UMN AROTC

This summer CDT Stauffer took part in the Project GO program offered to ROTC cadets. Here is what she has to say about her experience:

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“Hi, I’m Cadet Kristen Stauffer! I’m a MS2 studying abroad this summer through the Project GO program, a program that fully pays for cadets to study either domestically in the States or abroad. I’m in the middle of a nine week program studying Korean at Yonsei University in Seoul, and the program has been an incredible experience so far. There’s multiple field trips packed into the months I’m in Korea, including trips to famous sites like Gyeongbok Palace and overnight stays in different cities like Jeju Island and Busan. It’s additionally a great way of meeting cadets from different military branches and programs as well! It is an amazing opportunity to experience Korean culture and learn the language in an immersive environment.”

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Gopher Strong CDT Stauffer!”

On Thursday, June 13th, cadets from Gopher Battalion enthusiastically participated in volunteering at the Fishing For Life Armed Forces Family Fun Celebration, commemorating the 249th birthday of our Military Forces. This engaging fishing tournament is a highlight of the Military Relationships through Recreation Program, providing enjoyment for both active and retired soldiers and their families.

Gopher Strong!

Recently, CDT Palmer from Gopher Battalion graduated Air Assault. Here is some of his experience...

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“Hello Gopher Battalion, this is CDT Palmer. Over the last 2 weeks I have had the amazing opportunity to learn about air assault operations at the ARNG Warrior Training Center at Fort Moore, Georgia. After getting used to horrendous humidity and heat, I was able to have some fun and meet some pretty cool people. Strive for excellence and always exceed the standard so that you too can become, Air Assault!

Gopher Strong!”

-CDT Palmer, Samuel

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Congratulations CDT Palmer!

Congratulations to the Army’s newest 2nd Lieutenants from the commissioning class of 2024! Yesterday morning 24 University of Minnesota ROTC graduates were sworn in and received their first salutes as officers. Thank you to all our distinguished guests and families for attending this event.

The UMN Army ROTC Class of May 2024 finally made it to the week of commissioning. Swipe to see where 24 cadets from our MSIV class are headed next throughout the Combat Arms and Combat Support/Combat Service Support branches!!

With the introduction of next semester’s chain of command, we have our last of the semester, the Cadet S7 - CDT Alyssa Abke.
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“Hello Gopher Battalion! I am CDT Abke, the S7 (Public Affairs Officer). Throughout this past semester I was responsible for taking photos at Gopher Battalion events, monitoring all social media platforms, and assisting with recruitment operations. This job has definitely been one of my favorite parts of ROTC!

After commissioning, I am looking forward to my time as an Active Duty Medical Service Officer following a fun summer at Fort Knox as CST cadre!”
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Gopher Strong CDT Abke!

On Wednesday, the Gopher Battalion held an award ceremony and introduced next year’s “big four”: CDT Riewer (incoming c/BC), CDT Detloff (incoming c/CSM), CDT Kearns (incoming c/XO), and CDT Breunig (incoming c/S3). We are so excited to watch you grow and lead next year as MSIVs! We wish the best of luck to all our MSIIIs with Advanced Camp this summer and everyone else attending various training events/schools.

On April 26-27th, a Ranger Challenge team of 12 Gopher Battalion Cadets competed for the first time in the 2024 Sandhurst Military Skills Competition at the United States Military Academy. 

They competed along 15 other ROTC teams from across the nation, 17 international partner allies, and 15 service academy teams. The events tested the team’s ability in a variety of military skills such as marksmanship, employing hand gr***des, ruck marching, and a variety of physical tasks that also required an element of problem solving. The team placed 11th out 48 teams and 3rd in the ROTC division. Along with the competition, the team was hosted for the week at West Point and was able to interact with Cadets from all corners of the globe. Awesome job cadets!

One our final posts this semester for is our Alpha Company Commander - CDT Olivia Ley

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“Hey Gopher Battalion! I’m Cadet Olivia Ley and I have had the pleasure of being the A Co Commander this semester. My main role is to work with my First Sergeant, CDT Guerra, in supervising A Co along with working with the Platoon Leaders. I will be branching Active Duty Transportation and heading to BOLC this summer. Outside of ROTC, I volunteer at the Minneapolis VA as a Research Assistant in a Traumatic Brain Injury lab.

Gopher Strong everyone〽️”

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Gopher Strong CDT Ley!

This Wednesday, the Gopher Battalion completed a 8/12-mile ruck. This was a great way for cadets to see where they are at before CST and push themselves. Great job cadets!

