p.2
Summer Training p.3
What’s New p. 6
Horned Frog Alumni p.7
Facebook p.8
Calendar of Events p.8

A Word from Our BC!
c/LTC Sean Carson
CDT Battalion Commander
62 HFB,
We are now well into the fall semester and I would like to comment on the excellent job we have
been doing so far and the necessity for us to continue our hard work.
I am proud of our performance as a battalion on all of our events. We have had a lot of work,
especially with stadium seats, the volleyball game, and football games, but we have endured and
powered through these tasks representing a strong battalion, willing to make a statement about our
professionalism and athleticism.
This year has brought a lot of changes with regards to new cadre, a new location, and a new and
improved sense of discipline and professionalism. It has been a big change from previous years but
you have all embraced it and done an excellent job setting the standard, preparing yourselves to
become Army officers.
As we progress through the year it is important to maintain a positive attitude and continuous effort.
As you go to every PT session, every lab, and every other event, I encourage you to do so with a
strong positive attitude. The program is what you make it. Your ability to make every event fun and
exciting will become contagious and create an incredible learning and training environment for all of
us.
For our MSIIIs, remember to soak in every bit of information you can from the cadre and the MSIVs.
Next summer may seem like a long way off, but I promise you it will come sooner than you think and
before you know it, you will be at LDAC. Ask the MSIVs for advice or tips because we are here to help
you. Try to take the year as it comes and don’t stress too much because I know you will all do
incredibly well.
The same concept applies to our battalion. Learn all that you can, ask your mentors, and have fun
with the program. Make sure to continue working on your classes and your outside activities because
they will help build your character as a leader and will help you in the future. Stay strong and set the
standard for the future years.
Good luck this semester and represent TCU and the Army to your fullest potential.
Very Respectfully,
Sean Carson

Summer Training
Each year some of our most outstanding cadets are selected to participate in summer training. All of the MSIIIs go
to LDAC, but some are also slotted for special schools or other extra training.
This past Summer I had the very unique and rare opportunity to attend Special Forces
Underwater Operations Combat Diver Qualification Course (CDQC). This course is usually exclusive to
Special Forces Operatives, and occasionally members of the 75 th Ranger Regiment. The course itself was
six weeks long, but ROTC Cadets had to show up a week early for the “Strong Swimmer Course.” This
week was spent acclimatizing the Cadets to the rigors of Waterborne Operations. During the
Prerequisite week, we performed events such as underwater knot tying, naval drown proofing, 50m
subsurface swim, equipment ditch and don, and the weight belt swim. These events were all performed
with a huge amount of stress placed on attention to detail with the diver and his equipment. If there
was a single piece of equipment out of place with anyone in the class, the entire class got “smoked” and spent thirty minutes
doing “remedial training,” which included subsurface sprints, treading water while passing twenty pound clumps, flutter kicks,
and any other maniacal exercises the Dive Supervisors could think of. So after PT in the morning and four hours of pool work in
the afternoon, we went on long distance surface swims then immediately went into two hours of classes on waterborne
operation, dangerous marine life, and all sorts of dive physics. After prerequisite week, we went into pool week. Pool week was
spent learning how to jock up open circuit equipment on a day known as “jock up day,” which is known as the hardest day of
CDQC. This was eight hours of having Dive Supervisors place as much stress on you as they could manage, causing some people
to push past their breaking limits, and see who could truly operate in the most stressful but controlled waterborne environment
imaginable. This week peaked on the event known as “one man competency.” This is a twenty minute event in which you have a
blacked out mask and you have your hoses on your SCUBA equipment wrapped up behind your head and you have to recover
your air. Until you get to the “unrecoverable knot” in which you have to ditch your air and feel for your air source to recover it.
The first time I attempted this event, I passed out trying to recover my air source, and you only have two times to complete any
event. This is the last make it or break it event at CDQC. At the start of the course, there were 78 people, graduating with 44. The
last of the people were cut or quit at “one man.” Upon completion of one man, we started doing open water dives with open
circuit equipment to include 130 foot dives, underwater searches, and ship bottom searches. After this we started going into
closed circuit systems. A closed circuit means that the equipment we use to swim underwater doesn’t give off any bubble
exhaust, making for a lighter system and a completely hidden insertion platform. We went on navigation dives and learned the
basics of LAR V Draeger rebreather. The final two weeks were spent doing tactical missions with a 12 man ODA, in which Cadets
and SF operators were put together and performed tactical missions with all waterborne insertion platforms to include Zodiacs,
Kayaks, Helocasting, subsurface, and Airborne intentional water jumps. This all cumulated to a final mission in which we utilized
all of these platforms to assault and secure the objective and then proceed to exfiltrate. CDQC doesn’t pride itself on its high
attrition rate, however due to the nature of the stresses of waterborne operations the school averages a 55% attrition rate. The
fact that I got to go and participate in this training with SF operators as a Cadet was an incredible experience and I am extremely
grateful to the Cadre for supporting me in going. Without the support of the Cadre, I would never have gotten this amazing
opportunity.
Karl Bjorn

