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| Congratulations: On Saturday, 20 December 2003 we welcomed two of the newest members of the URI Army R.O.T.C. Alumni Association. 2LT Laura Chechel and 2LT Jay Parker, '03 received their commissions as officers in our Army during separate ceremonies at the University of Rhode Island and the Naval War College. Lt. Chechel has joined the Army Nurse Corps and will soon report to the basic officer course at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Lt. Parker was commissioned in the Infantry and will report to Fort Benning, Georgia in early 2004. | |
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ROTC ENDOWMENT UPDATE: So
many of our alumni and extended URI R.O.T.C. supporters across the
globe have made a superlative contribution to our initial fundraising
campaign. As of 1 January 2004 we have raised $11,200
toward our initial goal of $20,000. To all of you who have been
so generous with your contributions, THANK YOU! LTC
(R) Paul Helweg '70 continues to
coordinate the campaign through early 2004. If you have not
already done so and would care to make a contribution, please contact
him at email: dblue@erols.com
Once again and on behalf of the entire alumni officer corps from URI,
a huge pat on the back to our undergraduate
cadets who provided the initial "seed
money" donation of $1,000
from their hard earned academic year jobs and other fundraisers. You
have shown what leadership is all about and we hope this stimulates
even more alumni to come forward in this inaugural campaign.
As the new year approaches we remain ever mindful
of our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines on duty throughout the
world in these difficult times. We hope 2004 brings a lasting
peace and a safe return to them all.
The annual R.O.T.C. Cadet Raffle takes place 28
January 2004 with a variety of prizes to
include: 19" Color TV, stereo with CD player, DVD player,
gift certificates and more! Point of Contact for tickets ($5 for
a booklet of five) is Cadet LTCTony
DiFruscio at email:
tonytoca10a@hotmail.com
Word has it from our Southwest USA correspondent
that Steve and Carol Glick
have arrived safely in Arizona and stand watch over the construction
of their new home which they expect may be ready by late January-early
February time frame. Good luck, Steve and Carol and do stay in
touch with your friends at Rhody R.O.T.C. Send some photos
and we'll stay on the "net" with son, CPT
JC Glick '95.
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MESSAGES FROM THE
FIELD....
One of our very own is currently serving on active
duty in Afghanistan, having volunteered to assist in the training of
the Afghani professional army. COL
Bill Babcock '68 left for
Kabul, Afghanistan in early November and is scheduled to return to his
Narragansett, RI home in May 2004. He writes: "Spent
two weeks at Ft Benning, one week training, one week waiting for a
flight. Flew from Atlanta
to Baltimore, to Germany to Kyrgyzstan to Afghanistan.
The whole trip took about three days with a night in Kyrgyzstan.
I am currently the Chief of Staff for OMC-A, Office of Military
Cooperation-Afghanistan. OMC-A
is responsible for standing up and training the new Afghan Army,
reform of the Ministry of Defense and the General's Staff.
In essence, building the government and the Army.
Pretty heady stuff for a guy from Narragansett.
We live in a place called the Kabul Compound which is a series
of buildings about a block in size, surrounded by a wall.
We carry our weapons everywhere we go even inside the compound.
When we leave the compound we wear our armored vests.
Always travel in pairs and drive as fast as we can so as not to
make a target of ourselves. Driving
thru downtown Kabul is like a combination of bumper cars and chicken.
The rule is, if you hit another car, you keep going.
If you hit a person, you stop long enough to give them
information on where to make a claim and then keep going.
Going
to church is an experience in itself.
We go to the Italian Embassy about 200 yards down the street.
We walk in a group, quickly, with our vests and weapons.
After mass, same deal. Interesting
to hear 15 folks chamber a round as they leave church.
The mass has been in English for the most part with the reading
done in anything from German to French to Spanish to English to
Italian, depending on who is there and who does which reading.
A real multicultural experience.
Living conditions are not too bad.
Much better than my last tour.
I have a room to myself. However
I am still in transient housing waiting to move to a more permanent
room either here on the compound or a safe house off the compound.
