November 2012 - Penn State Army ROTC - Pennsylvania State ...

The Lion’s ROAR
Pennsylvania State University: The Nittany Lion Battalion Army ROTC Current Events Page
NOVEMBER 2012
Penn State Ranger Challenge Takes 1 st ! by Cadet Shawn Brown
For the third year in a row, Penn State’s Army ROTC Ranger Challenge Team won the 2 nd
Freedom Brigade Ranger Challenge Competition. The competition took place on October 6 th ,
over a twelve hour period. 45 universities from the region competed in the annual event,
including teams from the United States Military Academy, the United States Naval Academy,
and the University of Pittsburgh.
Each team was comprised of nine individuals, with at least one member from each academic
class (freshmen – senior) and one female. The teams competed in a wide array of physically
and mentally challenging events that tested their military acumen. The tested skills included
weapon assembly, negotiating obstacle courses and a hand assault grenade course, building
a rope bridge, a combat first aid simulator, rappelling and several other events, which span a
seven and a half mile course. Penn State took first place in four individual events and was
awarded the title of overall 2 nd Brigade Ranger Challenge Champions for a third straight
year. Cadet Jacob Ahle (Senior; Economics), a four year member of the team and its current
Commander, stated “The camaraderie within the team is what helped make the team
successful this year.”
Because of their achievement, the team now has the honor of representing Penn State at
the international Sandhurst Military Skills Competition at the United State Military Academy
in the spring. This will be the third year in a row they have earned that honor. Penn State
will be one of only eight other University ROTC teams from across the country that will
compete. The team will challenge over 30 teams for the top spot, including West Point and
many others from foreign countries, including: China, Britain, Australia, Canada, Chile,
Afghanistan, and Thailand. Last year at Sandhurst 2012 Penn State earned the title of 2 nd
best ROTC team in the nation, and will work hard over the next six months to achieve an
even better result. Regardless of the results, we should be exceptionally proud of these
young men and women, who will someday be leading our soldiers in combat.
This Issue
Ranger Challenge P1
Dining In; Air Defense Artillery P2
Air Assault School P3
Running Club; Studying Abroad P4
Kaizen; Run for the Fallen; Upcoming
Coverage P5
Congratulations to the following
Cadets for participating in the
Ranger Challenge Competition!
� Jacob Ahle (Senior; Economics)
� Alex Buchanan (Senior;
Engineering)
� Joshua Ciccolini (Senior; Crime,
Law and Justice),
� Taylor Moran (Senior; Crime,
Law and Justice)
� Aaron Felling (Junior;
Engineering),
� Kirill Zemlyanskiy (Junior;
International Politics, Strategic
Risk Analysis, Russian),
� Kate Bassett (Sophomore;
Engineering)
� Jonathan Graham (Sophomore;
International Politics)
� Jacob Boyle (Freshmen;
Engineering)
� Andrew Fletcher (Sophomore;
Crime, Law and Justice)
� Jodie Villegas (Sophomore;
Nutrition)
� Michael Scott (Freshmen;
Engineering)

