October 2003


Autumn comes to Kingston and our Army R.O.T.C. program and it's alumni organization has been very busy. The lead article for this newsletter is the story of three distinguished Rhody Army officers recently inducted into the R.O.T.C. Hall of Fame - making the total number of those so honored ten (10). Our cadets have a number of activities planned over the next several weeks to include: the Regional "Ranger Challenge" matching the URI team against a number of Northeast university teams. Last year's Ranger Challenge team finished a very respectable 7th out of nearly 25 other teams and this year's team is highly motivated to do even better. The entire battalion recently returned from their initial FTX at nearby Camp Edwards on Cape Cod. Contrary to last year, the weather was cooperative and the training successful - cadre and cadets returned on a late Saturday afternoon so there was plenty of weekend for our cadets to ......................study. The Executive Committee of the R.O.T.C. Alumni Association is gearing up to begin our first ever worldwide appeal to all former URI R.O.T.C. cadets, R.O.T.C. alumni commissioned officers and friends of the R.O.T.C. program at Rhody. The appeal is a fundraising effort for the newly established R.O.T.C. Endowment at URI. We have a funding goal of $20,000 and are happy to announce gifts to date of over $6,200 thanks to a number of generous alumni AND our undergraduate cadets. This is quite an amazing jump out of the starting blocks to the official fundraising campaign to begin next week. See article below for details. Our popular "Messages From the Field" column in this month's newsletter presents a number of news items from and about our alumni all across the globe who continue to share their experiences and latest news with us. Please keep these messages coming to us (send attn: LTC (Ret) Paul Helweg, '70 at email: dblue@erols.com).
THREE ELECTED TO URI R.O.T.C. "HALL OF FAME" Every two years the R.O.T.C. alumni chapter convenes a Selection Committee to review nominations for membership into our R.O.T.C. "Hall of Fame". This year a record 25 nominations were received and reviewed by the Chair of the Selection Committee - LTC Cheryl Poppe, '78.

BG Elliot Thorpe Family	COL Kenneth Potter Family	Ms. LaGueux
On Saturday, 20 September 2003 the three recently-elected members of the URI R.O.T.C. "Hall of Fame" were inducted during ceremonies held at the University Club on the Kingston Campus. *BG Elliott Thorpe, H'51* , COL Kenneth Potter, '33 and CPT Conrad E. LaGueux, '43 received the honors from the R.O.T.C. Alumni Association and the university. All three officers enjoyed long distinguished careers of service to their country, the Army and community. The biographies of these three officers is included as an attachment to this newsletter and provide informative background on their remarkable years of service. Of interest is the fact that *BG Thorpe* was an enlisted man in the army at the close of WWI and was standing guard at the Hall of Mirrors in France at the signing of the armistice. He later received a commission and served on General Douglas MacArthur's staff in the Philippines at the outbreak of WWII. COL Ken Potter was commissioned in 1933 from URI R.O.T.C. and held a number of important combat command positions all through the European Theater of Operations during WWII. He was a close personal friend of Medal of Honor Recipient Lt. Audie Murphy - both member of the 3d Infantry Division. At the close of the war, Colonel Potter was said to be the third highest decorated officer in Europe. He delivered the eulogy at Audie Murphy's funeral. CPT Conrad E. LaGueux, '43 distinguished himself throughout his life with service in the O.S.S. - the precursor of our Central Intelligence Agency and led a number of important covert combat activities in southern France during WWII for which he received high honors. He led combined OSS and French Resistance troops behind enemy lines and in one operations was responsible for the capture of an entire battalion of Wehrmacht soldiers. He went on to serve in the China-Burma-India theater and ultimately completed a distinguished career in the CIA. All three of this year's honorees are now deceased. Family members represented each honoree with warming and poignant observations and recollections of each officer. Please review the accompanying (attached WORD document) biographies and attached (.JPG file) photographs.If in the Kingston area and you can stop by the university feel free to stop by the Memorial Union Atrium "A" lobby to view the photographs of all ten (10) of our Hall of Fame members on display there for all to see. *Note to all family members of our honorees:* The University of Rhode Island library's SPECIAL COLLECTIONS department has asked us to let you know they maintain a complete archival record of manuscripts, books, letters, and memorabilia for all of the Army R.O.T.C. program. Any family member or friend of an honoree who wishes to donate such information to the SPECIAL COLLECTIONS should feel free to contact Ms. Sarina Wyant at: University Library, Univ. of RI, 15 Lippitt Road, Kingston, RI 02881 or call her at 401-874-2594/4632 or fax: 401-874-4608 or email her at: srw@uri.edu.
"EXTRA MILE" BOOT AWARDED.......... In the annals of the University of Rhode Island R.O.T.C. program, only two times in history has the prestigious "Extra Mile" Boot Award been presented. This year the alumni chapter's executive committee so honored LTC (Ret) Ted Higgins, '71 for his outstanding service in organizing and coordinating our first annual Golf Tournament. This golf tournament was held on 19 September at Beaver River Golf Club in Richmond, RI. The tournament was organized to have fun as alumni and to raise money for our R.O.T.C. endowment. While a relatively modest number of 29 alumni and friends attended (the weather could have been more cooperative) we managed to raise a remarkable $1,650. This was a huge success and we expect to more than double this figure at next September's event. Ted Higgins was a force behind the tournament and we are grateful for his work and for his more than generous match of the $1,000 donated by our undergraduate cadets. Please see the attached photograph (.JPG file) of past president LTC (Ret) Paul Helweg, '70 making the "Extra Mile" Boot Award presentation to LTC (Ret) Ted Higgins, '71.

