Setting the Standard

ROTC enjoys another year of cadet success and national achievement

By Tony Schick

Published: Thursday, December 4, 2008

Updated: Friday, October 30, 2009

Jerry Rolwes Photo, Courtesy of ROTC

Gonzaga has the highest retention rate of any ROTC program in the country, at more than 90 percent. Lt. COL. Alan Westfield believes engaging activities, such as rappelling at Minnehaha Rocks, helps ease the worries of new members as they learn to balance the demands of the Bulldog Battalion with a full academic course load.

Courtesy of LTC. Alan Westfield, ROTC

The Bulldog Battalion won the annual Task Force Ranger challenge for the 15th time in 16 years earlier this fall. The team scored enough points to qualify for the Sandhurst Military Competition, an international competition at West Point for the first time in the program's history. Though the Battalion will not be competing because of extenuating circumstances, it was one of only eight ROTC programs in the country chosen to compete.

If by some twist of fate you've found yourself awake and about campus before sunrise, you may have seen them. They'd already be in the middle of training. You've most likely seen them tending the flagpole between Welch and DeSmet. And you've almost certainly seen them in uniform on Thursdays.

But what the average Gonzaga student doesn't see of the ROTC program are the walls covered in their plaques and awards in the basement of College Hall.

The Bulldog Battalion, started in 1947, is one of the highest-rated ROTC programs in the nation, and has been for some time. In many regards, it is recognized by the military as the best.

So much so that Patrick Constantino chose Gonzaga solely for the ROTC program. Constantino, now a senior and Cadet 1st Lt., says his father (a retired member of the Army Reserves who served in the Vietnam War) had heard the Bulldog Battalion was a premier program through friends in the military.

"I really didn't know anything about GU itself," Constantino says. "I wouldn't be here without [the ROTC program]."

Constantino, an international studies major, also helped lead the Bulldog Battalion to its most recent achievement as a Cadet Captain of Gonzaga's Black Team in the Task Force Big Sky Ranger Challenge Championship, which took place in the Lubrecht Experimental Forest north of Missoula, Mont.

Competing in events such as a map reading exam, physical fitness test, one-rope bridge, a hand grenade assault course, land navigation, weapons (clearing assembly, disassembly and functions check) and a 10-kilometer forced road march, Gonzaga won the competition for the third time in a row, and the 15th victory in the past 16 years.

"It really was a great experience," says freshman Jenna Peterson, who placed first overall in physical fitness testing at the competition. "Having it all come to a point, where we were competing and being able to see all that hard work pay off, was really great."

Gonzaga, overcoming teams from Montana, Montana State, Alask-Fairbanks, BYU-Idaho and Idaho State in snowy conditions, scored high enough in the Ranger Challenge to earn an honor it never has before.

The Bulldog Battalion recently received the news that it had been selected to compete in the Sandhurst Military Competition held at West Point Academy. Featuring teams from West Point and Annapolis as well as international squads from Canada, Britain and Afghanistan, Sandhurst is arguably the most prestigious international competition available to ROTC programs.

And though they will not be able to attend the competition because of extenuating circumstances, the Bulldog Battalion was one of just eight ROTC teams out of 272 nationwide who were selected.

"They performed at a high level and they really earned it," Lt. COL. Alan Westfield, eighth-year assistant professor of military science, said of his Battalion, which includes students from both Gonzaga and Whitworth universities. "They don't give that kind of thing away."

While the cadets and cadre were looking forward to competing in Sandhurst, all are satisfied with the selection itself and recognize that alternative training is what is most necessary for the Battalion at this point.

"It's completely understandable that we're not going," says Chad Murphy, a Gonzaga graduate student in his senior year of the ROTC program. "Yes, it would have been fun for us to send a team to compete, and we probably would have done fairly well. But there are more important things right now, and we must do what is best for the Battalion."

Constantino, who would have led the team in Sandhurst, thinks Gonzaga's program has a good chance of earning the selection next year as well.