I remember one particular moment at LDAC that I never want to go through again and that is
patrolling. I have short little legs, so carrying a ruck that weighs as much as I do throughout Jurassic
Park/Vietnam, where you have to climb over trees and ant villages, did not sit well with me. The
mosquitos were constantly in my ears and were ruthless with the biting. After the first day of traversing
through the Washington wilderness, we went to get settled into our objective rally point (ORP) for the
night and get prepared for the next day. Unfortunately, our platoon sergeant (PSG) for the next day was
an E8 Special Forces Ranger and wasn’t going to have any of this whole good-job-everybody-let’s-justsit-down-and-sing-kumbaya-and-eat-MREs-at-a-lesiurely-pace
thing happening. Instead, the moment
we step foot on the ORP we are immediately herded into a 360 with a buddy. One buddy would pull
security while the other would get out their poncho and start cleaning their weapon on it. If you
weren’t on it, you were pulling security no questions asked. I’m about Lysol positive (that’s 99.9% sure for you folks at home)
that our patrol leader (PL) was scared of him and let the PSG make all the decisions. I always felt like I was in reverse time-out on
that poncho just because the only time you could do anything was when you were on that poncho. So after 5 minutes on the
poncho, you were supposed to have your weapon cleaned and as much of your MRE eaten as you can. The idea was, weapon
maintenance is more important than your meal and you could always eat during fireguard. Ok, that would have been great if we
had been able to eat AT ALL that day but we didn’t have the time. I don’t know if you’re like me, but I get very cranky when I
don’t eat. So my big mouth and I decide to challenge the PSG (not a good idea). I start asking politely if we could stay a little bit
longer on the poncho in order to get everything done and the PSG said no. Well, that didn’t sit well with me and my stomach
that was about to crawl out of my body and punch a PSG in the face, so I yelled, “PICK! (that was his name) I KNOW YOU HAVE A
SOUL! STOP RANGER-ING THE EVERLOVING STUFFING OUT OF US AND LET US EAT!” Needless to say, no one really expected that
from me and neither did the PSG. He stood there for a bit, turned around and asked the platoon if they felt the same. Everyone
kind of mumbled in fear that if they were heard saying “yes,” he might yell at them. Moral of the story: we got 10 extra minutes
on the poncho. If that’s not winning, I’m not quite sure what is. By the time we had gotten back from the 10K ruck march, my
entire B-3 platoon heard what happened and they Christened me with the name of Ranger Nurse. It was awesome. Camp was
most definitely the most fun I never want to have again.
Kristy Wilson
This summer I had the opportunity to attend Air Assault School at Ft. Benning, Ga. It was an amazing
experience. The ten and a half day school isn’t long, but it’s extremely intense. Every night consisted of
studying only to wake up for PT and continuous “smokings” throughout the day. The combination of the
two took a toll on everyone. The hardest part of Air Assault is definitely “Zero Day”, with the 0300
12mile ruck a close second. Although it’s tough, there are many more pros than cons to the training. The hands-on pathfinder,
sling load, and repel training was so much fun and I learned so much. My favorite part of Air Assault School was repelling 90 feet
from a hovering UH-60. There is no other feeling like leaning out and watching the rotor blades turn above your head. Air
Assault School is tough but very rewarding. I am thankful for the opportunity and can’t wait to see what’s next.
Branson Chandler

ARMY ROTC gave me the opportunity to attend CTLT or cadet troop leader training at Camp Humphrey's
Korea with the 602nd Aviation Support Battalion. In Korea I served as an assistant platoon leader and
executive officer for Bravo Company of the 602nd. The 602nd is the maintenance support battalion to
the 4-2 Attack Battalion. I worked closely with 1LT's Jose Hernandez and Ashton Cooksey. I got the best of
both worlds of being able to test my skills in a real world environment as a 2LT and to see a new country
and get some traveling and culture in. I was able to plan, execute, and qualify an M16a2 range for Bravo
Company, I gave a company safety brief, completed "Dunkers" training also called METS and HEEDS
which is essentially twenty different ways to escape from a downed helicopter in water, completed a risk
assessment for company operations, planned my LT's training flight, and was thrown into the Motor pool
for some hands on learning. It wasn't all work though at Camp Humphrey's I was housed with 13 other
cadets who I became very close friends with and keep in contact with on a weekly basis. I would
recommend CTLT to any Horned Frog cadets as a great way to test yourself in a real world environment
and to get an idea of day to day life on Active Duty.
Abby Drew
For three weeks this summer, right before LDAC, I got the chance to participate in Cadet Troop Leader
Training (CTLT) at Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX. I got to follow a 1LT around, which may seem boring, but for
me it wasn’t! I was attached to Charlie Battery, 2 nd Battalion, 3 rd Field Artillery Regiment of the 1 st
Brigade 1 st Armored Division. It was one of the best and most mind opening experiences I’ve ever been
through. I got the chance to see what it’s really like as an officer, specifically a Lieutenant. I was able to
see the work relationship between the NCOs and the Lieutenants, and between the Lieutenants and the
higher ranking officers. I was also able to connect a lot of what we learn here in ROTC to the real world. I
also got the chance to learn about a lot there that we don’t in ROTC, such as field artillery.
From the first day, when I was issued a body armor vest and an ACH, I just knew this would be
great! During the first week there I had already met the Battalion Commander, who happens to be a TCU
alumnus, and I even got to spend the day out shooting at an M9 range with him and a bunch of other high
ranking officers. During the second week they had a three day field training where qualifying their soldiers in
calling for fire. I got to tag along and ride around in a HMMV for three days. I also got the opportunity to fire an
M777 Howitzer a couple of times, as well as how to observe and call for fires. It was amazing!
I would definitely suggest going to CTLT if you get the chance, and if you happen to not enjoy the branch
or slot you get during this program then just ask your sponsor for things to do or people to talk to. I got to go
over and spend a day with a Signal 1LT in the Signal Company that is attached to their battalion, and ask them
questions and learn about that specific branch. To me, CTLT was more of a learning experience than training. I
was glad to have learned from them all before they deploy to Afghanistan in January.
Cadet Drew at Camp Humphrey’s, Korea
Cadet Wilson at Fort Bliss

