The Revere Recorder ARMY ROTC – The Premier Leadership and Management Training Program

Sponsored by the Army ROTC Program at MIT, Harvard, Tufts, Wellesley, Endicott College, Gordon College and Salem State

THE SABALAUSKI AIR ASSAULT SCHOOL Cadet Daniel Howard ‘09

Fort Campbell, Kentucky is not only home of the 101 st Airborne Division (Air Assault) but also houses the grounds of The Sabalauski Air Assault School (TSAAS). The eleven day course encompasses three distinct phases of training designed to test the soldier both mentally and physically. Class 04­08 began on Day 0 with 92 Soldiers and Officers along with 100 Cadets from across the country.

The school begins on Day 0 with the infamous Air Assault Obstacle Course. The successful completion of this course is a requirement for being allowed to continue training. The course is designed to push soldiers to their physical limits and challenge

them mentally with some obstacles dealing with heights. The additional challenge of sub­freezing temperatures made the first hours of TSAAS extremely demanding. By the time the final soldier had completed the obstacle course, 34 soldiers had failed to overcome the first challenge of the school.

Phase 1 involves familiarization of the six rotary winged aircraft of the 101 st Airborne Division (Air Assault). Familiarization includes physical characteristics, performance capabilities, and weapon systems. A written exam tests the soldier’s knowledge of the aircraft familiarization. The second portion of phase 1 includes a practical hand­and­arm signal exam for the sixteen hand­and­arm signals required for air assault operations.

Phase 2 involves the preparation and rigging, inspection, and hookup of five standard loads

2

including: A­22 Cargo Bag, Cargo Net, M1097 HMMWV, 3 Fuel Blivets, and the M149A2 Water Trailer. This phase requires an immense amount of memorization cargo weights, link counts, and rated capacities of each load, sling legs, and rigging materials. The phase ends with a written examination and a practical inspection of each load. The phase produces the largest number of dropped soldiers from the school.

Phase 3 involves rappelling operations. The phase begins with the ground portion in which the various rappelling techniques are introduced to the soldiers. The phase evolves into the 34 foot tower where the various techniques are put to the test. Rappelling on an open side of the tower is a unique experience that is designed to prepare soldiers for the 70 foot rappel from a UH­60 Blackhawk Helicopter.

The phase also included an introduction to fast roping including a practical from the top of the 34 foot tower.

Physical training is an essential part of all phases of TSAAS. Morning PT is conducted everyday at 0515 for about 2 hours. PT usually involves various forms of muscular strength and endurance exercises, rifle PT, and distance runs. A six mile ruck march marks the mid­point of training. This is done in preparation for the final test of TSAAS which is the twelve mile ruck march.

The twelve miles must be completed with a 25 pound ruck in 3 hours. This test occurs the morning of graduation. All soldiers who fail to complete the task are dropped from the school on that morning. That day marks the end of TSAAS. The day ends with the awarding and pinning of the coveted Air Assault Badge.

CADET BATTALION COMMANDER NEWS Cadet Delbert Joo ‘08

The Paul Revere Battalion Army ROTC program is poised for an exciting semester this spring with a calendar full of great training events. The semester began strong with many cadets excelling on the diagnostic Army Physical Fitness Test. Soon, the cadets will assess their water confidence in the Combat Water Survival Test. The Battalion is already off to a great start, continuing on the successful and effective training from the fall semester.

In addition, before the semester even began, Paul Revere cadets were proactive in seeking out additional training opportunities during the month of January. MSIII cadets Daniel Howard, Endicott ’09 and Stephen Petraeus MIT ’09, both mastered the rappel tower and successfully completed the Air Assault School at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

As our semester began, several motivated Paul Revere cadets competed with cadets around the country and were selected to attend highly coveted summer training programs. This speaks very highly of their academic, physical, and military aptitude. Cadet Greg Wellman MIT ’09, was one of only ten cadets selected in the Eastern Region to participate in aircraft flight training at the University of North Dakota this summer. Cadet Lew MIT ’11 was one of six cadets in Eastern Region selected to attend the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation course in conjunction with Basic Airborne Course (BAC) at Ft. Benning, GA. Cadet Karl Kmiecik Harvard ‘10, will further pursue his interest in medicine by participating in the Army Medical Department Internship Program (AMEDDIP) this summer. He will work with Army healthcare professionals overseas in Heidelberg, Germany. This excellent trend will hopefully continue all semester as many cadets will compete for opportunities to attend Airborne, Air Assault, and even the Sapper Leader Course.