"Being selected to go to something like this is a reflection of the hardworking cadets we have here at Gonzaga year after year," he says.

Piling on the accolades

ROTC cadets are ranked nationally every year based on GPA, physical fitness tests, performance in Leadership Development Assessment Courses and other variables, to determine their military placements. This year, 21 of 25 Bulldog Battalion members ranked in the top 50 percent, meaning they would receive their first choice of military branch after graduation.

"People don't realize that we are leaps and bounds ahead of a lot of programs," senior cadet Mary Whitney Ferriter says. "When military people ask where I go to school, they're very impressed."

A significant reason for that impressive number is the Bulldog Battalion's LDAC success. While the Sandhurst competition is prestigious, it has no bearing on a cadet's assessment. The LDAC, however, is known as the single most important training event for ROTC officers. LDAC training, as well as several other factors, contributed to the Battalion's decision to forgo the international competition.

It is a rigorous, month-long event that evaluates a candidate's ability to lead based on several different tasks, including but not limited to ones akin to those of the Ranger Challenge. Cadets receive grades of N (Not to standard), S (Satisfactory) or E (Excellent). Forty percent of Bulldog Battalion cadets received E grades, while the national average is 15 percent.

"We do very well in leadership development," says Lt. COL. Jeff Stewart, professor of military science. "That's our mission: to commission leaders of competence to the U.S. Army. We look for qualified individuals who display characteristics of scholastics, athleticism, and an inclination to serve our country in a leadership role."

It's become easier for Gonzaga to find those types of cadets as the national recognition as grown over the years.

The needed leaders

Lt. COL. Westfield says the program was already well established when he arrived eight years ago, and that that has a positive impact on recruiting, which Constantino is a prime example of. Three of every five incoming cadets, Lt. COL. Westfield says, compete for scholarships while still in high school.

While national recruiting numbers may be down for the Army, Gonzaga's have remained steady every year. Lt. COL. Westfield says roughly 100 high school seniors express interest ever year, and that that number is actually increased slightly this year.

Lt. COL. Westfield says they owe that in part to the University, and to its partner, Whitworth University, which both attract motivated students who are a natural fit for ROTC.

All Army-given ROTC scholarships are full tuition, with a stipend for books and a monthly stipend. At Gonzaga, that scholarship package has an estimated value of $147,000. Of the 95 students currently in ROTC, only nine are without full scholarship.

That amount accounts for much of the reason that the U.S. Army is the largest donor to the University year after year.

"When it really comes down to it, I'm getting paid to come here," Constantino says. "Apart from everything else, that's a pretty good incentive."

The prospect of tuition paid-in-full may lure many cadets to Gonzaga, but what the Battalion is most proud of is getting them to stay. Gonzaga's retention rate, above 90 percent, is the highest in the nation out of 272 programs, Lt. COL. Westfield says.

Gonzaga is also one of four schools out of that same 272 to achieve the requested number of commissioned officers into the Army. For the past nine years, Lt. COL. Westfield says, Gonzaga's program has been one of four schools to achieve that, and it will do it once more this year.

Gonzaga also sends students to partnering schools across the country during summers for skills such as helicopter piloting, mountaineering and learning how to deploy from planes.

The Bulldogs always score well at these schools, Lt. COL. Stewart says, and Gonzaga is usually allotted more than its share of spots.

Constantino has spent a summer at Airborne school, where he spent three weeks learning how to prepare to jump out of a plane. He also spent the past summer in Germany, shadowing a tank commander.

"That was a great experience," he says. "I got to do everything they do. I got to shoot tanks, watch him navigate, it was very cool."

Constantino believes those types of programs are really what the ROTC program is all about: learning to be a leader.

"There has to be a lot of personal development that happens here, because when we graduate we go in as officers," he says. "Suddenly I'll have soldiers under my command."

Constantino says he has no anxieties about the reality of deployment shortly following graduation.

"I felt that desire to serve, and I think a lot of cadets want to be deployed, they want to serve," he says. "I think there's even some who are chomping at the bit. There's no cadets that I know of who don't want to serve."