MESSAGES FROM THE FIELD.....................

CPT Jason C Glick, '95 was recently awarded the Combat Infantry Badge (CIB) at Fort Benning for his service with the 75th Ranger Regiment in Operation Iraqi Freedom in May of this year. JC's parents, Steve and Carol Glick were kind enough to send along a photo (see above .JPG file attachment) of JC receiving this honor just this past month. Congratulations, JC and hope to see you here in Kingston soon!!

COL Tim Shea, '80 writes: "Thanks for all the good work. I'm doing a special project in the Office of the Secretary of Defense until October, when I'll be assigned as a Professor of International Security Studies at the George C. Marshall Center in Garmisch, Germany. Graduated from National Defense University, Industrial College of the Armed Forces this past June. Regards from the Pentagon......", Tim Shea - "Kramer Saber '80"

By now we expect Tim has moved on to Garmisch, Germany but we hope and expect he'll be back in touch with us. We need to keep track of our Cramer Saber recipients!

2LT SCOTT EDDY, '02 recently contacted us with the following message: "I just wanted to write you an email and let you know that CPT Fracassa sent me the last newsletter. I am currently the PL for 2Plt, Bco, 3-21 IN,1bde, 25id here at Ft. Lewis. I Haven't done to much else yet, airborne while I was at Benning for IOBC and that is about it as an officer. I did some other things as an enlisted soldier in the reserves but I don't think you need to know any of that. I was hoping to be placed on master list for the alumni association. My address here is 1012 N. 8th St Apt7, Tacoma, wa 98403. My phone# is 401-835-4472 and my email should be included. I look forward to hearing from you soon. 2LT Scott W. Eddy, INF" Scott can be reached at: scott.eddy@us.army.mil

We've updated our email records for Scott. This is a good example of our global alumni networking for us so we can catch up with each other. Don't assume your fellow officers receive these emails; pass them along to them. We'll continue to build and/or correct our living email address book.

1LT Scott Mras has returned from Iraq with his 3 ID unit. This summer we were fortunate enough to receive emails from Scott's wife, Elizabeth, who in July wrote: "Hi my name is Elizabeth Mras, Lt Scott Mras' wife. Scott is currently serving his country in Iraq. Lt.Mras has been deployed since January with the 3rd Infantry Division which is based at Fort Stewart, Georgia. I know there are others that got commissioned with Scott that are also serving with the 3ID. Didn't know what you guys knew and if you had sent any kind of package or letter to them to let them know you all support them. I am sure you have heard on the news that morale is really low so any encouragement would be great! Scott has missed a lot in the past few months including the birth of his son Grant. I would really appreciate it if you could send some words of encouragement every letter helps." Welcome home, Scott, and be sure to keep in touch with the R.O.T.C. Alumni Association. Scott and Elizabeth can be reached : scott.mras@us.army.mil

LTC Mike Robertson, '85 recently wrote: "Recently assigned to HQ USSOUTHCOM as a J5 Strategic Plans Officer. Please forward Alumni info/monthly reports to new email address: roberja@hq.southcom.mil Regards, Mike Robertson LTC, IN URI Class of '85.

Newly "found" LTC Bob Malloy, '86 was recently brought into the R.O.T.C. alumni chapter fold. He writes: "Thanks for getting in contact with me and other "lost" URI ROTC alumni. It was great to see the names of many of my classmates from years past. I was an early commission in 1984 and went on Active Duty after graduation in 1986. I took over as the new PMS at Penn State University today (15 AUG 03), so my connection to ROTC continues...I recently departed Fort Sill where I served as a Battalion XO for two years and the Regimental S3 for the Field Artillery School. I am currently living in State College, PA with my wife Michele, son Daniel (age 5) and daughter Jamie (age 4). We'd love to see old friends from URI if they are ever passing through "Happy Valley" while in central Pennsylvania. Thanks LTC Bob Malloy e-mail ram31@psu.edu

Editing our R.O.T.C. Newsletter takes some time but the rewards are many. Recently one of LTC (Ret) Paul Helweg's 1970 classmates and fraternity brother Philip Miner, '70 sent the following email message to him: "Great job with the Newsletter! Take credit for establishing and maintaining the links between the graduates (both new and "veterans"), the undergraduates
and the administration. What are you going to do in retirement? Have fun regardless--Phil" Phil can be reached at : philip.miner@unilever.com

CPT Peter Mandeville returned from Iraq to Fort Drum, NY with his unit a few months ago. Before returning, he was able to "find" some Iraqi materiel and sent the following message to LTC (Ret) Paul Helweg, '70: "Paul, I came into some Iraqi equipment recently: Helmet, uniforms, TA-50, Map cases etc. I was wondering if the ROTC program might be interested in making some kind of display. I'd be willing to donate it to the school. Let me know. If you want to give me an address, I could mail it directly to
you or someone at ROTC. Let me know. I'll be leaving in less than a week. Thanks Pete" We are happy to report that Pete's package did arrive safety at URI R.O.T.C. and is in safe keeping for the time being while we determine how to use/display the goods. Thanks for your service, Pete, and for keeping faith with URI R.O.T.C.