ROTC extracurricular activities have also gotten into full swing. The Pershing Rifles military honorary fraternity has begun teaching small unit tactics and leadership through its strenuous training program. Seven Army cadets have stepped up and are currently training to join the ranks of C­12 (ABN), MIT’s tri­service Pershing Rifles Company. The Battalion’s Ranger Challenge team has also begun their

3

training program this semester. Under the leadership of team captain Josh Guerra Harvard ’10, the team has been fine­tuning their individual soldier skills in order to excel at the Brigade competition next fall.

This April, Paul Revere cadets will embark on the Spring Field Training Exercise, our major training event this semester. Through joint planning with Boston University’s ROTC Battalion, we will execute a weekend long exercise with the MSIIIs leading the way, polishing their leadership skills in preparation for LDAC. All cadets will learn how to execute squad­ based tactical missions under the MSIII leadership. The weekend will culminate with an M­16 qualification range where we will discover which cadets are our expert marksmen. To close out the semester, the Battalion will join the Air Force and Navy ROTC programs in a Pass in Review Ceremony. Finally we will honor and recognize our outstanding cadets in a formal awards ceremony.

The outlook of our program looks very bright with growing numbers in our freshman and sophomore classes. The Battalion will commission seven seniors upon graduation this spring, and more than double that number the following year with our large junior class. The trend of growth looks only to continue as we have one of the largest freshman classes currently enrolled in the program today. As the semester continues, I expect even more good news to report from the Paul Revere Battalion. No Fear Paul Revere!

Alumnae: Want to share your story? To share your post Paul Revere experiences, contact Lisa Morin at ljmorin@mit.edu

ALUMNI CORNER CPT Aneal Krishnan

Greetings Paul Revere! My name is Aneal Krishnan and I am a graduate of MIT (class of 2002) where I received my commission as an Infantry Officer through ROTC. I was on a reserve forces scholarship while at school and entered the New York National Guard after attending OBC at Ft. Benning. In NYC, I worked in finance, first in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and then at a private equity fund. Throughout this time I drilled at various units throughout New York, generally changing units after each promotion. Now as a captain, I was picked up for a year­long combat tour in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

I am currently deployed to FOB Bucca, Iraq where I serve as a battalion Battle Captain. FOB Bucca has a huge importance in the Iraq War because of its prison. At over 20,000 captured insurgents, FOB Bucca is the largest detention facility in the entire world. My battalion’s mission is to defend the FOB and to secure the roads and towns that surround it. As a Battle Captain, I am responsible for controlling all of the battalion’s moving pieces to ensure that they execute the mission as planned. It is up to me to task our subordinate units with different parts of the operation and then to coordinate their efforts so that they support each other. Many times, the operation will not go as planned due to enemy action or other events. In those situations, it is up to me to assist damaged units with medical or recovery assets and to

4

direct our remaining units as needed to accomplish the mission. In the past six months, our base has been hit with almost twenty rockets and our patrols and convoys have been subjected to dozens of IEDs. With all these attacks, our forces have sustained some casualties, but luckily no fatalities. In return, we have eliminated two IED cells and one indirect fire cell. It has been a stressful but very rewarding tour thus far.

I can tell you with full sincerity that the training I received at Paul Revere has greatly helped me in both my military and civilian career. The leadership skills I developed during FTXs assist me now when I lead teams. Believe me, it is much more difficult to motivate and influence your peers as you do in ROTC than it is to lead people you outrank as happens in the real world. Also, the best instruction I ever received in writing and presenting orders was at Paul Revere. I leverage this training daily when I produce OPORDs and memorandums in the army and in finance, respectively. Lastly, the warrior ethos I gained in training now pushes me through the difficult times and extremely long hours both in the combat zone and during an investment banking deal.