"Whether or not you personally agree becomes out of the question," he says of the possibility of entering a combat zone. "Like they say, you serve for the guys to the left and right of you."

Lt. COL. Stewart, in his first year as head of the Bulldog Battalion, says that two things really impressed him the most when he arrived at Gonzaga.

The first was camaraderie.

"It is truly a family atmosphere," he says. "I noticed right away that everyone is focused on making sure everyone else succeeds." Stewart noted peer mentoring and tutoring programs as an example of that atmosphere.

Ferriter recalls that she didn't know quite what to expect when she came in as a freshman, never having participated in ROTC before, but that the Battalion is structured to ensure a smooth transition. Every incoming freshman has a sophomore mentor, she says, who helps with anything from school to moving in to the dorms.

"Everyone is really accepting from the start," she says. "Because people are there for you right from the start, you turn around and are there for everyone else."

Remembering their start

Lt. COL. Stewart believes that the Battalion, which he compares in some respects to a fraternity, sets itself up for success through that camaraderie.

"They spend a lot of time together," Lt. COL. Stewart says, "and we've seen those bonds continue on after graduation."

The second thing that most impressed Lt. COL. Stewart is the strength of the alumni base, which he says "are very proactive in helping our cadets out."

Senior cadet George Kane says the biggest influences on him were three older cadets, all of whom have been deployed. His freshman year, 1st Lt. Sarah Stender, 1st Lt. Rob Duane and 1st Lt. and captain of the Ranger Challenge team Daniel Robledo (all class of '06) were a big inspiration. Stender and Duane are currently serving in Iraq, and Robledo recently returned from his deployment, also in Iraq.

Kane says he speaks with one or more of them at least once a week.

"Sometimes it's more professional, and they tell me what types of things to expect. But sometimes it's just as friends. Both are great to have," Kane says.

As the Battalion prepares for Ranger Challenges, a tradition began that alumni would send their combat patches for the team to wear while competing, as well as letters of support.

"To see how much they cared, taking the time to send that stuff even from combat zones, was amazing," Kane says.

Jeanne Hayes, ROTC's administrative assistant, says she has frequent contact with alumni, and keeps a mailing list of the dozens of former cadets currently deployed.

To illustrate her experience with the alumni's level of appreciation for the program, Hayes recalls a moment from earlier this year involving highly decorated COL. Dorothea Burke, class of '82. Burke was recognized in September of this year in a change of command ceremony, as she took over for COL. Jack Summer in Special Operations Command.

Hayes was in the process of sending a gift of congratulations to Burke when, on the day she was set to send the package, one arrived out of the blue. It was from Burke, who had not personally informed Gonzaga of her accomplishment. The package contained an American flag that Burke had flown, as a token of appreciation to Gonzaga's ROTC program for starting her career.

"That speaks to the quality of people who emerge from here to do great things," Hayes says. "These are not people who go off just to shoot guns."

A Tribute to Whitworth's Fallen
Veterans Day Ceremony and Dedication of New Veterans Memorial at Whitworth University

Nov.11, 2009, presentation by Dale Soden, Professor of History, Campus Historian and Vice President for Planning:

Thank you for coming out this morning to help dedicate this new memorial to Whitworth students and alumni who have died in service to our country. Thank you to the class of 2008 for its generous gifts that made this memorial possible, along with several other donors including Tim Lickness, who fought in Vietnam and then came to Whitworth and graduated in 1973. And thank you to Tad Wisenor (Class of '89) for his work in helping make this memorial a reality. (Note: The memorial is located in the plaza in front of Cowles Auditorium.)

Today on this Veterans Day our thoughts and prayers are still with the families and friends of those soldiers murdered so senselessly at Fort Hood last week. We can only hope that God's grace touches the lives of those who are grieving their loss.

One of the great privileges of studying and writing about the history of Whitworth has been to become more familiar with the stories of the individuals honored with this memorial. So I'd like to share just a little more about each of these four men.