CPT Paul Lemieux, '99 (Roger Williams) recently wrote: "Thank you for the update on the ROTC battalion. I am a Roger
> WilliamsUniversity Graduate, and currently in Iraq serving with the 141 Signal Battalion (1AD). I am scheduled to attend the Career Course in March. If any of the cadets would like to email me with questions about my experiences so far, I'd be happy to respond. I was branch detailed Infantry, and have served as an Infantry Platoon Leader (to include a Kosovo deployment), Infantry Company XO, Signal Battalion Assistant S3, and next month I will be taking a position as a Brigade Signal Officer. Again, thank you for the information on the URI battalion. Next time I'm in Rhode Island I'll be sure to stop bye to say hello. v/r Paul Lemieux
CPT, SC 141 SIG, S3 OPS Roger Williams University '99". CPT Lemieux can be reached at: Paul.B.Lemieux@us.army.mil

Our alumni association's webmaster extraordinaire, MAJ Pat Lee, '90 continues to do a commendable job for the alumni chapter from afar as he has posted updates to our web site (http://www.uri-rotc-alum.org) - most recently the addition of the three new Hall of Fame honoree biographies under the "Hall of Fame/Inductee-Bios" link. Pat had sent us this message this summer: "Y'all, Gail and I have just finished up the Command and General Staff College (CGSC) at Fort Leavenworth and now I am a student again in the Telecommunications Systems Engineer Course (TSEC) at Fort Gordon in Augusta, Georgia. It is a course designed to teach me how to engineer telephone and computer networks and has been exciting so far. I have never sat in a room full of Army officers who all have engineering or Computer science degrees. Here is our new address and e-mail address: MAJ Patrick and Gail Lee 837-A Ginger Court Fort Gordon, GA 30905 706-790-5434 pandglee@bellsouth.net <mailto:pandglee@bellsouth.net." Thanks again, Pat & Gail, for your support and fine work on behalf of all URI R.O.T.C. alumni.

MAJ (P) Monica O'Guinn writes: "Sir, Thank you for your note. I have been out of touch with URI for some time now. Frankly, I am surprised you reached me via my AKO account. We were having problems with the "O'" in my last name. Please send me information on the ROTC Alumni Association.v/r MAJ(P) O'Guinn" Maj O'Guinn can be reached at email: Monica.O'Guinn@jpn.amedd.army.mil or :
Monica L. O'Guinn
MAJ(P), MS
Chief, Preventive Medicine Division
Chief, Medical Entomology Program
USACHPPM-Pacific, Camp Zama, Japan
DSN 315-263-4478
FAX 315-263-8597

Yet another "found" Rhody R.O.T.C. alumnus, MAJ Mike Mahony, writes "Great to hear from URI ROTC! Here's my info:
Major Mike Mahony S3, 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division
"First Attack" AH-64D Longbow Battalion
Fort Hood, Tx (254) 287-1619 (DSN): 737-1619

I was the XO during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Unit returned in late May 2003, and are preparing to head back to Iraq in Spring of 2004. UFL in Aug, Gunnery in Sep, JAGCE in Sep/Oct, NTC 04-01 in Oct/Nov. Norma and I have been married 12 years. We have three children: Kaitlin (10), Michaela (8) & Joseph (6). Our current residence is: 3040 Raindance Loop, Harker Heights, TX 76548
(254) 690-5559 Take Care, GO RHODY!
V/R, Mike Mahony". Major Mahony can be reached at: michael.mahony@us.army.mil

LT Matthew Pierce, '02 writes: "All the Way Paul, Just got the May newsletter and was surprised to see that Major Acetta and Pete were our here. We (1-325, 82d ABN) arrived to Baghdad at the beginning of May and there is no end in sight. We will continue our SASO mission until someone finally decides that either Baghdad is safe or as safe as it's gonna get. Our Battalion has been blessed with few injuries so far but as the Medical Platoon Leader I've seen to many fine Americans on their way home. One of my medics is still at Walter Reed recovering from a gun-shot wound. We really don't get down to 5th Corps that often. They don't really like us Infantry types sticking up their nice buildings. Just wanted to let everyone back URI to know that I will try and stop by sometime after my redeployment, probably not until next spring so I can try to make Commissioning or the Ball. Really haven't had much free time at Bragg leading up to this. I did see 1LT Gryzbowski back when I first got to Fort Bragg after September 11th. Anyway, got to go; someone forgot to tell the Iraqi people that the war is suppose to be over...
1LT Matthew Pierce"

