Black Bear Bulletin

7/27/2019 Black Bear Bulletin

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Spring 2014

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BLACK BEAR

BULLETIN

UNIVERSITY OF MAINE, ARMY ROTC

Message from the CommanderC/LTC Nathan Ackerson

Greetings Black Bears! The spring semester has

been another very successful semester for the

Black Bear Battalion. We began the semester bygetting back into the Field House after all the

construction, which helped bring things back tonormal. We did not spend long inside, however,

before we got out and started doing tactical train-ing in the woods during February and March.

The month of April and beginning of May was a

sprint to the finish, as we continued to developour leadership abilities during weekly labs, tested

that leadership further during our Squad Situ-

ational Training Exercise, and finally broughteverything together in the culmination of our tac-

tical training at the Field Training Exercise. We

capped the year off with a fantastic Military Balland a great Commissioning Ceremony. Con-

gratulations on a job well done!

Looking to the future, I would like to leave a few

words for each class:

To the incoming MSIs: thank you for deciding

to join the Black Bear Battalion. I have no reser-vations saying that there is no other college class

that gives you the amount of hands on leadership

experience that Army ROTC provides. I encour-

age you to stick with the program, as it will set

BATTALION STAFF

Professor of Military Science

LTC Charles Rote

Senior Military Instructor

MSG Thomas Banister

Cadet Battalion Commander

C/LTC Nathan Ackerson

Cadet Battalion Command

Sergeant Major

C/CSM James Ciejka

Cadet Jones lays down fire from behind cover at

Spring FTX.


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Spring 2014

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Continued Message from

Commander

To the incoming MSIIs: use your sophomore

year in ROTC as a time to learn as much as youpossibly can. Take every leadership and training

opportunity that you can get, as these will set

you up for success in the years to come.

To the incoming MSIIIs: get ready. The sum-

mer goes by quickly, and your leadership posi-tions start on Day 1 of the school year. Have a

good summer, but make sure to stay in shape and

refresh your memory every now and then on thethings you have learned. With all that said, dont

be scared of MS III year. If you work hard and

give it your absolute best, you will succeed. You

will be amazed at how much you grow and de-velop this upcoming year.

To the incoming MSIVs: good luck at LDAC. Iam confident that you will do well and make the

Black Bear Battalion proud. Bring home all the

knowledge and experience you gain at LDACand use it to make the Battalion better. MS IV

year is definitely not a kick back and relax

year; you will be amazed at the amount of workand planning you will need to do to have a suc-

cessful year. My charge to you is to leave theBlack Bear Battalion in a better place than it was

when you began.

Finally, to my classmates: congratulations on ajob well done. It has been a long journey to this

point, but the twelve of us have persevered

through it all. You all put in an incredibleamount of work and effort this year, and I cannot

thank you enough for that. As we soon go our

separate ways, carry the legacy of the Black BearBattalion with you and do great things wherever

you go. Good luck in all your endeavors!

In conclusion I want to say congratulations on a

very successful year. This Battalion has come a

long way since the first day of school, and thatprogress is due to the hard work, dedication, and

commitment to excellence that you all have ex-

hibited throughout the year. It is my firm opin-

ion that the Black Bear Battalion is poised for

Blackhawk lands at PlymouthTraining Area during Spring FTX.

Warrior Ethos

I will always place

the mission first.

I will never accept

defeat.

I will never

quit.

I will never

leave a fallen

comrade.

2014 Commissionees


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Spring 2014

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SPRING SITUATIONAL

TRAINING EXERCISECDT Tyler Vallee

On a beautiful spring semester Saturday in

Orono, most students are enjoying a baseball game,

some Frisbee in the yard, or going for a bike ride.However, the Cadets of the Black Bear Battalion

had much more than a bike ride in store. Starting

bright and early at 0500, Cadets assembled in thefield house to get their gear together and prepare

for the day. At 0530 we marched out to Demeritt

Forest singing cadence to increase motivation.

We spent our day running through lanes tosolidify our proficiency with Battle Drills, Opera-tion Orders and Troop Leading Procedures. In

squads of about 12 Cadets, we practiced attacks,

ambushes, movements to contact, and recon mis-sions throughout the day, fighting off the South At-

ropian People's Army (SAPA) forces in Demeritt

Forest. At each lane the Squad Leader was given anOperation Order (OPORD) with the mission for the

squad. Once they were given the OPORD the

Squad Leader gave out a Warning Order

(WARNO) to the team leaders to give to theirteam. After the squad leader had formulated the

plan and set up a terrain model, the squad was

brought in to receive the OPORD. After theOPORD, the squad went through rehearsals and

covered contingency plans to ensure everyone un-

CDT Rosebeary directs members

of her squad during spring STX.

Most missions required movements

to the ORP where, depending on the mis-sion, the squad leader would send out a re-

con team to get eyes on the objective. Once

the recon team had eyes on the objective,

the rest of the squad moved out, ready foranything. Anything could happen in each

mission and once under fire, each Cadet had

to be motivated and move quickly to assault

through the objective and finish the mis-sion. On the objective we had to be loud

and demonstrate violence of action. As-

saulting through the objective should nottake long and everything moves quickly so

each Cadet must keep their head on a

swivel and be prepared to react to anythingthat may happen. Once the mission is com-

plete the squad must take care of any casu-

alties and also get off the objective quickly.