The Dining In Tradition by Cadet Christopher Brittingham
On November 2 nd the Nittany Lion Battalion hosted its annual Dining In event at the State College Ramada Inn. This year the special
guest, Colonel Glenn Goldman who previously served as 2 nd ROTC Brigade Commander, joined the Nittany Lion Battalion in
celebrating this historic Army tradition.
The custom of the US Army Dining In dates back to American military forces in Britain during World War I and II. The camaraderie
between U.S. and British forces in World War I led to the American adoption of the tradition. Since then, the practice of the Dining In
has become an integral part of the regimental mess. This tradition is now practiced in all Army units.
Here at Penn State the Dining In includes all of the Nittany Lion Battalion, which is comprised of cadre and cadets from University
Park, Altoona, and Hazelton campuses. Everyone enjoys a formal dinner together, riddled with jovial humor provided by the Cadets.
Along with formal dining, this evening includes skits produced and performed by each military science class, humorous pictures of
cadets making silly decisions, and the unfortunate chance to be called to the dreaded Grog.
For those that are lucky enough to be unaware, The Grog is a drink made up of many different ROTC- related ingredients such as dirt
from LDAC boots, shredded pieces of a ruck, and the snow from past FTXs. Although these ingredients seem inedible, they are
actually real foods such as coffee grounds and Gatorade serving symbolic purposes. Cadets, grogged or not, never miss out on a
unique time at the Dining In. This year’s Dining In proved to be one of the most enjoyable yet!
(Above) Cadets Aaron Felling, Carly Vernon, and Frank Banecker prepare for the Grog
(Below) LTC Ken Weiland, Cadet Alex Buchanan, and SFC John Webster partake in the Grog together
Air Defense
Artillery:
By Cadet Jesse Lesko
Air Defense Artillery(ADA),
a combat arms branch,
specializes in anti-aircraft
weapons. Their primary
goal is to protect U.S.
Forces from aerial attack,
missile attack, and enemy
surveillance. Air Defense
Artillery separated from
the Anti-Aircraft Artillery
on 20 June 1968. Three
main ADA weapons
systems exist, which
include the Patriot Missile
System, the Terminal High
Altitude Area Defense,
and the Avenger Air
Defense System. Recently,
in 2010 the United States
Army Air Defense Artillery
School was moved from
Fort Bliss to Fort Sill.
Congratulations to Cadet
David Reddington, on
branching Air Defense
Artillery!

The U.S. Army Air Assault School by Cadet Justin Gordon
The U.S. Army Air Assault School is a ten and a half day course
designed to train Soldiers in Air Assault operations, sling-load
operations, and rappelling. Upon graduation of the course each
Soldier will be able to perform skills required to make maximum
use of helicopter assets in training and combat missions in order to
support their unit operations. The Air Assault School is located at
Fort Campbell, Kentucky as well as several Mobile Training Sites
including Fort Benning, Georgia.
On Day 0 no one is officially considered to be in the “Air Assault
School” until they’ve completed the Obstacle Course(O- Course),
3K run and Packing List Inspection. The Inspection is the most
meticulous task the candidates face, even compared to the
physical strains of the O-Course and run. All items listed on the
packing list must be present, laid out properly according to the Lay
Out SOP, and serviceable. Any deficiencies count towards points
lost and subsequently may be used to eliminate candidates and
students from the School. Upon successful completion of these
events and no major deficiencies, the soldier is now considered a
student at the Air Assault School.
Days 1 through 3, Phase 1, operations include aircraft safety,
aircraft orientation, aero medical evacuation, pathfinder
operations, hand-and-arm signals, combat assault operations.
Following training each student is given both a written and
practical exam on all of the above mentioned areas and must
receive a “GO” score to continue to Phase 2.
Days 4 through 6 are considered the hardest days of the course
with number crunching and aircraft specifications and sling load
operation inspection criteria to memorize. Again, students receive
a written and practical exam on the aircraft specifications and
actually inspecting sling loads of a M1097 HMMWV, M119
Howitzer, M149A2 Water Trailer, A-22 Cargo Bag, Fuel Blivets and
5,000 or 10,000 lb Cargo Net. After both “GO’s” are accomplished,
students proceed to Phase 3.
Days 7 through 9 are the Rappelling Phases where students
learn to tie a Swiss Seat (hip-rappel seat), hook-up techniques,
lock-in procedures, open and closed side rappelling with and
without combat equipment, belay procedures, and a fast rope
familiarization. Students complete approximately 15 rappels
alongside a completely practical test consisting of a timed
Swiss Seat tying and a hook-up and lock-in procedural test.
Three mistake-free rappels to receive a “GO.” The margin for
error is so small that students will not graduate unless they
truly earn it!
The final task students must complete in order to graduate is
the 12-mile foot march, completed in less than three hours,
with the prescribed packing list in their ruck. Upon successful
completion of all the above tasks, students graduate and are
awarded their Air Assault Badge and the 2B ASI skill identifier.
My experience at Air Assault School was one filled with
physical pain and strain, long nights of studying, early
mornings doing five-and-dimes (five pull-ups and ten elevated
push-ups required of each student as they pass under the
School Arch), long hours in the classroom and many hours in
the Kentucky sun. My best experience at the School was
graduation day and the great feeling of accomplishment to
complete one of the Army’s most challenging skill schools.
My worst experience was a daily ritual of “smoking” which
consisted of hundreds of overhead arm claps, push-ups, many
other physically draining exercises and the infamous “Mock-
Up Sprints.” The physical strains combined with the constant,
overwhelming flow of information and high standards make
this school a revered and daunting task to attempt to
complete. However, the feeling of accomplishment and
success on graduation day ultimately outweighs the strains
and pains of Air Assault School.