Lt Pierce can be reached at: matthew.d.pierce@us.army.mil

COL (Ret) Bob Mairs has contacted us with this message: "Living in South Kingston must be great. I have three kids that graduated from URI and a Grandson who is a junior. I retired in 1980 and went to work for FORSCOM Headquarters, Ft McPherson, GA. as a mobilize planner. We ,in our small office, are responsible for all reserve component activation from Desert Storm, Eastern Europe, and now a second go around in Iraq. So I guess I never left the Military. Just about 40 years+. After graduation went the normal route of an Infantry Office-Benning, Europe (Mech. Infantry Battalion) back to URI as an ROTC instructor, to Korea,DMZ, to 101st where we stared a new battalion and joined the Ist BDE in VN (67-68-Tet Offensive etc) back to Ist Army as an IG for 18 month and then back to Vn(70-71). Two assignments with reserve component and then assigned to FORSCOM until retirement. Married a Georgia girl after the first one went South during the Korea tour. Got a bunch of awards in VN the highest the Distinguished Flying Cross. Not bad for a non-pilot. This weekend and all next week I will be TDY conducting a world wide Mobilization Conference. I'm hoping I can get up north for at least one football game but with Iraq and spin off deployments it is hard to get away. I appreciate your response, Paul. Regards Bob".

following exchanges in messages Bob updated us as follows: "Thanks for taking the time to respond. General LaPorte was here at FORSCOM for short time as the DCG before he went to Korea. It looks like he will be retiring sometime next summer. With Rumsfeld as the Sec. of Defense there is no telling what will happen with personnel assignments. I have lost contact with Everett. The last I heard he was in Hawaii, retired and selling real real-estate. You are right. The new inductees have outstanding credentials and deserve any recognition possible. Everett and I were on the 56 team along with John Leach. That was the year we went to the refrigerator bowl in Indiana. My home address is: 6630 Vogue Circle Fairburn, Ga. 30213.
Great to "find" you Bob, and do keep in touch with your alumni association. We're here attending most URI home football games so keep in touch.. Bob can be reached at: bob.mairs@us.army.mil

MG Ken Quinlan, '73 has recently assumed a command at the Joint Forces College. He writes: "Say hello to Paul K for me and I will let you know soon about the September event. Would be nice to get back up to RI to visit. I will check out what we have for reading material...I suspect we have a great deal. Lots of the folks working with me in the college, both military and civilian work force are from RI. One of my most trusted assistants in Bosnia was LTC(P) Kent Bolster, a SF soldier of the highest quality. I expect him to be on the next command list for a SF Group. Kent is also a URI graduate! For a little state we are doing ok, take care" Ken Quinlan , MG, USA Commandant JFSC
Ken can be reached at email = kenneth.quinlan@us.army.mil

John Bianchi, '83 writes: "Its great to know some of us are still alive and kicking. I will be in Kuwait for the next year....if you make it out here, call me at 961-3701. We can hopefully get together.John Bianchi '83". John can be reached at email = John.bianchi@us.army.mil

In late July 2003 1Lt Mark Amargo, '02 contacted us with this message: "I just returned to Vilseck Germany from our 8 month rotation in Kosovo. I've learned a lot while being deployed down there. I received my platoon down in Kosovo, and I've been through two platoon sergeants. Now senior platoon leader in the company, it is my first time in a Garrison environment. I
haven't shot a Tank Gunnery yet, but I will in Sept. My window for leaving my platoon is Nov. with hopes for a XO position or scout platoon leader's spot.Everything is going well, enjoying my military experience...Sincerely, MARK P. AMARGO 1LT, AR Platoon Leader 2/C/2-63 AR BN." Lt. Amargo can be reached at: mama8605@postoffice.uri.edu

We are often fortunate to receive messages from some of our former R.O.T.C. cadre/staff. Recently, former APMS LTC John Stauffer sent the following message: "Thanks for forwarding the e-mail from Harris. It's always good to know that our former students are now making great contributions to our country. I finally have the family down here in FL (arrived last SUN). I'll always refer to this summer as the summer of planes, trains and automobiles because of all the traveling the family had to do to make this move work. I really miss my house in RI. Buying a previously owned home has been a lot of work - cleaning, painting and replacing things. We'll get it right eventually. I'm happy to be in this climate and the crew here is good, but I'll always miss much about RI and especially the program and its people (I knew I would). And, as expected, there is no Alumni Association to speak of here because the program is fairly new and was previously located at the University of Miami which is now a satellite school of
this program. They have an association but it's not really involved with the cadets and largely ignores FIU. I do need to correct something: I was excused from camp attendance this summer because of the move, and I'm working at Florida International University in Miami - not FAU (Boca Raton). Joanne's been sending the camp reports on our MS IIIs to me. Some very nice
surprises. Those guys in Iraq have earned every possible accolade for their sacrifices over the last year. Enjoy the remainder of
your summer. Please stay in touch and come down and visit with us sometime. Take care.John" John can now be reached in Florida at email: staufferj2@yahoo.com