First is Harry Olson: Harry was born in 1896 and grew up near Spokane. His parents were Swedish immigrants who struggled to scratch out a living. His mother worked as a maid and his father worked on a farm near Clayton, which is north of Spokane. Harry worked at the farm whenever he could. He started attending Whitworth shortly after the college moved to Spokane, in 1914. Clearly the pride of the family, Harry loved sports and did well in school. There were hopes and expectations that he would go into the Presbyterian ministry. But Harry was drafted in 1917 and eventually served with the United States Army in France. While serving in the military Harry wrote a remarkable set of letters, mostly to his mother and father, which the family saved.

Harry's letters are great for what they reveal about army food in the First World War and about his faith as a Christian. He quoted hymns in his letters such as "He Leadeth Me," "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," and "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus."

Harry loved his family dearly and was a sweet soul. On the occasion of Mother's Day 1918 he wrote a letter home that was printed in The Spokesman-Review:

"American mothers, though they are forced to stay at home while their sons see the excitement of the battle lines in France, suffer as much as though in actual turmoil of war and are deserving of as much credit as the men in uniform.

The gallant young men who leave home and go out to conquer the autocratic monster, who is menacing the happiness and peace of the world, are truly doing a patriotic duty and deserve some credit, but they are young and for the most part not troubled with anxiety or cares of life. The mothers on the other hand deserve the real praise, for no one appreciates the sacrifice, nor the anxiety and cares more than mother."

Sadly, Harry was killed on June 16, 1918, when he was filling his canteen and was hit by a German artillery shell; he died on the way to the hospital.

Frank Tiffany was born in 1898 in South Dakota and grew up mostly in Alberta. Frank's uncle, Orin Tiffany, was dean at Whitworth in the 1920s and that's how Frank came to Spokane. He played football, wrote for the newspaper, and saw Ballard Hall burn down in 1927. He graduated in 1929 and went to seminary at Princeton and joined the ROTC. After serving churches in North Dakota and Sandpoint, Idaho, he was sent to the Philippines to serve as chaplain. He ended up serving at Camp O'Donnell, an internment camp that was the final stop for American and Filipino prisoners of war who survived the Bataan Death March (between six and ten thousand POWs died on the march, including one of my own distant uncles. Another estimated 2,200 Americans and 27,000 Filipinos died at Camp O'Donnell).

As chaplain, Tiffany served in this hell-hole and helped organize underground work to secure food and medicine for hundreds of suffering prisoners. Eventually his covert work was discovered; he was imprisoned and probably tortured. Chaplain Tiffany lost his life aboard a torpedoed Japanese prisoner of war ship in 1944. His widow joined Whitworth's education faculty in 1949. Tiffany Chapel would later be incorporated into the new Whitworth community.

Tom Haji was born in 1925 in Bluestem, Wash., near present day Harrington, which is about 50 miles west of Spokane. Tom's father was born in Japan and had come to the United States to work for the Great Northern railroad. In 1933 the railroad transferred the Hajis to Skykomish. Tom and his sisters were active and popular in school. The family moved to Monroe in 1938, but world events were closing in. In 1941 there was a practice blackout in Monroe.

Tom was in high school when the Pearl Harbor attack occurred, and by February 1942 the order was given to relocate all persons of Japanese descent. Tom and his family were sent to Tule Lake, Calif., where they were confined in a Japanese-American internment camp.

But in 1943 the Hajis, because of good behavior, were allowed to leave Tule Lake and go to Spokane to work for the railroad. Tom started attending Whitworth at the encouragement of Whitworth President Frank Warren. Tom became actively involved at Whitworth and played on the basketball team. But in 1944 he became eligible for the draft. He served in the 442nd, the highly decorated all-Japanese battalion. Tom was deployed to Italy just weeks before the end of the war and was killed in action fighting against the Germans on April 7, 1945.