In your campus recruiting efforts, please stress the benefits of the Army Reserves and National Guard if a prospective candidate is wary of an active duty commitment. The reserve component really is an excellent way to pursue a civilian job while still serving the country. Also, the reserve component allows cadets to select their initial choice of branch or to change it later without too much hassle so long as a unit is sponsoring you. Furthermore, only Army ROTC offers this reserve component option, creating a significant selling point over the other programs. I read the Paul Revere newsletter regularly and am very pleased to see that the program is as strong as ever. Following my deployment, I’ll be moving to the Boston area to attend Harvard Business School, so I’ll definitely swing by W59 to see the great things you all are doing. In the meantime, keep maintaining the strong unit cohesion you all have and which is apparent from the pictures. I still keep in touch with my battle buddies from ROTC and run into them often. Fellow cadet and MIT alum 1LT Smith is hunting the enemy in Baghdad now and fellow cadet and Harvard alum 1LT Taylor has taken the position I vacated in my previous unit. Good luck with finals and have a safe and enjoyable summer.

Sincerely,

CPT Aneal Krishnan

PMS Corner LTC Leo McGonagle

Paul Revere: What a great year of training, growth, and personal and unit development – I’m proud of you and all that our battalion accomplished. Three years ago, we set about the task of changing the organizational culture of the battalion to one in which every member embraced growth of the battalion and quality in all we did. Mission accomplished. The battalion, the Army, and the nation will benefit from our collective efforts. This year brought some of the best training opportunities in the history of the battalion, including Army aircraft landings on four campuses, paintball training exercises at abandoned prisons and schools, and more. We also enjoyed tremendous support from our campus administrators, alumni, and advocate constituent groups. We had six commissioning ceremonies this spring, and had six university presidents speak at them. This is unprecedented, and sets the stage for strong future support of our program

They say all good things must come to an end. I can attest to this, as my duties as Department Head and Professor of Military Science concluded in June. My successor has been named and has arrived. We welcome LTC Timothy Hall, his wife Sabrina, and their daughter Lilly to the PR Battalion team. LTC Hall is highly qualified and well prepared to assume duties, and comes to us from Fort Stewart, GA. There is an excellent mix of new cadre (new ideas / fresh eyes), combined with talented veteran cadre that, along with your talent and dedication, will bring the battalion to the next level.

I truly enjoyed the ride as your commander, and count this assignment as among the best in my career. After considering many options in our quest to settle our rising 9th grade son Sean for high school, my family and I have decided to transition from the Army after over 20 years of service to the nation. While considering multiple opportunities, I was approached by MIT regarding the position of Executive Director of the new MIT­Gordon Engineering Leadership Program, a program being designed to provide talented MIT engineers with leadership experience while partnering them with engineering industry leader­

5

mentors. I viewed this as an opportunity not to be refused, so my transition from service will likely lead to a new beginning right here at The Institute. I look forward to the new challenges ahead and to seeing you on campus, in training, and observing your continued growth, and development. I also thought I’d let you know that while I turned my Army equipment and government issue items, my black ultimate football penny jersey was not among those items! Please stay in touch – you can reach me at my AKO address. I’m interested in tracking you as you progress and enter service, and I remain at your disposal as a counselor, mentor, and advisor. See you around campus in the fall. No Fear, Paul Revere!

LTC TRAINING Cadet Eric Catalanotti ‘09

Want to spend 4 weeks with 200 other college kids firing M16 assault rifles, rappelling 50 foot walls, throwing grenades, playing paintball in urban and wooded courses, and race around a lake in Zodiac boats, all while being paid…?

This was how I spent the past summer between my sophomore and junior years at Tufts University. Leader’s Training Course (LTC) is a voluntary, non­ contractual training course held at Fort Knox, Kentucky. The aim of LTC is to train future cadets in the Army ROTC program and give them several weeks of Army life and instruction. LTC is made available for college students who have an interest in joining the ROTC program at their respected universities and earning a highly distinguished and honorable commission as an Officer in the Army. LTC requires no contractual agreement with the Army, and young

men and women can graduate the 4­week course and walk away from the Army without owing them any money or service time. This training course is designed to not only train future leaders, but to allow each individual an opportunity to grow both physically and mentally. Whether one is afraid of heights and overcomes that fear through a 40 foot high confidence course, or wants to challenge himself to become a leader in the field when fellow soldiers are tired and hungry, yet the squad must formulate and carry out an ambush on incoming enemy forces, LTC is essential in conquering these fears and personal trials.