Food is pretty good. Trying
not to eat too much. Running
is limited to inside the compound where with a little imagination and
many twists and turns you can go about a half mile before you repeat
the course. I am back to
about three miles a day now. It
is about 6000 feet altitude here and the air is pretty dirty so it is
not real fun. I have lost
five pounds already but that is probably more to the lack of beer than
anything else. It
is fairly safe here in Kabul. Had a rocket hit a hotel downtown last
week, a shooting of demonstrators down the street and a rocket hit
across the street from the Embassy this week.
Most of the action takes place north and west of us. I
will be going to a meeting later this week in Qatar for a few days.
Should be interesting and break the time up a little.
The meeting is all about justifying the new manning for the
next phase of the operation here in Afghanistan.
We just had a new higher headquarters come on line and we are
all in the process of defining roles and responsibilities of all the
players at all levels. We
also just got a new commander here at OMC-A. That
should be enough information for now.
Don't want to overload you.
Don't worry about me. I
learned how to duck in Vietnam and have not forgotten how to do that.
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David Hartley '68
has
re-connected with URI ROTC and writes: "Please
add me to the URI ROTC alumnae email and US Mail directory. I
was in the two year program and actually in the class of 68 but stayed for
an extra semester due to major subject change. Guess that's why we
never met. Thank you and regards, David"
can be reached in San Diego, California at email: dbhartley@earthlink.net
Dick Alix '62 recently
contacted the editor with the following message: "Hi
Paul -- great of you to be doing stuff like this. I have said a
hundred times that I would love to have been invited to or notified of
a class reunion or homecoming either from high school or college.
Would love to attend. I left URI, not in '67, but in '62.
I was a member of Theta Chi fraternity. After the ROTC Program, I went
to Ft Knox and the Armor Basic Off Course. Spent tours in Korea,
Vietnam, Wash, DC, Ft Campbell, Ft Ord, Ft Belvoir, and two tours with
the 25th Inf Div in Hawaii. I retired from DPSC in So. Phil in
1985 (hard to believe it has been that long ago). Retired as a
Colonel O-6. Following that I had a job with a company out of
Phil called Day & Zimmermann, and took over as Pres/GM of a
subsidiary in Idaho, running a DOE contract. Left the private
sector for a job with the Army at Warren, MI with the Tank-Automotive
Command Research and Development Center. Retired from the civil
service position 7 years later and we moved to Arizona. I now
run a small consulting company, Alix & Associates International,
involved in a number of efforts representing companies that do
business with the US military and several allied nations in the Middle
East. I say I run a consulting company but I still manage to
play golf or at least hit lots of range/golf balls every day...
I married a girl from New Jersey, Lois Trefz, who I met when I was at Ft Campbell, Kentucky with the 101st Airborne Div. She was a college girl at Western Kentucky Univ. We have 2 sons, 3 grandchildren. Our sons live in West Virginia and Utah. Would like to see a roster of folks from the school, or ROTC program, if there's any such thing. Thanks, best regards, Dick Alix"
Dick can be reached at email:
alixrich@aol.com
Dwight Weber '93 managed
to "find" his alma mater's website and contacted LTC (Ret)
Paul Helweg with the following message: "After
4 years of active duty as Transportation Officer with 87th Corps
Support Battalion at Ft. Stewart, GA, I chose to leave the active army
for the civilian sector. I spent another 18 months as an active
reservist in North Carolina with the 991st Transportation Company.
I work for Schneider National Carriers Inc., the largest truckload
transportation company in the country, and currently reside in
Fontana, CA with my wife Kelly, and my 1 year old son Derek. If
you don't know the company you will after I tell you that we are the
orange trucks and trailers you see on all of the interstates. I
don't know if I ever had the pleasure of meeting you when I was at URI
from 1989-1993 but I certainly recall hearing your name mentioned on
several occasions. I found the website by doing a simple search
of my name and it found me as the 1993 recipient of the Cramer Saber.