This past weekend the Gopher Battalion had their annual Combined Field Training Exercise (CFTX) with , , , and  at Camp Ripley. This four day training was filled with STX lanes, Basic Rifle Marksmanship (BRM), hand gr***de practice, the obstacle course, and land navigation. CFTX was a great way to wrap up the semester and see our cadets showcase everything they’ve learned before heading to camp!

This past week the Gopher BN completed their last ACFT of the semester. The Army ACFT consists of the following: Three Repetition Maximum Deadlift, Standing Power Throw, Hand-Release Push-Ups, Sprint-Drag-Carry, Plank, and Two-Mile Run. Great job cadets!

The University of Minnesota Army ROTC hosted their 5th Annual Norwegian Foot March (also known as Marsjmerkt) this past weekend. The event consisted of both an 18.6 mile ruck and run. For cadets and other servicemembers to earn a foreign award badge for this event, they were required to complete the 18.6 mile (30 kilometers) ruck march with a 25 lb ruck within the time standard according to their gender and age.
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The Norwegian Foot March started in 1915 to test the marching endurance of soldiers in the Norwegian military as they were preparing for World War I. The strategic goal of the Norwegian Foot March was to be able to move a high number of troops over a far distance at a quick pace.
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This year, we were able to hear from LTG (R) Steve Lanza. The Golden Gopher Battalion was honored to host this event and is thankful for all the ROTC programs, service members, and civilians who helped and participated. Our cadets definitely pushed themselves, and our very own CDT McFall was the first male to finish with a time of 2 hours and 53 minutes!
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Flickr Album: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBmzyJ

This week’s is our Alpha Company First Sergeant - CDT Guerra Gleese!

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“Hello Gopher Battalion! I’m Cadet Nicholas Guerra Gleese, and I am the Alpha Company First Sergeant this semester. I am responsible for making sure all soldiers in our 4 PLTs of A Co receive the best information/training and generally keep things going as smoothly as possible. I will be graduating this spring into UX Design and branching into the Army Reserves as an Aviation Officer. In my free time I enjoy finding places to eat and spending time with friends. Keep up the great work, A Co! Go Gophers!!”

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Gopher Strong CDT Guerra Gleese!

Cadets in the Gopher Battalion “dove” into their training this week with a rappelling and CST prep lab. The lab consisted of rappelling, properly putting on a Swiss seat, climbing a rope, camp advice from MS4s, and an open house for anyone interested in hearing more about the program.

Great work at lab! Gopher Strong!

Gopher Battalion’s Buddy Ranger team competed at the 28th Annual Buddy Ranger Competition in Kansas this past weekend. Not only did the Gophers do very well as a team, they also placed first in the Co-Ed, Lower Class Male, and Lower Class Female divisions. Cadets Bentrud and Wolff won the Co-Ed division, Cadets Chow and McFall won the Lower Class Male division, and Cadets Palmer and Kwamboka won the Lower Class Female division. We were happy to see all the team’s hard work pay off with their success at the competition.

Our next is our PT OIC - CDT Hoge!

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“Hey everyone! I’m CDT Raina Hoge and I am the PT OIC for Gopher BN this semester! With the help of my PT committee, I create weekly PT plans and plan/facilitate bi-weekly ACFTs. I absolutely love this position, and it’s been so awesome to see some of your progress this semester with physical fitness, keep up the good work!
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Gopher Strong CDT Hoge!

Interested in learning more about the Army ROTC program at the University of Minnesota? Come check it out!

The University of Minnesota Army ROTC program is hosting an Open House at the UMN Armory Building on April 10, 2024, from 4:30-6:30 pm. It is an opportunity to meet with current students, professors, and participate/observe ROTC training. Come enjoy free refreshments and learn about what this amazing program has to offer! All are welcome! We request that you please RSVP ahead of time for food coordination/planning purposes.

Current cadets and supporters, please help bring awareness to this event and share with friends, so others can learn more about our program!

This week’s is our Cadet S6 - CDT Long!

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“Hello Gopher Battalion, my name is CDT Matthew Long and this semester I am the S6. My job is to ensure that for every training event, there is a communications plan as well as providing general IT support for the Battalion. I will be graduating in May with a degree in Computer Science and will be working in Cyber Security while serving in the Army Reserves. My favorite ROTC memory is our Combined Field Training Exercise from my junior year; although the weather was particularly wet and cold that weekend, I made some of the best friends I could have asked for.”
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Gopher Strong CDT Long!

