Gonzaga ROTC Honors
Two Gonzaga ROTC Cadets Commissioned in White House Ceremony
Army Commander Returns to Alma Mater for Honors
The graduation spotlight shone on the Gonzaga University ROTC program, as two Bulldogs were recently commissioned as lieutenants in a White House ceremony hosted by President Bush, while a Bulldog Battalion alumnus, who is now an Army commander, was honored by his alma mater, Gonzaga.
The Bulldog Battalion, Gonzaga's Army ROTC unit that includes students from Gonzaga, Whitworth University and the Intercollegiate College of Nursing, sent 23 lieutenants into the Army Officer Corps this year at the commissioning ceremony that was held on Friday, May 11, in the Globe Room of Gonzaga's Cataldo Hall.
Following the GU commissioning, Gonzaga senior Cadets Sarah Starr and Peter Gilroy departed for the nation's capital to be commissioned at the White House by the Secretary of Defense on May 17th. The commissioning was hosted by President Bush, who addressed the cadets before they took the Oath of Office. Lt. Col. Allen Patty called the White House commissioning "an enormous honor because they are two of 22 selected from approximately 5,000 Army ROTC cadets from around the nation."
Maj. Gen. Jason K. Kamiya, a 1976 Gonzaga alumnus and commander of Combined Joint Task Force 76 in Afghanistan from February 2005 to February 2006, was the guest speaker for the GU ROTC commissioning. Kamiya, a distinguished military graduate, also received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Gonzaga at its undergraduate commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 13 in the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. Kamiya, now stationed at Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Va., was honored for his more than three decades of service to this country and the safety and freedom of its people.
"This is a prestigious award and General Kamiya is most deserving," said (Ret.) Lt. Col. Alan Westfield, assistant professor of military science at GU. "We all can be proud of his achievements as well as the fact that Gonzaga will honor one of our own."
The 23 Bulldog Battalion cadets being commissioned this year include 20 GU graduates, and three from Whitworth; two of the GU graduates attended the Intercollegiate College of Nursing.
ARMY MAN TAKES INTEGRITY FAR: Read more About 2LT Gilroy in His Hometown Paper
2007 Young Alumni Award Recipient: Justin M. Horgan ('02)
Established in 2006, the Young Alumni Merit Award is presented annually to an outstanding graduate of the last ten years who has shown leadership and inspiration to young alumni through club participation and in events of a social, spiritual, community service and/or continuing education nature.
The purpose of this award is to recognize exceptional achievements in career, public service and/or volunteer activities that bring honor to Gonzaga University. Nominations are submitted by alumni, friends, and staff members for committee consideration.
Justin Horgan a 2002, Gonzaga ROTC Alum, on recieving the Young Alumni Award "It's an honor to accept this award on behalf of all of the people who have gone through the Gonzaga ROTC program," he said. "The Bulldog Battalion has not only affected the lives of those cadets who have walked the halls of Gonzaga, but has truly affected those around the world."
2007 Young Alumni Award Recipient: Read more about Justin M. Horgan
Dateline: 3/30/2005
GONZAGA UNIVERSITY NEWS RELEASE
Dale Goodwin, Director
Peter Tormey, Associate Director
ROTC Unit Named Best in West Again
Captures MacArthur Award for Second Consecutive Year
The Bulldog Battalion of 2005
For the second consecutive year, the Bulldog Battalion, Gonzaga University's ROTC unit, has been honored with the MacArthur Award (2005) as the best unit at a large school in the Western United States. The unit also was named the best among all 140 battalions in the West.
Gonzaga's ROTC battalion was among the six units singled out for excellence among all ROTC units located at 273 large, medium and small colleges and universities nationwide. The Bulldog Battalion consists of 95 students, most of whom attend GU with some students from Whitworth College and the Intercollegiate College of Nursing. A total of 22 members of the Class of 2005 will join the Army officer corps this year. Commissioning of new lieutenants will occur at 4:30 p.m., Friday, May 6 at Cataldo Hall at GU.
The MacArthur Awards were instituted in 1989 to honor the top Army ROTC units nationwide, according to the Executive Director of the General Douglas MacArthur Foundation, Ret. Marine Corps Col. William J. Davis.
"The awards recognize the individual units within the Army ROTC program that have achieved the standards that best represent the ideals of the watch words of 'Duty- Honor- Country' as practiced by General MacArthur," said Davis.
The Army ROTC battalions selected for the awards were the most successful of the Commands' 272 units in accomplishing their mission of training and commissioning the majority of the lieutenants entering the Army each year.
Army ROTC teaches students how to succeed in today's competitive world by providing them with leadership and management skills, which last a lifetime. Many graduates attribute their successful careers in government and industry to the training that they received while ROTC cadets. Among the distinguished graduates of the ROTC program are former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton.
Students at nearly 1,200 other institutions of higher learning can also participate in Army ROTC training through partnership agreements with nearby schools.
Since ROTC was established in 1916, more than 500,000 men and women have gone on to become Army officers through Army ROTC.
For more information, contact the GU ROTC at (509) 323-6519.