John Creech, '41 still lives in North Carolina and this summer contacted us with the following message: "Thanks for your thoughts but I just am unable to travel under Elaine's circumstances. My daughter tells me our Lt. Katie who is with a patriot battery in Iraq received a commendation and her husband who is also a Lt in Patriots received the Bronze Star medal. She will be going back to Germany eventually and Al is already on way to Ft. Bliss- guess they will eventually get together. I am thinking about the POW Oflag 64 reunion next fall but it is too remote at this time Maybe Walt will plan on going as the ranks are getting thin Wish I could get to the 26th reunion (Co.D) but it is now out of the question. Did you know almost all the classof 41 ROTC went to the 1st Division at Ft. Devens? John" John can be reached at home at his email address: jlcreech@teleplex.net

CPT Jim Bentz of the Rhode Island Army National Guard is back in the Rhode Island area and recently attended our 20 September R.O.T.C. "Hall of Fame" induction ceremony on the Kingston campus. Welcome home, Jim, and thanks for joining us. We look forward to your involvement with our chapter. Jim sends the following message: "Here's a quick bio on my service history. I served in 2nd MP Company, 2nd Infantry Division as a Platoon Leader. I then served as the Battalion Logistics Officer in the 10th MP BN, 10th Mountain Division. Following this assignment, I was assigned as Special Reaction Team OIC/ Provost Marshal Operations Officer for about six months. I subsequently volunteered to be a member of the KFOR 3B rotation to Kosovo where I held the position of Assistant G3 Current Operations/Plans Officer in the Task Force Falcon headquarters. My last year in service, I served as the 10th MP BN's Plans Officer where I was able to help train troops as an Observer/Controller during two division-controlled brigade FTXs. I also performed duties as a Battle Captain for two command post exercises and the Army's Warfighter exercise from January through March 2003. I now work in the Plans, Operations Military Support Office (POMSO) as an Assistant Physical Security Officer. I feel very fortunate to find this job. Please let me know when the next Alumni meeting is.
Thank you, Jim Bentz". CPT Bentz can be reached at: jim.bentz@us.army.mil

MAJ P. Drake Jackson, '92 has contacted us from rainy Korea with the following: "Gentlemen, thank you for the email! I am sitting here in Korea enjoying the monsoon. On the Cc line is another URI guy I didn't notice on the address list - he's a full time NG guy in the 118th MP Bn and he's enjoying the Iraq sun right now.v/r MAJ P. Drake Jackson - Class of 1992." MAJ Jackson can be reached at: Drake.Jackson@us.army.mil

2Lt John Chiappone, '03 was serving as a Gold Bar recruiter at Rhody until his recent departure for MP Officer Basic. From scenic Ft. Leonard Wood, MO, he writes: "Greetings y'all,(see I'm blending),Week 2 is almost over and I realize this is going to go pretty fast. I was the PSG (Platoon Sergeant for those that dont know) for the week. It has gone pretty well, I was only skinned up once so far(with my PL(platoon leader), 1st SL(squad leader), S3(operations officer) and XO(executive officer).I was wrong about my PT score it was actually a 267 not any better from my perspective but I guess it might look a little better because it was close to 270. Classes so far have been pretty boring being all common core information and the first test is Monday. We had two socials this week and one of the Lieutenant Colonels of the Military Police school was busting my chops on talking to the Commandant with relative ease but then complemented me on it.Umm I cant really think of anything else right now( still shocked that it is 1800 and I am out already) so keep the emails coming. talk to everyone soon(please keep passing this on I am still missing people) John" John can be reached at: john.m.chiappone@us.army.mil

2Lt Greg Couturier, '02 writes: "Glad to hear things are going well back home. I graduated last summer and branched engineers. I was selected to go to Vicenza, Italy with the 173D and am now currently serving in Kirkuk, Iraq. To give you an update of what I'm up to. I have been put in charge of clearing the area around Kirkuk of all equipment and ammunition, disturbed or otherwise that was left behind by the Iraqis. This is a rather interesting job because they didn't teach us anything about this in EOBC. When we first arrived we were very busy destroying antiaircraft guns, artillery guns and tanks. Now we are cleaning up everything else from mortar rounds to 500 lb bombs. One of the more difficult challenges was dealing with rounds that have been burnt or destroyed. Some of the ammo caches have been ravaged by fire and have caused some of the rounds to explode causing more damage to the rounds around it. This leaves us with a UXO problem and doctrine dictates that we leave them alone and blow them in place. This isn't possible in some of the more populated areas so we have been working closely with air force EOD and have gained a much deeper knowledge on the inner workings of Iraqi ammunition. We jumped into Bashur airfield in northern Iraq and moved south through Irbil and ended up in Kirkuk. Right now the brigade is trying to turn the area into a full functioning city. It is having to stand up a government, city works, school systems, police force, etc. The city has power but is very unreliable and the city has no sewer system. The people seem to like us for the most part, mainly because they are Kurdish and are glad that we liberated them from Saddam. So, right now everyone in the brigade is doing a job they were not trained for. Thank god for the versatility and resourcefulness of the American soldier. Sorry about the writing, don't have much time.
hope it helps. Gregory Couturier 2LT, EN" Lt. Couturier can be reached as: gregory.couturier@us.army.mil