I want to become an Officer in the United States Army, and achieve something worthwhile and truly meaningful with my life and skills. Having made the decision to enroll in the Paul Revere ROTC program several years into my college experience, LTC was a necessary step for me to make up my Military Science I and II years. Upon merging into MSIII class as a junior, I felt on par and just as competent as my fellow classmates who have been enrolled since their freshmen year. LTC, while only 4 weeks long over the summer, is a high intensity and solid training driven course. Drill Sergeants, the backbone of the Army, run this course with the mentorship and guidance of an Officer staff. Whether it is the first day where the Drills are teaching how to properly wear an Army uniform or how to march, to several weeks later where these newly training soldiers are being instructed on how to operate a 50mm gun or properly activate and throw a grenade, LTC and its instructors teach future cadets how to become a professional soldier and potential Officer in the Army.

As an active and driven individual I found LTC a challenge for myself to maintain my hard work and intensity throughout 4 weeks and never allow anything but my best effort. Some training events that highlighted my summer included learning how to rappel and going off a skid over 50 feet high, perfecting how to disassemble, clean, and properly and accurately fire an M16 assault rifle, and learning how to utilize a map and compass to find distinct points within the woods to within a few meters of their location. All this while I earned $1,000 for my time spend at Ft. Knox. The other cadets I had the pleasure of meeting and becoming friends with were all people I want to be around; active, self­motivating, strong moral character people who I would be honored to serve next to in times of combat. The LTC experience has been more than simply an introduction to Army training and expertise; it has given me the tools to become a leader in all aspects of my life. I can take the

6

skills that I learned at LTC and use them as a baseball captain for my school, leader within my fraternity, or future leader within the civilian business world.

LTC was the highlight of my summer, yet it can be considered my summer job, leadership internship, or the first step in my career to becoming an Officer in the United States Army.

SEMESTER IN SPAIN Cadet John Bradley ‘08

Studying abroad could easily be described as the single­most eye­opening experience of my college career. I had the incredible opportunity to study in Alcala de Henares, Spain last semester where I studied the language, Spanish culture, and European politics. To my surprise, I also learned that there had once been an American military base there, which now has become a Spanish Airforce base. I was nevertheless given the incredible opportunity to meet locals who had been affected by the American military presence in the city. All of the adults in the community could remember the base and the steady flow of American soldiers in and out of the city. Most remembered the base fondly; some even attributed their economic welfare to the business of soldiers. Others had worked on the base. A few Spaniards had unhappy memories due to the reckless insensitive actions of a few individuals which unfortunately affected their whole image of the US military. I learned a valuable lesson from this. The American soldier is in the spotlight no matter where (s)he is or what (s)he does. People notice what you do and can construct their entire outlook of the military from one encounter. It is up to the soldier to be sensitive of this and realize that we are guests in allied countries and to behave as such.

I imagine that studying abroad as a senior is somewhat different than studying abroad at any other year. For me it was exceptionally different since I left the United States with a pretty good grasp of everything going on at Gordon College and with ROTC, but coming back, I entered into an entirely new world. The creation of the North Shore company was an exciting new feature and everything that comes with being an MSIV was a bit of a change.

Studying abroad as a senior is beneficial for all the great many things it will teach you, but you must

always remember your ROTC commitments. Catching up on all of the changes and learning about my new position and duties was a huge challenge from coming back halfway through the year. Coming back to the North Shore, there were a number of additional duties and a whole new platoon that I had never met before. It was interesting to compare my return to Gordon College with my arrival to Spain. The only difference is that when I was going abroad I expected everything to be new and different; however, although I expected some changes to occur while abroad, I wasn’t expecting the explosion of growth in the North Shore and the entire new company here. Although a little shocking and scary at first, the change is exciting and offers great potential for learning and meeting new people. I am greatly impressed with the cadets of the North Shore company.