Running Club Success:
by Cadet Kyle McClure
The Nittany Lion Battalion Running
Club has been hard at work this past
fall semester. The Army Ten Miler, held
at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington
D.C. on October 23, 2012, was a great
turn out. There were a total of 30,000
runners that came out to support the
cause. Sophomore Jake Bender said, “It
was an awesome experience to race
alongside so many people”. He placed
3,100 out of all the participants! The
next event on the schedule was the
Veteran’s 5-mile Race. This took place
on October 28 in Bellefonte, PA. We
had four Cadets in attendance: Cadets
Bassett, Bender, Kabusk, and Villegas.
All of these Cadets were able to push
through and place in their age groups.
The team has been practicing and
putting forth a great amount of effort
to proudly represent our Penn State
Nittany Lion Battalion and Penn State
as a whole. Keep up the good work,
Cadets!
(Above) Cadets Ashley Uhler, Dale Anderson, Valerie Nostrant, Carly Vernon, and Jonathan Gram
(Below) Cadets Jonathan Gram, Ashley Uhler, Valerie Nostrant, Dale Anderson, and Connor Sharff
pictured at the Army Ten Miler.
LTC Ken Weiland, MAJ Benjamin Perry (left) Cadets Trevor Anselmino, Alex Berwager (middle) and Cadet Ashley Uhler (right) enjoying themselves while running the Army
Ten Miler!

Cadets Daniel Bopp, Christopher Brittingham, and Kristi Bartolome collecting donations
for kids in need
Interested in joining ARMY ROTC?
Contact information:
211 Wagner Building
University Park, PA 16802
(814) 863 – 0360 office ∙ (814) 863 – 7802 fax
http://www.army.psu.edu/index.html
http://pennstatearmyrotcnlb.shutterfly.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penn_State_Army_ROTC
Recruitment Cadre:
Mr. Jim Grassmyer: Recruiting Operations Officer-
jag181@psu.edu,
Mr. Brandon Smith: Scholarship and Enrollment -
Officer, bjs51@psu.edu
Upcoming Issue of
the Lions ROAR:
-Kaizen is a student run
Army ROTC supported
organization benefiting
Penn State’s charitable
dance marathon, known as
THON. This amazing group
has dedicated hours of their
spare time to raise
thousands of dollars for kids
suffering from cancer!
-Fall Run for the Fallen was
a huge success! This Army
ROTC supported race
helped donate $550 to the
Wounded Warrior Project.
Nittany Lion Battalion Lion’s
ROAR
Contributors: Cadets Shawn Brown, Chris Brittingham,
Justin Gordon, Jesse Lesko, Kyle Mcclure, David
Reddington
Design and Editors: Cadets Hannah
Weiner, Aditya Sridhara
Any questions, comments, or concerns
about the Lion’s ROAR? All suggestions are
welcome. Contact Cadet Hannah Weiner at
haw5075@psu.edu