COL Michael Flynn sent off two separate, short emails this past summer as follows: "Great...finally had someone get in touch...lots of Rhody guys doing good things now and in the past. Need to try to stay in touch...maybe have some sort of reunion up there!" his follow-up email: "I am interested in the R.O.T.C. chapter activities ..cannot get back in SEP...want to stay in touch though...my address is 149 Grierson AVE, Ft Huachuca, AZ 85613. txs.Mike Flynn" COL Flynn can be reached at: michaelt.flynn@us.army.mil

LTC (Ret) John Felicio writes: "31 July 03 will be my final day on active duty. At that time you will no longer be able to contact me via the AKO. My new email address is listed below. I'm pretty much staying in my same job (now filling the civilian billet versus the military billet in the Financial Analysis Office) so other than the email change all other contact info is the same. Thanks, LTC John J. Felicio, CHE, MHP
Senior Program Analyst Skyline 5, Suite 407
111 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, VA 22041-3206
voice: (703) 681-3492, ext. 4071
email: john.felicio@tma.osd.mil

LTC Michael Dyer, '84 has been in touch with us with the following: "Thank you so very much for the note. What a surprise, and believe it or not, a very timely one. Both my father (COL(R) Dyer) and I were commissioned thru the ROTC program
at URI, and believe it or not, my niece (CADET Becca Hedden) is continuing the family tradition and is now enrolled as a URI ROTC Cadet.I look forward to hearing wonderful things about URI's ROTC program and about the leaders which have been a part of this program. I only have great things to say about my ROTC experience at URI. Thank you again.Very Respectfully, LTC Michael Dyer

Mike followed with this additional message: "This new job (as of 15 Jul) is VERY busy and it's difficult to keep up on
emails. I'll be hitting the big 20 next year. I still have a few years in grade, but I'm keeping my eyes open for potential future jobs.
I'm not too sure about dad's experience there at ROTC. Will have to ask him. I'll actually be back in RI next week for a week or 2. A bit about me. I'm an MSC officer. I actually requested MSC Branch allow me to compete for a PMS position cause I have an EdS in Higher Ed. Unfortunately, they don't allow any MSCs to become involved in ROTC (except for one MSC PMS at U San Antonio) There are so many different jobs available to MSCs, but honestly, we weren't really aware of the opportunities within the MSC while in ROTC. No offense, but no one there had any connections to the Army Medical Dept so there was no way for any of the cadre to let us know (except for a brief conversation I had with someone there, I wouldn't have known about it). I went on AD in Jun 84, did hospital admin work for a few years and then moved into the Preventive Medicine/Public Health field in 86 and have been working in this field ever since. Did 2 tours each in Japan and Korea, 7th Med Bn, 7th Inf Div, Ft. Ord, and TRADOC HQs (Surgeon's Office for awhile). That's my life in terms of the Army.

Well, I do thank you for connecting with me. Please forgive my lateresponse. My email account is now totally flooded. Hello to everyone. Regards, Mike" Mike can be reached at: SGS/Adjutant, Office of the Commander, USACHPPM, DSN: 584-2641
COMM: (410) 436-2641 FAX: 584-8513 or email at: michael.dyer@apg.amedd.army.mil

CPT Robert DuPrey wrote in response to our invitation to join us at the early September pre-home-URI football game tailgate icebreaker: "I wish I could attend, but duty has me down here in Savannah GA. I appreciate that URI ROTC Alumni Assoc is as active as it is. Please keep it up. ThanksBob Duprey (RN,BC BSN MA), Captain, Army Nurse Corps, ROTC Nurse Counselor
HQ 6th Brigade, East Region, Cadet Command" CPT DuPrey can be reached at: Robert.DuPrey@stewart.army.mil

From Germany in mid-July former URI Assistant PMS MAJ David Accetta wrote: "Dave Accetta here in Wiesbaden, got back from Iraq a few weeks ago to PCS. I will be in Germany a few more years at Mainz Kastel if any one is in the AO and wants to have a beer or two. I can be reached at this address.
CPT Jonah Mazzacane, Roger Williams alum, is featured in a recent edition of the 104th ASG's Herald Union.http://www.104thasg.hanau.army.mil/hunion/hunionupdates.htm

I ran into several of my former students in Iraq; CPT Pete Mandeville, 1LT Eric Lewis, and 1LT Dana Coppola. Also met Paul Helweg's son and heard that 1LT(P) Marc Gabriel was in country too.

ATW

MAJ Dave Accetta" Dave can be reached at: David.accetta@us.army.mil

1LT (P) Dana Coppola, '00 followed with this message: "Good afternoon!It was a great surprise to receive an email reminding me of URI- boy, it's been a long few years! It's great to hear what everyone is doing around the world. After attending QM OBC in 2000, I came to Ft Campbell with the 101st ABN DIV (AASLT). I enjoyed my PLT LDR experience, and 3 JRTC's later, was bummed when I transitioned out of my job right before Enduring Freedom kicked off. I did get lucky though, and deployed to Sarajevo, Bosnia last year for 7 months. Great assignment! I redeployed to the states in Nov 2002, and deployed to Iraq with the 101st in Feb. I ran in to MAJ Accetta while we were over there- he might even have a picture to prove it! Things went well- it was a long few months though. I was part of the DISCOM, and ended up in Mosul, Iraq. I am currently back at Campbell, and am planning on ETSing in November and moving to Colorado! That's the last 3 years in a nutshell- again, I appreciate the newsletter, it brought back some great memories. Have a great evening!1LT(P) Dana Coppola 2000 URI Grad, QM"
Dana can be reached at: dana.coppola@us.army.mil