I have not seen any of the newsletters that have been published but
have seen much more exposure in the URI publications regarding the
ROTC alumni and Hall of Fame, etc. Quite a change from when I
was at URI during the period when the university leadership was
considering removing ROTC from the campus altogether. As an
aside I was one of the cadets that would've been impacted by that
decision had it gone through. I would like to offer
myself as a resource for any service that I could possibly provide to
the alumni group or cadets. Sincerely, Dwight Weber Class of
1993".
Dwight can be reached at email: dwingb@aol.com
CPT James Peckham '96 recently
managed to hook up with our Major
David Cormier with the following
message: "I
have been enjoying all the news letters since the beginning. I
just took command 9 October 03 of the 126th Transportation Company,
7th Transportation Battalion, 507th Corps Support Group, Fort Bragg,
North Carolina. We are a medium truck company (PLS) that
supports all of XVIII ABC and DRB Support for the 82d ABN.
Things in this part of the world are flying by with all the
deployments and support requirements to the division......so, I
haven't much time to write in. Again, thanks for all that you
and the Alumni staff have done. Keep up the great work and
I hope to see the latest newsletter soon. v/r James R. Peckham Jr.
Class
'96"
Jim can be reached at email: peckhamj@bragg.army.mil
1LT George Mannix '01 recently
contacted us from Fort Hood, Texas as follows: "It
is good to hear from you...I'm glad to see some of the reports re: RI
Alumni and also hear about the endowment...I plan to go to RI and be with my family for the Holiday and I leave for Baghdad in January. It's been busy at Hood... I'll leave it at that for now. All my best, George Mannix 1LT, IN (2001)"
As we
are about to go to press today LTC Helweg received this follow-up
message from LT Mannix:
"I am on active
duty...1LT...Mechanized Infantry PL for 1/A/1-5 CAV, 1st Cavalry
Division. As you know, we head to Baghdad in a couple of
weeks...My platoon is good...I have a great PSG, NCO's and
soldiers...That's all
that really matters...Especially, where we're going...I intend to send you and LTC Krajeski information that I've received re: Iraqi Freedom deployment preparations and will send info, time permitting, once there....10th Group SF had some great guidance... Anyhow, that's where it stands...I am in RI until Sunday, 4 January. Have a great New Year and enjoy your time with your son. Sincerely, George Mannix, 2001" George can be reached at email: mgm21179@hotmail.com
Erich
Balzer '70 now resides in
Colorado Springs, Colorado with his wife, Penni and enjoys the time
off and beautiful vistas. He writes: "Finally
retired; spending my time climbing Colorado's 14,000 ft.
mountains. My spare time is spent entertaining guests from back
east. I spent the last 25 years in Ohio and following the Ohio
State Buckeye football program. I still follow the Rhody Rams, though
- there's room for both". Erich
can be reached at email: pne6600ft@earthlink.net
2Lt John Chiappone '03 has
been a frequent correspondent with his Rhody ROTC comrades and
recently writes: "Hello
everyone, I hope all are doing well. We have alot of time on the
range recently. First was the M9 pistol and then the SAW and the
MK19 (machine gun and automatic grenade launcher for those that don't
know). Lots of fun and lots of fire power. This week is
very long in the classroom everyday. But this past weekend was
great. Joe and Bill came and we had the time of our lives in St.
Louis. We all won money at the casino, had an awesome steak and
seafood dinner ( the most expensive dinner of my life but like I said
we won lots of money) had some laughs with a Bachalorette party,
and a good time late night ( or was that early morning) in East St.
Louis ( where the bars don't close til 0930!). My tickets for
Xmas have been purchased and I will be flying in on the morning of the
20th and staying til the 3 of Jan. talk to everyone soon -
John"
John can be reached at email:
john.m.chiappone@us.army.mil
General Leon LaPorte
'68 remains in command of U.S.
Forces Korea and sends the following message from Seoul: "Greetings
to the entire URI ROTC family from all of US Forces Korea serving in
the “Land of the Morning Calm.”