Despite Minnesota weather, cadets participated in a Mega Lead Lab at Arden Hills Training Site this weekend. This three day exercise consisted of day and night land navigation, warrior tasks, and lots of practice with STX lanes to prepare cadets for CFTX, and ultimately, Advanced Camp this summer.

Our MS3s have been working extra hard the past few months to lead missions at CFTX and Advanced Camp. These missions consist of Ambush, Movement to Contact, Raid, Defense, and Attack lanes. Additionally, they have also been learning the steps to properly complete this year’s CST warrior tasks, including CPR, claymores, camouflage, weapons, radios, etc.

We are proud of the hard work and motivation we saw this weekend!
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On March 16th, teams from the Gopher Battalion went to compete in both the heavy and light portions of the 35th Bataan Memorial Death March. The annual race this past weekend took place at White Sands Missile Range.

The Bataan Memorial Death March race is 26.2 miles long on a sandy and mountainous course. The heavy team completed the race with the addition of a 35 lb ruck on their backs. It aims to honor the POWs forced to march through the harsh conditions during WWII. 

The light A team placed 2nd in the ROTC category, the light B team placed 2nd in the co-ed category, and the heavy team placed 10th in the ROTC heavy category. We are proud of all our cadets who prepared for and competed in this event.

On Wednesday the Gopher Battalion executed a weapons familiarization lab at Arden Hills Training Site. Cadets received hands-on training with M4s, M249s, M240s, and claymores after instruction from MS3 cadets to prepare for CFTX and CST.

She’s back for another round as S4 with a new Assistant S4. This is CDT McGarry and CDT Hackbarth!
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“It’s CDT Madalyn McGarry back at it again as Battalion S4. I’m so lucky to get to hold this position for a second semester. My assistant, CDT Lasse Hackbarth, and I have been working hard with the whole battalion to ensure everyone has the necessary equipment and supplies for all of our training. Additionally, we’ve been working extra close with the MS3s to make sure they’re all stocked and ready for CST this summer!”
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Gopher Strong CDT McGarry and CDT Hackbarth!

This past weekend a team from the Gopher Battalion participated in the 2024 . This event is called “The Hardest Race in ROTC” and lives up to its title with winter survival events and a 14-mile ruck to follow. We are incredibly proud of our cadets!

This morning cadets were up early to complete their 6-mile release ruck! Morale was high throughout the entire event. This was the first battalion ruck of the semester, and we’re looking forward to the 8 and 12-mile rucks!

Our next is our Cadet S3 - CDT Emma Voigt!
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“Hello Gopher Battalion, my name is CDT Emma Voigt and I am the S3 for this semester! My job is to oversee, plan, and execute all training events and operations for the battalion. I am a senior at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, and I major in Political Science and History with a minor in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies - Arabic. I will be branching Active Duty Engineers with an Explosive Ordnance Disposal detail after commissioning this Spring. A favorite ROTC memory of mine is winning Task Force Ranger Challenge last year with the 5-Man Black team and then seeing them go on to do it again this year! It has been a joy and privilege to experience ROTC through this program for the last four years and I am excited for the training and events this semester has in store, keep up the amazing work, Dig Deep!”
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Gopher Strong CDT Voigt

Yesterday, the Gopher Battalion completed Lead Lab 2: Medical Lanes. This consisted of Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) training, taught by MS3 instructors, and included 9-Line MEDEVAC, Care Under Fire, Transport and Transferring, and Evaluating a Casualty.

One of the benefits of doing is the opportunity to engage in various activities outside of ROTC and getting the “college experience.”

Participating in activities inside and outside of ROTC helps contribute to cadets’ Order of Merit List (OML) ranking - what ROTC uses to determine the branch a cadet will receive. While our cadets certainly keep busy within the program, they are also involved in activities at their colleges.

Keep up the good work, inside AND outside of ROTC!
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Our next is our Cadet S2 - CDT David Hendrickson!
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“Hi everyone! I’m Cadet David Hendrickson, Gopher Battalion’s S-2 Intelligence Officer. I’m responsible for analyzing and mitigating any and all threats to our mission and leading our battalion’s OPFOR operations. I will continue my five years of service with the Minnesota National Guard by commissioning as a Military Intelligence Officer. I enjoy listening to several podcasts, following Minnesota sports, and cooking delicious meals for my friends and family. Go Gophers!”
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Gopher Strong CDT Hendrickson

On February 7th, the Gopher Battalion familiarized themselves with basic patrolling skills and tasks for Lead Lab 1. These skills, taught by MS3s, included Range Cards, Call for Fire, Face Paint Application, ASIP Radios, and Hand and Arm Signals.

Great work Cadets!