We all stayed motivated throughout

the day, going through this process fivetimes. By the end of the last lane, each Ca-

det was tired, wet, sweaty, and hungry, but

that did not affect the Cadets, because we

were all highly motivated. The march backto Battalion was very nice, knowing that the

Delta Zeta sorority had a spaghetti dinner

CDT Fenning pulls security.

The Battalion with Delta Zeta


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Spring 2014

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TRANSITION FROM FALL TO

SPRING: AN MSIs PERSPECTIVECDT Laura Dunham

There are a lot of differences between

the fall semester and the spring semester. Al-though the weather didnt seem to realize it was

the spring semester, ROTC certainly did. As an

MSI, I was constantly being introduced to new

experiences, ideas, and skills. Throughout thefall semester, I was given information and al-

lowed to apply it on a small scale. During the

spring semester I have been able to see how eve-rything I learned in the previous semester is ap-

plied on a larger scale, in a platoon sized ele-

ment.

There have been some incredible training

opportunities this semester, including a lab filled

with obstacle courses, snow-filled security, andthe ever important Drill and Ceremonies (D&C).

However miserable pulling security in the snow

may be at the time, I think most other MSIswould agree that what we are getting out of the

training this semester is in-depth and useful.

Now, being a little more confident in our abili-

ties and our knowledge of the program, we are

able to have more input, and take on some moreresponsibilities.

Not only has there been plenty of oppor-

tunity for training, but there have also been quite

a few Color Guard events and details as well to

Every ROTC event Ive been

involved in has been a great

experience.

CDT Abbot takes aim at SAPA forces.

The OPORD process.

Battalion Ruck March.

20thMaine Honor Society at the blood

drive.


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Spring 2014

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HOW SPRING FTX PREPARED AN MS III FOR

LDAC

This summer I, along with thousands of other ArmyROTC Cadets from over a hundred different colleges, will be

traveling to Fort Knox for our final evaluation as MSIIIs.

Throughout my junior year I, along with my fellow MSIIIs,have been working on developing and fine tuning my leadership

skills.

This past weekend the Black Bear Battalion went out to

conduct our spring FTX. This three-day training tested my landnavigation skills, leadership, and basic knowledge in the field.

The first day tested our land navigation skills at both day and

night land navigation. The course was made just as difficult if

not harder than what we will experience at LDAC. Making thecourse harder than LDAC allowed us to fine tune our skills and

build confidence in an area that many cadets at LDAC strugglewith each year. We as a school are fortunate enough to have such

a great opportunity to practice land navigation where as other

schools in the city may not get the same opportunity.

Saturday I had the opportunity to work and adapt my

leadership skills by acting in a range of positions from a Platoon

Sergeant to a squad member. At LDAC we will be thrown in avariety of leadership positions at any time with little notice. At

spring FTX we would switch positions throughout the mission to

simulate LDAC. By integrating this into our training it gave usas close to the real experience as we could get without actually

being at Fort Knox. Throughout the mission we were constantlycalled upon to use our leadership skills to maneuver elements

and make quick decisions to complete the mission at hand. Put-ting us into these leadership roles helps build a solid foundation

that allows us as leaders to handle any situation that is thrown at

us. By giving us a base to fall back on when the storm hits, it al-lows us as leaders to build a plan starting at the foundation we

have made throughout our time in ROTC. By the end of FTX, I

Cadets cross a road with concealment

by white smoke at Spring FTX.

REPORT ON COLOR GUARD

The Black Bear Battalions Color

Guard is a group that always takes

pride in the honorable job of present-ing the colors. Since the beginning of

the school year the Color Guard has

worked hard at their trade and hascontinually improved. The Color

Guard strives to always represent

both the Black Bear Battalion and theArmy in a professional manner, and

to always pay attention to the small

details involved in their job.

The beginning of the year laid thefoundation for the Color Guard. Basic

proficiency in drill and ceremony is anecessity in Color Guard, and the Ca-

dets worked hard in achieving that

proficiency. The Color Guard thenworked on mastering the skills in-

volved with rifle and flag drill and

ceremony. As the weeks progressed

the Color Guard began to tackle morecomplex commands such as wheels

and colors reverse. Once a Cadet wasdeemed proficient in these basic

skills, they were allowed to partici-pate in the various Color Guard

events.


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Spring 2014

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Color Guard Report Continued...

This year the Color Guard pre-

sented the colors in a variety of events

both on and off campus. On campus theColor Guard presented the colors at foot-

ball games, hockey games, basketball

games, and baseball games. There were avariety of special events that the Color

Guard was also privileged to attend. They

presented the colors for the annual Relay

for Life, and were even able to post thecolors when the United States Army Con-

cert Band came to perform for the univer-

sity. Perhaps the most exciting event the

Color Guard attended was the Frozen Fen-way Hockey Tournament. A handful of

Cadets were able to march onto the frozen

field of Fenway Park, and present the col-ors in front of thousands of people.