What’s New
This year we have had a lot of changes. We have several new cadre and cadets to add to the Horned Frog
family. We have moved to a new space with a new cadet lounge and classroom and new offices for the
cadre. With all of these improvements we have also added some new fun too. The battalion is hosting
pregame tailgates for the home football games, so come out and join in the fun!
I’m Lee Ann Denman and I am currently a MSI, majoring in biology. I
am a freshman from my beloved hometown, Hamilton, TX. I really have
enjoyed wearing purple to all our football games, eating cookies at the
BLUU, and shouting hooah at 6 in the morning! I have a brother (in
ROTC at TCU), and two younger sisters, who all also love the horned
frogs. Right now, I can’t wait to see what the year has in store, from late
night paint splattering in the commons to an intense weekend at FTX.
GO FROGS!
Lee Ann Denman

Horned Frog Alumni
GRAFENWOEHR, Germany ---1st Lt. Joshua Herrington,
a native of Colorado Springs, Col., and currently
stationed in Kaiserslautern, Germany with 10th Army
Air Missile Defense Command, leads a physical
readiness training session at the 7th Army
Noncommissioned Officer Academy on Grafenwoehr
Training Area during the fourth day of the U.S. Army
Europe Best Junior Officer Competition. The Best Junior
Officer Competition is a training event meant to
challenge and refine competitors’ leadership and
cognitive decision-making skills in high-intensity
competition and is a training event unique to the U.S.
Army in Europe. The competition runs from July 23-27,
2012. The competitors, company-grade officers ranking
from 2nd Lt. to Capt., represent Army units throughout
Europe and have already distinguished themselves amongst their peers and exemplify the profession of arms. The competition
brings these up-and-coming young leaders together for five days of physically and mentally challenging training, all for the
chance to be named U.S. Army Europe’s “Best Junior Officer” for 2012. Challenges include pistol and rifle qualifications, multiple
foot marches, and various situational training exercises to test their intellect and instincts as leaders. The knowledge, skill-sets
and leadership traits honed at this competition will help prepare the young leaders involved to excel when the time comes to
lead Soldiers in a deployed environment. For more information or to see photos and video from the competition go to the U.S.
Army Europe web site www.eur.army.mil/BestOfficer. (U.S. Army Europe photo by Spc. Joshua E. Leonard)
Capt. Zackary H. Moss, commander of Alpha Company, 832nd Ordnance Battalion,
59th Ord. Brigade, was one of only 25 Army captains selected to attend a five-week
course at an inaugural University of North Carolina-Institute for Business and
Defense Strategic Studies Fellows Program at the UNC campus in Chapel Hill.
See the full story at Fort Lee Traveller

Calendar of Events
Upcoming Events:
Oct 8-9
Fall Break
Oct 12- 14
FTX
Oct 27
Cowtown Classic
Oct 26-28
Nov 16
Nov 21-25
Dec 14
Dec 15
Ranger Challenge
Dining In
Thanksgiving Break
Commissioning
Graduation
Please feel free to contact us with any
news or articles you wish to see in the
next newsletter!
-Thanks!
Contact Clara Langdon at:
c.c.langdon@tcu.edu with your news.
http://www.facebook.com/TCUArmy
ROTC
(copy/paste the URL into your
browser)
Facebook
With social media on the rise, social networking sites
have changed the channels of communication between
organizations, communities, and even between
individuals. By 'liking' the 'Texas Christian University
Army ROTC' page on Facebook, cadre, cadets, alum,
and parents alike can join the social media revolution.
The page frequently updates current events, videos,
and photos of the Horned Frog Battalion in action.
Check us out!
http://www.facebook.com/TCUArmyROTC
Start Strong. Frog Strong.