If you are planning on studying abroad at some point in your college career, take the following tip. If you are not planning on studying abroad at some point, then change your mind and then take this hint. If being thrust into exciting new environments helps you learn and you don’t mind it, then definitely study abroad the first semester of your senior year. This is because you will have had the experience and culture of LDAC behind you and the new and exciting experiences of studying abroad ahead of you. Camp helped prepare me for studying abroad. When you first arrive at camp or your new university abroad, you probably won’t know anybody. You have to start from the beginning in forming relationships. You have to learn the all the quirks of the base or city you’ll be living in and get your mind into the appropriate mode. Being able to adapt from place to place and culture to culture is essential for the Army as well as for studying abroad. Studying abroad is very good practice.

SEMESTER IN SWITZERLAND: JOURNEYS FROM THE CENTER OF EUROPE

Cadet Clarke Burns ‘09

I recently returned from spending the fall 2007 semester studying in Geneva, Switzerland in conjunction with Kent State University. The application process was a long one, with ROTC approval required and home university acceptance of credits needed. Nevertheless, the experience was without doubt one of the best of my life and well worth the cost.

7

I chose Geneva because it is located in a French­speaking sector of Switzerland, thus giving me the opportunity to practice my language skills. Additionally, Geneva is located centrally in Europe, providing an ideal staging area for trips all over Europe and the Mediterranean. Although it is beautiful, the financial haven is a hideously expensive place in which to live. 30 American students studied under international professors, including the chief economist of the WTO. Their take on American policy— particularly on the utility of military force—was valuable. I was reminded time and time again that Europeans do not share the American concept of appropriate response levels, placing great faith in the UN and other international organizations. Many of these are headquartered in Geneva, including the Red Cross, many organs of the UN, the World Health Organization, the WTO, and others.

Traveling throughout Switzerland, one cannot help but see the very visible presence of the Swiss military. Although the structure and rules are complex, essentially the Swiss military is analogous to the American National Guard. Every Swiss male is required to attend nearly half a year of basic training upon turning 20. They then serve several weeks each year for up to 30 years. This means that there are many young Swiss on the trains traveling to and from training. It is often startling to see several soldiers board a train with their assault rifles. Swiss soldiers are required by law to keep their rifle and 50 rounds of ammunition at home, although this is changing. With the compulsory service, the Swiss military is not a professional one. There is a small cadre of several thousand professional officers and NCOs, but the vast majority are long­haired students reluctantly in uniform. As a neutral nation, Switzerland’s military is non­deployable. For hundreds of years, the national strategy has revolved around an intricate layered defense to deter any attacker. So far, it has worked. Switzerland has not been at war for several hundred years.

After the end of classes, I traveled with a fellow cadet to Normandy, France, to tour the D­Day invasion sites. The first day took us to Ste. Mère Eglise, where we saw the church made famous by the film “The Longest Day.” There is a dummy paratrooper hanging from the steeple, in remembrance of a soldier who found himself dangling from the church when his parachute became caught. Next came Pointe du Hoc, where the Rangers scaled sheer cliffs to assault German gun emplacements. The cliff top is covered in deep craters, with jumbled concrete ruins

and several intact pillboxes. Our French was good enough to wangle a free ride down to Omaha Beach, where we walked along Easy Green and Easy Red sectors. Just off the beach is the American cemetery, where nearly 10,000 servicemen are buried. It was a lonely place, with only desultory French high school students meandering among the graves. One in particular caught our eye: in the setting sun, one cross appeared to be inlaid with gold. Upon closer examination, we saw that someone had recently rubbed sand from the beach into the letters, making it glow in the last rays coming off the Atlantic. This American had died 63 years ago, yet someone had cared enough to travel to France and honor his memory. Although governmental relations may have been rocky in the past, on a personal level we found the people of France to be gracious and eager to help once we overcame the language barrier.

The semester was a break from the majority of ROTC duties, and I am grateful to have had this chance to explore countries from Ireland to Tunisia. The language practice, cultural awareness, and perspective gained made the financial cost justifiable. The cadre’s flexibility made this possible; I would encourage cadets considering going abroad to realize how accommodating the ROTC program is.

8

9

Army ROTC Cadets Prepare for Inspection. Criteria and Location Unknown

MIT Army ROTC 201 Vassar Street, W59­192 Cambridge, MA 02139