MAJ Christopher Moretti, '91 writes: "It is good to see that we alumni are not forgotten. Thanks for the correspondence, unfortunately I am in CGSC (Fort Leavenworth, Kansas) and will not be able to attend. Have fun and please pass on to those personnel that I went to school with. Following CGSC I will either stay here and attend the SAMS course (School of Advanced Military Studies) if I am selected or PCS to Korea for one year with a return assignment back to Fort Bragg and the 82d Airborne Division. Stay in touch...Thanks, Chris Moretti" in a follow-on message: "I graduated from URI in MAY 91 then went directly to Advanced Camp. Upon completion of Camp I was commissioned as a 2LT in AUG 91. My first day of active duty was 3 MAR 02 (FAOBC at Fort Sill). I am considered a YG 92 officer. Do you need any other information? Do you have contact with LTC(R) Fitzharris? He was my PMS when I was in the program. I believe he retired and living in Jamestown." and, finally - more: "I am programmed to complete CGSC in JUN 04. Following the completion of CGSC I am going to Korea for 1 year with a return assignment to Fort Bragg (82d Airborne Division). I am from a family of 7 kids (born and raised in Cranston, RI). Four of us are graduates of the University of Rhode Island. My mom and oldest brother remain in Cranston and the rest of us have moved to different parts of the country (job related).Thanks, Chris" Chris can be reached at: Christopher.S.Moretti@us.army.mil

LTC James Chapman, '?? reached us in mid-July with the following: "I would be most interested in receiving any information on the URI ROTC program. For your information I just returned from SWA in June after spending 7 months deployed. Although an aviator, I'm currently the G4 for the 32d Army Air and Missile Defense Command (AAMDC) at Ft. Bliss. We are the Patriot Air
Defense forces for the Army. I ran into LTC Terence Hermans in theater who just recently relinquished Battalion Command and is now the G4 for 4ID. Thanks for keeping us informed on the happenings within the URI ROTC program.v/r LTC Jim Chapman
G4, 32AAMDC
DSN 978-5159
Comm 915 568-5159

Jim can be reached at: James.Chapman@emh10.bliss.army.mil

CPT Al Calvino, '92 has an amazing personal story to relate. He writes: "Thank you Sir for your email. Please let me know if you need more than a bullet format. My wife of 8 years is - Elizabeth From the Edgewood section of Cranston (we met in high school) Married December 31, 1994 Daughter who is 3 - Sarah 9/14/99 Son who is 1 - Joseph 3/7/2002 Current Address: 59 Country Lane Cranston RI 02921 Home Phone 401-821-6711 Cell 401-258-6918

1990 - Enlisted (11B 1P) in the National Guard Attended Basic AIT and Airborne at FT. Benning during College and served in the 173rd LRS

1990- Joined ROTC at URI and became SMP participant in the 169th MP

1992 - Graduated URI with a BS in Health and Physical Education

1992 - Commissioned in August 1992, Infantry Branch

1992-1993 Attended 1 year of graduate school as a graduate assistant at URI while I was waiting to report to Active duty. Studied Exercise Physiology and Taught a 300 level class for 2 semesters at URI

1993-1994 Reported to FT. Benning in June, IOBC and Bradley Commanders Course. I also worked at the Master Trainer Physical Fitness School at Ft. Benning

Reported to the 1st Battalion 4th Infantry Regiment at the Combat Maneuver Training Center in Germany where I was a Platoon Leader, Executive Officer and Assistant S-3 before leaving active duty. Last rank was 1LT (P) ETS March 97

1997-2002 Sales Representative for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals (Sold Lipitor and Viagra) Cleveland, Ohio

2000-2002 Territory Manager for Boston Scientific (sold surgical devices) Cleveland, Ohio and Boston, MA

2002-FEB 2003 Sales Representative for Johnson and Johnson (sold coronary stents, balloons, wires) Boston, MA

Currently - Joined a start-up company (Vasca) with a former co-worker from Boston Scientific who is currently the CEO. I am currently responsible for the market development and acceptance of our product in the North East US. The product is a Subcutaneous Hemodialysis Access System. We help people with kidney failure.

From 1997 until now I served in the IRR. Why I decided to serve again in the RI national guard: With the latest current events, I felt that as a trained soldier, I should do more than to remain on a standby list to help my country. August 9 and 10 of 2003 was not only my first drill as the S-1 at the 243D RTI but it was also my first time I have dawned the BDU in over 6 years. I have to re-acclimate to the military but being able to serve my country in at least a part time capacity makes it well worth the effort!