Forrest Ewens: When Forrest was killed in Afghanistan in 2006, we at Whitworth and Gonzaga University grieved his death. Over three years later his memory remains strong in the hearts of us who knew him. Forrest and his twin brother Oaken were students in my history classes and I remember them both vividly. Forrest was loved by his fellow track mates and coaches at Whitworth, as well as by other students. His enthusiasm for life, love of country, love of family, and care for others stand out so clearly when I think of Forrest. Forrest spent some of his early years in Gig Harbor but grew up in Chewelah before coming to Whitworth in 2000. He was a great member of the Bulldog Battalion, the joint Gonzaga/Whitworth ROTC program, where he met Megan, his future wife. Forrest and Oaken, who both graduated from Whitworth in 2004, represent the very best of this country.

Forrest died in Pech River Valley, Afghanistan, when his all-terrain vehicle struck an improvised explosive device during combat operations. We continue to miss him dearly.

Note: Oaken, along with his brothers Elisha and Stephen, are currently serving in Afghanistan.

When we consider these four men together I know that they share many things in common aside from their connection to Whitworth. I very much believe that if they could speak to us now they would stand firmly on the side of hope over fear and cynicism, love over hate, courage over cowardice, humility over arrogance, life over death, and a belief in God over the forces of darkness.

On a day in which people all over the world remember the fallen, we honor all of you veterans that are here that have served our country. We give thanks for your commitment to this country and the ideals for which you stand.

Let me close with a poem first published in September 1914, right after the Battle of the Marne.

Written by Laurence Binyon, the poem is entitled "For the Fallen."

They went with songs to battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eyes steady and aglow.

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted.
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We shall remember them.

Thank you.

ROTC Rocks 17th Annual Ranger Challenge

Gonzaga University Army ROTC's Ranger Challenge teams set the standard on the 17th of October, 2009.  GU's Black and Gold teams took First and Second Place in the intense TF Big Sky Ranger Challenge Competition which was held in Bozeman, MT., setting a new university record.  Not only did the teams have to battle the fierce competition of the other universities, but they also had to endure the harsh conditions of eastern Montana.  The legacy of Ranger Challenge at Gonzaga is one of domination.  Out of the past 17 years of TF Big Sky and TF Palouse Ranger Challenge competitions, Gonzaga's team has come in first place 16 of those years. 

The Gonzaga Bulletin
Issue Date: Oct 2009
Click here to see article

Gonzaga Quarterly Q&A with top doc in Iraq Brig. Gen. Joseph Caravalho ('79)

Gonzaga Quarterly Summer 2009

A dream come true: At Gonzaga as an ROTC student, Joseph Caravalho knew he wanted to become a doctor, yet also have a military career.

Brig. Gen. Joseph Caravalho's job can be described in just a few words. He's in charge of all health care in Iraq. Little else in Caravalho's work is this simple. At a strategic level, this military physician works with Iraq's minister of health to improve the country's health-care system, which in pre-war years was considered a jewel of the Middle East. As senior medical officer for the Coalition Forces, Caravalho ('79) also oversees care for more than 150,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and civilians - even veterinary care for military working dogs. "Most importantly, I get to work alongside dedicated, professional and compassionate warriors and civilian partners to help the good people of Iraq on behalf of our great nation," Caravalho said. "Because my wife and family at home are supportive, I couldn't be happier doing my job."

To read more visit http://www.gonzaga.edu/Campus-Resources/Offices-and-Services-A-Z/MarketingandCommunications/pdf/GQSummer2009.pdf  page 22.

Army Man Takes Integrity Far

Commissioned officer welcomes role of leader

By Karen McCowan                
The Register-Guard

COTTAGE GROVE - Peter Gilroy isn't one to seek the spotlight. But he was in it May 17, standing in the East Room with the President of the United States, watching his parents beam as Defense Secretary Robert Gates pinned on the gold stripes signifying his commission as a U.S. Army officer.

