Colorado State University-Pueblo MAGAZINE Spring/Summer 2007

Peace
“I loved wearing
a uniform and had a
passion for history and
the military,” Price said.
“Entering the military
for some is a personal
calling or the influence of a
mentor.”
Prior to joining the
CSU-Pueblo staff, Price
was the Battalion S1
for the 743d Military
Major John Price
Intelligence Battalion,
Fort Carson, CO. Before
that, he commanded Delta
Detachment, 502nd Personnel Services Battalion, Fort
Carson, which was attached to the 3d Armored Cavalry
Regiment during the initial stages of Operation Iraqi
Freedom.
“I’ve been to many countries, but I’ve never
experienced anything like Iraq. It’s really beyond
my ability to articulate it. It’s like you’re on another
planet,” Price said.
The highest ranking soldier to graduate from the
University’s ROTC program is Brigadier General Roger
F. Mathews, A78, (see related story) who has served
as Deputy Commanding General for Operations, U.S.
Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army
Forces Strategic Command since January of 2006.
Price said there are misperceptions about those who
join ROTC and the military.
“The military attracts bright, motivated, and
focused individuals who are seeking opportunities, and
others who just want to serve the country,” he said. “It
also may help individuals who need to find their focus.
For those with no stability or parameters, it provides
that structure.”
Price is proud that the program is growing even
with unrelenting pressures about the war. He attributes
some of that success to the proud military tradition of
Pueblo with its “Home of Heroes” tagline.
For more about the ROTC program, contact Price at
719-549-2141 or john.price@colostate-pueblo.edu.
With nothing to do the summer
of 1974, Roger Mathews, A78,
chose to attend a six-week Marine
Corps training session and fell in
love with the “camaraderie and
the huge feeling of accomplishing
something very diffi cult.” Now, nearly three decades
later, he oversees the operations of two unique, globe
spanning brigades that provide 24/7/365 space support
to the war fi ghter and homeland defense against
missile attacks as Brigadier General Mathews, Deputy
Commanding General for Operations, U.S. Army Space
and Missile Defense Command.
When Army ROTC professors at the University
suggested he join their program to “stay current,” he
could not have imagined that he would fi nd himself
three decades later as one of the leaders of this nation’s
defense. He became hooked on developing his leadership
skills after he was selected to lead a special aggressor
team to oppose junior cadets about to depart for summer
camp at Fort Lewis. Among the most important lessons
he learned at the University was how to brief an issue
to senior offi cers, discuss themes not specifi c items and
rehearse a pitch before it’s given.
Even with a much decorated military career, Mathews
considers his most rewarding job to have been mentoring
young offi cers, NCOs, and soldiers on tactics, techniques,
and procedures to defeat Soviet-style forces as a Combat
Trainer at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif.
from 1987-1990. His most unusual job was supervising
counterdrug operations on the Mexican border.
Mathews said leadership is the primary reason an
individual should join the military.
“Young men and women who want an opportunity to
‘lead’ do not focus on avoiding war. Men and women
who are focused on avoiding the possibility of death or
a harsh environment are not going to be the leaders we
need,” he said. “In fact, they won’t lead anyway. Our
soldiers need men and women of strong character who
have a desire to serve a larger purpose.”
They have found such a leader in Mathews.
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