After one year in Kingston, I'm pleased to say that the URI ROTC program is as strong as it's ever been! I've got great news to report! Some highlights:

 

* URI commissioned 14 officers in FY 03 (our mission is 13).

* The October 2002 Ranger Challenge team finished 7th out of a field of 26 teams. Expectations are higher for the 2003 team!

* We now have a "URI ROTC Alumni Bulletin Board" prominently displayed in Keaney Gymnasium. We are very proud of the accomplishments of our alumni! (Keep those emails and digital photos coming!)

 

* Dr. Carothers authorized a substantial increase to the annual scholarship room & board incentive from the Unversity to ROTC--from $10,000 to $40,000. This increase will help us attract a higher quality student-athlete-leader. (Most of the ROTC programs in the Northeast provide full room and board for ALL scholarship winners!)

 

* The URI ROTC Endowment Campaign is underway! The intent of the endowment is to provide funds that can be used by the Professor of Military Science to reward high performing cadets and attract top notch students into the program. After 87 years of ROTC at URI, an endowment of this type is long past due.

 

* Press coverage of the program has been favorable and robust. Several articles about the program have appeared in the school newspaper "The Good 5 Cent Cigar" over the last year, and the URI News Bureau has recently published articles about the Milton Caniff portrait of Parker Cramer donated to the battalion, the ROTC Endowment Campaign, Cadet Allison Paganetti's accomplishment as Miss US Model, and Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran LT Mark Padien's briefing to our Advanced Course cadets.

 

* Cadets have signed on for the campus "Adopt-a-Walkway" program and are responsible for policing the area around Ellory Pond directly in front of Keaney Gymnasium. Part of our effort to play a greater role in campus life.

 

* On 20 Sep 03, three more members were inducted into the URI ROTC Hall of Fame: BG Elliot Thorpe, COL Kenneth Potter, and CPT Conrad LaGueux. Check out their biographies on this website. Three very remarkable men!

 

* The dedication of the URI ROTC Alumni Association continues to amaze me. A great job on the 19 Sep 03 Golf Scramble at Beaver River Golf Course, an event I won't forget any time soon! Many thanks to those who give their all for the cadets of this program!

 

As you see, the ROTC program at URI has a lot of momentum from the previous school year. My challenge this school year is to ensure this momentum translates into a commissioning program with better recruiting and more professional leader development training. 

 

 

I am very honored and proud to be the Professor of Military Science at URI. Our graduates continue doing great things for our Army, and I feel a deep satisfaction knowing that the URI cadre are playing a vital role in developing the leadership for our country's "next greatest generation."