"It was surreal," the new second lieutenant - Cottage Grove High's 2003 valedictorian - recalled back home in Oregon last week. "Even walking in, you don't really realize how momentous it is. It's kind of crazy to be standing next to the leader of the free world."

Gilroy earned the honor by distinguishing himself among this year's 5,000 Army Reserve Officer Training Corps graduates.

"He is an exceptional young man," said Lt. Col. Alan Westfield, his commanding officer in Gonzaga University's ROTC program.

Gilroy was among just 55 ROTC standouts selected from all service branches nationwide to participate in the first-ever joint commissioning ceremony at the White House. Chosen to represent Oregon at the ceremony, he was one of only 22 Army ROTC members there.

"He's not a guy who likes a lot of attention, but this is a big deal," Westfield said, ticking off a list of reasons why Gilroy rose to the top.

"He's a scholar who graduated magna cum laude in business," the commander said. "He's an exceptional athlete who led our nine-person Ranger Challenge team to a regional championship. He's an effective leader who was our command sergeant major" and in his spare time "served as a mentor for young kids in the Spokane community."

"He's got enormous character," Westfield said. "He's going to be a very fine Army officer."

Although he enlisted after fighting had begun in both Afghanistan and Iraq, Gilroy said he turned to ROTC primarily as a way to pay for school.

"My brother did Naval ROTC at Notre Dame," he explained. "The fact that we had a conflict going on didn't really sway me one way or another. I knew, regardless, that I would be in a situation where there would be danger, because there's no time in our history where we haven't been involved in something dangerous, such as a NATO peacekeeping assignments in the Balkans and Somalia."

In remarks to the new officers, the President acknowledged the role of the ROTC scholarships "that helped pay for your college education."

"The American people provide these funds willingly," he said. "In exchange, they ask one thing: When their sons and daughters are put in harm's way, they are led by officers of character and integrity."

Gilroy will be such an officer, Westfield said: "Our nation's in good hands with people like Peter Gilroy stepping forward to lead young, 18-year-old privates and soldiers and sergeants in the world's best army during a time of war."

Gilroy chose Gonzaga's ROTC program because it has a reputation for giving participants "the tools to control your destiny," he said.

As a business major, that meant opportunities to apply the "management stuff" he was learning in his business administration classes.

"I have a really good job lined up," Gilroy said, as he prepares to report for duty at Fort Lewis next month. "I'll likely be a platoon leader in charge of 30 people. Not many people get that kind of leadership experience right off the bat. And the starting salary's not bad either - a little over $40,000."

Eventually, he plans to return to college for a master's degree in business administration.

"I don't know yet if I'll make the Army my career," he said. "It depends on whether I like the job."

Meanwhile, he sees the Army as a way to help him "see the world," a top post-college goal. After training, his first duty station will be in Vilseck, Germany. He's already been to Korea. And, of course, to the White House.

The reality of that experience really sank in after the ceremony, Gilroy said, when "we kind of had free rein inside the White House. I saw all these famous rooms, with their famous paintings. I always liked that one of J.F.K. with his head bowed, so I had someone take my picture with that one."

U.S. ARMY 2ND LT. PETER GILROY

Age: 22

Claim to Fame: The 2003 Cottage Grove High graduate represented Oregon at a May 17 White House commission ceremony for Reserve Officer Training Corps graduates.

Family: Parents Jim and Mary Gilroy of Cottage Grove; brother Andrew of New Jersey; sister Megan of California.

Education: Bachelor's degree in business, Gonzaga University, 2007

Role Model: Grandfather William Mitchell, a retired Navy engineer and World War II veteran. "He was just a good man - very honest, with a good sense of humor. He honestly cared about the well-being of others in front of himself."

Favorite Historical Military Figure: Alexander the Great

Now Reading: "When Heaven and Earth Changed Places (a civilian's-eye view of the Vietnam War)'; "Men are From Mars, Women are from Venus."

Listens to: Red Hot Chili Peppers, alternative rock

Five-, 10- and 20-Year Goals: See the world; earn an MBA; marry and raise a family