If you’ve been reading the news lately, you’ll know that
the situation here is very dynamic and exciting for US service members
and our alliance with the Republic of Korea.
We have just recently completed two very important and
high-level forums – the Military Committee Meeting and the Security
Consultative Meeting. Secretary
of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
General Richard Myers visited the Republic and saw first hand how
ready and dedicated the Combined Forces Command is to execute its
mission of deterring aggression on the peninsula while maintaining the
peace, freedom, and prosperity that our forces have preserved for the
last half-century. As
many of our nation’s armed forces and our coalition partners are
engaged in operations around the world in the global War on Terrorism,
US Forces Korea and the Combined Forces Command execute our security
mission around the clock every day of the year.
As Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom got underway, we here
in the Korean Theater stepped up our training and presented an
enhanced readiness posture to ensure there were no miscalculations by
any would-be adversaries. All
the members of our combined team regularly execute extremely
challenging and rewarding training as we continue to build upon and
improve our already unprecedented joint and combined interoperability.
The combined commitment between the US and the Republic of
Korea to the mutual defense of peace and freedom of the Korean
Peninsula and Northeast Asia continues as stalwart and unwavering as
ever. When I
read our URI ROTC newsletter, I am excited by the same infectious
enthusiasm I feel when I meet the young officers I see everyday who
are such an important part of our combined team.
I challenge each and every one of you to make a difference
during your time in the service and hope to find you someday here in
the Combined Forces Command. Whenever
I have the chance to meet fellow alum, I am always impressed and very
proud of our institution and program.
I look forward to serving with you all.
Best of luck, God bless, and happy holidays.
And let’s look forward to a great season of URI basketball.
General LaPorte can be reached in Korea @ email: laportel@usfk.korea.army.mil
In
late November 2003 Majors Pat and
Gail (Mendes) Lee ('90 & '92) write
with the following update: "It
is MAJ Patrick T. Lee, Class of ’90, Active Duty, Telecommunications
Systems Engineer, 837-A Ginger Court, Fort Gordon, GA 30905,
706-790-5434, patrick.lee@us.army.mil,
married to the former Gail Mendes, commissioning class of ’92.
She is a MAJ in the inactive ready reserve right now.
I will be attending the Joint Forces Staff College in April and
then go to SHAPE HQs in Belgium beginning in July. Respectfully,
Pat Lee" We recently received the following message from 1Lt Jennifer Lafond '00: "I graduated from URI May 2000. I am in the Army Nurse Corps. I have been stationed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for almost 3yrs. In that time, I have been taking care of many war casualties from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. I am currently on student status now at Walter Reed, changing my MOS from 66H-66E basically going from medical-surgical nurse to preoperative nurse (operating room). When I am finished school in February 2004, I am PCS'ing to Fort Bragg. My address will be changing soon. Currently my address is:9801 Bristol Sq Ln. Apt 304 Bethesda, MD 20814. If you have any other questions feel free to e-mail me at jennifer.lafond@us.army.mil" From
the office of the Adjutant General of the Rhode Island Army National
Guard comes news of the promotion of COL
Kevin McBride '80 to the rank of Brigadier
General in the Rhode Island Army National Guard. Kevin
writes: "Seems
like many changes in my military career have taken place over the last
year. In February 03, I was reassigned from the Commander of
56th Troop Command (Airborne) to the Commander 43d Military Police
Brigade, Rhode Island Army National Guard. Within two weeks of
assuming command, most of the Brigade was deployed in support of OIF.
