Global War on Terrorism
	Numerous Alumni are serving this country in the Global War on Terrorism.  This page is dedicated to those soldiers who are sacrificing so much for this country.
	Three of our country's finest together for a super photo opportunity in the Kabul area:    COL John Murphy '79, CPT Al Calvino '92 and COL Bill Babcock '68
	Photo of LTC Mike Levesque '84  and Captain Schwartz, thaks for your selfless service!:
			Just wanted to send my best back to those members of Cramer's Sabers Battalion.  I thought you guys might want some photos from Baghdad.  I was checking the URI webpage for ROTC and realized that is hasn't been updated in a while.  I've been here since February and looks like I'll be doing a full year.  It's amazing how fast a year goes by considering how miserable it can be.  Let the new cadets know they have a lot ahead of them and they need to stay focused in becoming our future leaders.  Hope to come home soon and will keep you update. 1LT Matthew Pierce ('01) Medical Platoon Leader 1-325 Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82d Airborne Division Baghdad, Iraq
			LTC John Bradley ’84 has been in touch recently from his duty station in Iraq
			LT Zack Archie ’02 writes from Iraq:  “Hope all is well back at URI, I tell you at this point I wish I was there!  It has been a very long year but a great learning experience overall working in combat theatre.
			This just in from Iraq – a group photo of our URI Army ROTC soldiers:  CPT Mike Gryzbowski ’00, MAJ Ken Niles ’96, MAJ Dan Lutz ’94 and CPT Bob Petrarca: HOAH!
			CPT James Peckham writes in late August 2005 from Iraq:  “Thanks for the invite, but unfortunately I will not be in the area.  Currently, I'm in Baghdad working for LTF 530 which runs logistics and gun truck operations for 3d ID and all the mail in the downtown Baghdad area.  So, needless to say, things are a bit busy here mixed with high adventure. Thanks again for the invite.  One day, I might actually get to attend an event at URI...... AIRBORNE! "Rock On!"

                         "Scituate resident addresses URI ROTC cadets":

            KINGSTON, R.I. -- October 8, 2003 -- Army 1st Lt. Mark Padien of Scituate was among the first American forces to invade Iraq last spring.

            But he told a group of Army Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets at the University of Rhode Island that combat was not the toughest part of his seven-month deployment. The worst part was doing police and security work. “During the war, if Iraqis were in tanks, you obviously knew they were the enemy. But now you don’t know unless they are shooting at you,” he told the cadets during his visit in September.

            A member of the Army’s Third Infantry Division, the 2001 graduate of URI’s College of Business Administration and the Army ROTC program, Padien was invited to campus by Army Lt. Col. Paul C. Krajeski, professor of military science, to talk to the cadets while he was home on leave. He returned to duty in Fort Stewart, Ga. on Sept. 26.

            With his blond hair and youthful face, Padien looks as though he could still be a student at URI. But his discussion of firefights, Air Force bombing runs, mortar attacks and surviving on three bottles of water a day in 100-plus degree heat made it clear to the cadets that their first jobs will be unlike any careers their classmates are likely to pursue.

            He reminded the cadets that once they become Army officers, they have the power to give a command that could lead to loss of life. But they also have the power to enforce the standards that could keep them alive.

“When we rolled in to Iraq, the enemy knew we were coming in hot, and weren’t afraid to shoot,” Padien said. However, once the combat mission ended, his unit had to learn quickly the techniques of peacekeeping.

            He told the cadets that overall the Iraqis were glad to see U.S. forces and they were supportive. “They were definitely a bit curious to see if we got Saddam and if he would come back. A lot of people said, ‘Thank God you are here, but don’t leave until he is gone.’”

The educated Iraqi citizens remain supportive, but the uneducated are easily influenced by fanatics, Padien said, adding that the presence of the U.S. forces has heightened expectations.

Before the war, about half the city had electricity and water, according to Padien. “Right after the war, it was about 30 percent, then two weeks after it was about 50 percent. It definitely got better from April to August when 70 percent of the city had electricity. The hospitals improved tenfold.”

But it becomes frustrating when terrorists keep taking out power plants, the lieutenant said.

            Padien said that the road to peace will be long, but democracy is slowly coming to Iraq. “It’s not pretty, but it’s happening.”

            Padien was put in charge of a platoon just two weeks before it was deployed to Kuwait in January. His unit was first assigned to Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait where the soldiers were equipped with new Bradley Fighting Vehicles and began training.

            In Kuwait, Padien’s platoon focused on urban warfare, which culminated in a live fire exercise that was televised by Fox News. After being at the camp for a month, the platoon moved out to the desert for about three weeks.

            Shortly after President George W. Bush issued his ultimatum to Hussein, the unit moved toward Baghdad, and it came under fire from artillery and rocket propelled grenades.

            After crossing the Euphrates River, Padien’s men traveled one early morning toward the Saddam International Airport along a road bordered by 15-foot walls, which Padien termed the “perfect ambush situation.” Padien’s mission was to take the airport so that no reinforcements could go in or out.

            By daylight, the American forces were being hit with mortar fire and rocket propelled grenades. Enemy tanks began attacking. After the forces eventually secured the airport, Padien’s unit moved toward Baghdad, where they joined others providing police and security operations.

            After Padien’s prepared remarks, Krajeski asked if the military adage of “don’t ever believe the first report” held true in Iraq. “Yes, you don’t want to rush toward the enemy. You definitely have to assess the situation and be patient. However, there were times when we had to plan on the move.”

            Krajeski asked Padien if he could expand on the phrase “when fear kicks in, training takes over.”

            “Training absolutely kicks in, you can only tell them (troops) so much,” the battle tested lieutenant answered. “They have to be able to react on their own. You can’t tell them all the time when to return fire; they have to know when to do it.”

 

            A partial list of URI ROTC graduates who have served in Iraq or who are still deployed are:

Lt. Col. Terry Hermans ’83

Lt. Col. John Bianchi ‘83

Maj. David Accetta ‘87

Capt. Jason Glick ’95

Capt. Peter Mandeville ‘88

Capt. Anthony Cassino ’97

Capt. Jeff Scott ‘99

1st Lt. Matthew Pierce ’01

1st Lt. Scott Mras ’01

1st Lt. Mark Gabriele ‘98

1st Lt. Dana Coppola ’00

1st Lt. Eric Lewis ’01

2nd Lt. Adam DePetrillo ’02