Please call me if you need anything else. I look forward to meeting you in the near future. Sincerely, Al Calvino CPT, INF 243D Regional Training Institute, Rhode Island National Guard"

CPT Calvino can be reached at: ACalvino@vasca.com

Responding to the invitation for our September tailgate gathering, LTC Byron Freeman, '84 dropped us the following, short message: "Thanks for contacting me -- please stay in touch. Byron '84 Byron can be reached at: Byron.Freeman@us.army.mil or at the address as follows:
LTC Byron A. Freeman
Commander, 759th MP Battalion
Provost Marshal, Fort Carson
Commander, 43rd ASG Rear Detachment
Fort Carson, CO 80913
(719) 526-3202
ENFORCER 6!

In early June our new Assistant R.O.T.C. PMS CPT Eric Carlson sent the following message: "I am at FT Benning right now for my Infantry advance Course. I should be back in RI on the 20th. I started out enlisted in the Infantry Jan 1990, stationed in HI for 2yrs. Went into the National Guard in 93. Commissioned July 94 from state OCS, branched Infantry. Platoon Ldr, XO, S-4, Current Intel Ops officer in Cuba 8 months. Schools: jump school, air assault, Expert infantry badge, mountain warfare. I know that is kind of quick, I am going back to class. Eric" Captain Carlson is now on board at Rhody R.O.T.C., looking forward to the hunting season in Foster (Steve Glick - keep a sharp eye out for him in your woods!!) and enjoys working with the Ranger Challenge team this semester. CPT Carlson can be reached at: eric.carlson3@us.army.mil

CPT Suzanne (Lampro) Hubert, '99 reached us as follows: "I thought I would send you an update for the next alumni newsletter. I will be transitioning out of the military and will have a new e-mail address. Right now I can be reached at slamtc2lt@hotmail.com. I just got back from sunny, beautiful Zagreb, Croatia where I served as Chief, SFOR Customs and Compliance for the past six months. While I was there I ran into 2 or 3 URI alumni, to include BG Quinlan. I'm still in Germany but am getting ready to come back Stateside next month. Matt and I will be transitioning out of the military to pursue an engineering career and a education career, respectively. Right now it looks promising for the Seattle area, but who knows-a lot can happen in one month! I can be reached at slamtc2lt@hotmail.com.

David Newman, '70 made an appearance in Kingston traveling from LaPlata, Maryland to participate in the September R.O.T.C. Golf Tournament. It was his first return to URI since his "glory days" of 1966-70 and the four days were filled with catching up on the campus, visiting former College of Engineering confines, eyeballing the "new" Engineering academic facilities and otherwise catching up with old fraternity brothers. It was good to see you again after all these years, Dave - don't be a stranger and let's not have another 33 years pass before your next visit! We await your promised Endowment contribution!

EDITOR'S NOTE: If a class year does not follow a name in the above column we do not have your graduation year on file. Please feel free to provide this information to us in a future email message. One of these days when our personnel/staff headcount is "up" we will begin to gather individual snail mail, home phone numbers and class years for all of our alumni......................

MIA, OFF-THE-NET, otherwise unaccounted for:

The following URI R.O.T.C. officers/alumni have not been heard from for some time and we urge them to contact the editor at email: dblue@erols.com Please provide the latest information you can on what you've been up to, military-civilian-"other" activities, etc. We'll include your EEI in our 2003 Holiday Newsletter issue:

Paul Cofoni, '70 Erich Balzer, '70 Gregory Schroeder, '70 Charlie Jay, '73 Stuart Scharf, '70, Kurt Carlson, '70 Harry Aharonian, '68

Brian Baker, Justin Bednarz, '01, Mark Barbosa, Bruce Blount, Frank Blount, Zack Archer, John Breen, John Capalbo, Mike Corkum, Adam DiPetrillo, Tim Duffy, Kevin Fracassa, Alan Knox, Paul Lavaillee, Jim Malley, Kevin McBride, Dan McCarroll, Kevin McEntee, Matt Turcotte.

GOAL = $20,000

PLEDGES TO DATE = $6,250

R.O.T.C. ENDOWMENT:

The Executive Board of your R.O.T.C. Alumni Chapter has made arrangements with the URI Foundation for a new and our first ever R.O.T.C. Endowment Fund. We have already received a generous $1,000 contribution from our undergraduate CADETS and this $1,000 has been matched by three of our alumni. This, together with a few other donations has us off to a wonderful start towards our goal of $20,000.

In the next month or so you will be receiving additional information concerning this Endowed Fund exclusively for URI R.O.T.C. and we hope you will consider a pledge and donation before the end of this year - super timing for your 2003 tax deductions. Donations should be sent directly to the URI Foundation, Attn: Ms. Gerri Beagle, Fiscal Manager, 79 Upper College Road, Kingston, RI 02881. Your donation will directly benefit our ability to attract the best and brightest freshman students into the R.O.T.C. program at URI and eventually build an even better United States Army. Much more to come in the next 2-3 weeks time. Please help us reach our goal.

Regards,

LTC (Ret) Paul Helweg, '70 R.O.T.C. Endowment Campaign Chair

Next issue is our HOLIDAY issue. Watch for the results of the 2003 Army 10-Miler Road Race in Washington D.C. URI ROTC is well represented this year. More on our Endowment Campaign, Holiday events, and much, much more.............

THREE ELECTED TO URI R.O.T.C. "HALL OF FAME"