In fact, only the Brigade HQ remained behind as they had just returned
from a tour at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. As with all Army MP units,
the OPTEMPO has not slowed down at all, and we don't expect it to for
the foreseeable future. Our deployed MP units are not expected
to return until sometime in the spring. As for me personally, on
1 December 03, I was promoted to Brigadier General, which is
commensurate with my current duty assignment. Unfortunately, it
appears that my limited cockpit duties as an Army Aviator will be
coming to an end. As for my civilian career, it still continues
despite the fact that my military duties seem to consume much of my
time. I am currently employed as a registered professional
engineer for the Consulting Engineering firm Caputo and Wick, LTD, of
East Providence, RI, where I actually put my URI engineering education
to good use! For
your records, my home address is:
Telephone H (508) 252-6430 W (401) 434-8880 If I have missed anything or I can provide any assistance, please feel free to contact me. Kevin R. McBride Kevin will "pin on the stars" with the official promotion ceremony to be held at the Great Rotunda of the Rhode Island State House on Saturday afternoon, 10 January 2004 at 1300 hrs. Congratulations, Kevin - we'll be there to meet you and share the day............. Captain John Larch '97 has
been a very busy soldier of late. He updates us all with the
following message recently received by Dick
Smith H'97: "I
was a senior at URI in 1996 and remember the dedication ceremony of
the URI Vietnam Veteran's Memorial quite well. It was a very
important event for the ROTC Corps of Cadets and the University.
I believe I may have worked with you in the preparations for the event
as well as other ROTC events that year. As you may be aware, I
graduated from URI with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil
Engineering and was commissioned a 2LT in January 1997. I
volunteered for an Infantry position with the Massachusetts Army
National Guard and served with the 29th Infantry Division (Light)
until 2002. During that time, I deployed to Bosnia with the 29th
as part of the SFOR 10 rotation (Sep 01 - Apr 02). Upon my return from
Bosnia, I transferred to the 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne).
I was selected for promotion to Captain by the November 2002
Department of the Army Board. I was also selected for
Special Forces at Fort Bragg in December 2002. I've completed
Airborne School, Mountain Warfare School, and the Infantry Captain's
Career Course (RC). I'm currently in the Combined Arms and
Services Staff School (CAS3) at Fort Leavenworth, KS and expect to
return to the Special Forces Qualification Course next year. If you
know of any Alumni at Fort Bragg, especially with Special Operations
Command, I'd like to get in touch with them. I'm actively
seeking a full-time position in the Fort Bragg area either with the
military or as a civilian.
As
is the norm for new Lieutenants, 2LT
Michael Corkum '03 has not been relaxing and
resting on his laurels of late. He recently contacted LTC
(R) Helweg with the following: "Things
are moving right along down here. We just completed our 8th
week so we are now officially more than half way there. It feels
great. A few things have happened since I last wrote: first,
is that the internet stopped working and that was real fun, the
other is that Carrie and I made our first big purchase as a family, we
bought a 2004 Dodge Ram quad cab pickup. Although the salesman was a
little pushy, it was still fun. This week we have squad live fires and
I am going to be the assault team leader for the mission so I hope the
support element has their stuff together. I tried to send a picture of
me and Carrie at the civil ceremony but for some reason aol won't
allow me to do so but I will keep trying when I get home with a better
link. I got my Ranger school date it's March 8th but I heard a rumor
that we all might get pushed back . I hope that it's not true. I
don't think I could stand working in the LTO for another 2 months - oh
well, hopefully we will be ok and go to the class we are
scheduled for. Well, must get back to work. I'm writing an OPORD
that is due on Monday. Talk to you soon - Sincerely, Michael Corkum
2Lt. IN" Good luck, Mike - keep in
touch and we'll wait for that picture! Lt Corkum can be reached
at email: tide5@aol.com
Major
Al Knox '81 writes:
"I'm a little late with
this but here goes with my contact information: MAJ Al Knox (1981),
176 Bay Rd, Shelburne VT 05482, 802 985-8782, work 802 656-1403, ajknox@zoo.uvm.edu
Special Forces - currently assigned at UVM, as APMS; just returned
from a six month trip to Iraq where I was assigned to 5th SF Group at
CJSOTF-AP in Baghdad." Welcome home, Al, and
keep in touch with us at dblue@erols.com
(LTC Paul Helweg; Editor) and keep us up to date from "Catamount"
country from all your friends here in "Flatlander"
country....................
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