In addition to these special events,the Color Guard also posted the colors for

the various traditional events in the battal-

ion. The Color Guard was on hand to post

the colors at both the annual Dining Inceremony and the Military Ball. Those Ca-

dets involved with Color Guard are always

the individuals that fellow Cadets look tofor guidance in drill and ceremony. The

Color Guard takes pride in their role in the

Black Bear Battalion, and they hope to fur-

RAAAANGERRR CHALLENGE!

The Black Bear Battalion's Ranger Chal-

lenge team started this year running right from the

get go. With only a few short weeks before theannual Ranger Challenge Competition, the team

trained hard in a variety of areas. Mornings began

at 0530 with practicing the One Rope Bridge, a

staple in the annual competition. Then from 0600to 0700 the team conducted PT that pushed

Cadets far beyond the normal physical condition-

ing requirements. To excel on the Ranger Chal-lenge team a Cadet needs to have a true passion

for PT. Ranger Challenge Cadets love to push

their bodies to the limits; if you ask any Cadet on

the team they will tell you the same thing, "Ijoined Ranger Challenge because no other group

in Battalion does the kind of PT that they do.

But the Ranger Challenge Team does far

more than just regular PT. On weekends they par-

ticipate in a variety of extra training events. One

weekend the team may be going on an eight mileruck march, and the next they may be practicing

their land navigation skills. One privilege that

those on the team enjoy is the extra training they

receive with weapons. Successful assembly anddisassembly of the M16, M249, and M9 weapons

systems is crucial at competition. That is why the

team receives more training with these systemsthan any other group in the Black Bear Battalion.

Cadets on the team know that these events are rare

privileges, and they look forward to the extra train-ing opportunities.

Despite a middle of the pack finish at thisyear's competition the team is still hopeful for the

future. After the competition the team returned tothe usual PT and extra training that they had come

to love and adore. During the past few months theteam has continued to grow and improve in all ar-

eas of the competition. Next year's team should

prove to have a strong and experienced roster. All

Ranger Challenge at the annual competition.


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Spring 2014

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Message from LTC Charles Rote

We have had another banner year for the program. Two major parts

of our program have really served Maine this year especially.

The Cadet led, 20th Maine Honor Societys philanthropic activities

have brought great credit to the Cadets. Some of their most recent

activities included involvement with the Black Bear Mentorship Pro-

gram, providing area youth with the opportunity to develop assets

needed to thrive by building safe, healthy relationships with trained,

committed college student volunteers. They have also conducted vis-

its to the Veteran's Home in Bangor, supported the local Relay for

Life which benefits the American Cancer Society, and aided in the

execution of an on campus blood drive. This does not even include

all their help with our formal events.

The UMaine Army ROTC Color Guard was on the cover of the Alumni magazine. They supported numeroUMaine athletic events to include hockey at Frozen Fenway in Boston. Boston Universities do in fact ha

ROTC programs, but it was the UMaine Color Guard who presented the colors and supported our Black Be

hockey team. They also supported commencement and the important William S. Cohen Lecture Series.

We have a new field house this year, but continue to work to improve our fighting position. Currently, thereplanned and approved construction for a complete remodeling and environmental control of internal office, ope

ating, and classroom space to occur from MAY 14 to SEP 14. Additionally, construction will start for installati

of pull up bars, a rope climb, and monkey bars for UMaine Army ROTC.

LDAC this year will be in Fort Knox, Kentucky. Other huge opportunities for the Cadets this summer inclugoing to Togo, Montenegro, Germany, Texas, Alaska, Hawaii, and Georgia. They will attend special schools, ternships, lead active duty units, and execute security cooperation operations. We are definitely fighting abo

our weight class and many thanks go to MSG Banister, MAJ Shirland, CPT Gauthier, Mac, Cheryl, and Paulette

We continue to have great support from friends and alumni of the program to include support of our events fro

BG Campbell, BG Carmichael, and COL Klingaman (Plans and Resources Directorate Army G-1). This year w

also established the Army ROTC Military Science Excellence Fund, to enable supporters of our program to co

tinue to improve the opportunities our Cadets have.

Academically, in addition to the Military Science Minor, Cadets can now use MS credits towards a Minor or Ce

tificate in Leadership Studies. Through this summer we will focus our efforts to make summer training count t

ward college credit and increase the MS credits that count towards degree requirements.

One challenge I have for you over the summer is to come back in September fitter than you left. You do not wa

to have to regain all the progress you have made this year by not working out over the summer.

I cannot list all of the goodness we bring here. Everywhere I look I see examples of leadership and disciplinmanagement techniques, cultural awareness, and problem solving skills. You should be proud of what you ha


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Spring 2014

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Visit our University of Maine webpage:

http://umaine.edu/armyrotc/

Visit our Husson University webpage:

http://www.husson.edu/rotc

University of Maine

5750 Armory, Rm. 114

Orono, ME 04469-5750

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