University of Delaware Army ROTC

First week of classes ✅

The Blue Hen Battalion is back in full swing. Cadets returned to classes and PT this week, followed by our Fall semester All Hands Brief.

We can’t wait to see all of our cadets display excellence in leadership and in this classroom this semester.

Fear the Bird!!!

Last week, the Blue Hen Battalion welcomed new cadets through a three-day orientation.

New cadets and their families met cadre and returning cadets, familiarized themselves with the structure of the ROTC program, got some PT in, and relaxed at Rehoboth beach.

Fall classes begin tomorrow, and we can’t wait to see what the semester holds for all of our cadets. FEAR THE BIRD!!!

Time to continue celebrating our MS4 grads as they embark on their journey as 2nd Lieutenants in the Army. Next is 2nd LT Donald McAlpine! We appreciate the commitment you have given and leadership you have shown during your four years here!

T-9 days till UD commissioning!

FEAR THE BIRD!

Congratulations to the Delaware State University 2024 Commission Class! Your dedication and hard work have truly made a lasting impact on this program. We appreciate all that you’ve done and wish you the best on your future endeavors. We look forward to witnessing your continued success! 2nd LT Johnny Joanem will be commissioned into the Army Reserves as an Engineer, 2nd LT Josh Heredia commissioned into the Delaware Army National Guard as a Signal Officer, and 2nd LT JD MacIntyre branched Finance with a branch detail Finance with a branch Detail into Field Artillery on active duty.

FEAR THE BIRD!

Time to continue celebrating our MS4 grads as they embark on their journey as 2nd Lieutenants in the Army. Next is 2nd LT Lawrence MacIntyre, who commissioned last week with Delaware State University! We appreciate the commitment you have given and leadership you have shown during your four years here!

T-13 days till UD commissioning!

FEAR THE BIRD!

Time to celebrate our MS4 grads as they embark on their journey as 2nd Lieutenants in the Army. Starting with CDT Jasmine Middaugh! We appreciate the commitment you have given and leadership you have shown during your four years here!

T-15 days till commissioning!

FEAR THE BIRD!

🚨Alumni Spotlight🚨

Blue Hen BN grad CPT Yancy (‘19) is competing in the 2024 “Best Ranger Competition” down in Georgia this weekend April 12-14th.

The 2024 Best Ranger Competition marks the 40th annual event, originating in 1982 to honor Lieutenant General (R) David E. Grange, Jr. and now showcasing the elite soldiers of the United States Army Rangers as they compete to determine the best two-man team from the entire United States Armed Forces.

Competition Characteristics:
* 56 TEAMS WILL BE REPRESENTED FROM 29 UNITS FROM ACROSS THE ARMY
* 32 EVENTS TESTING THE PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE LIMITS OF OUR SERVICEMEMBERS
* COMPETITORS WILL MOVE 60+ MILES, 30+ WITH 50+ LBS ADDED DURING THE 3 DAY EVENT
* 3 DAYS-58 HOURS OF PHYSICAL/TECHNICAL/COGNITIVE ACTIVITY WITH ONLY ~4 HOURS REST
* 30K-35K CALORIES EXPENDED ON AVERAGE
* 18 TACTICAL TASKS
* 4 HELICOPTER MISSIONS (3 TROOP MOVEMENTS, 1 MEDICAL HOIST)
* 64 WORK HOURS/ 450 RANGER, FLIGHT, AIRBORNE INSTRUCTORS HELP PUT ON THE EVENT
(per 2023 comp)

Please help us wish our alum good luck as he is put to the test! There is a live stream option if you would like to watch on the link attached below!

More information: http://www.bestrangercompetition.com

FEAR THE BIRD!


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Are you ready for CST?

Delaware State University (DSU) has the unique ability to say that they are the first, and only, HBCU with an Aviation Program that also offers helicopter flight training. Pictured here, an event from April 2023, the reveal of the new Helicopter Flight training program at DSU.

Cadets within the Blue Hen BN are currently enrolled in this amazing program, and making the most of it. CDTs Wanio and Taylor were even spotlighted on CBS Channel 3, Philadelphia News last week!

Check out this link to see CDT Wanio flying a helicopter solo! As well as more information on this amazing opportunity, offered here in 4th Brigade!

https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/video/delaware-state-university-students-take-flight-in-first-hbcu-helicopter-flight-program/

FEAR THE BIRD!

As our first week, at the University of Delaware, comes to an end our cadets are jumping back into school and extra curricular activities!

MS4 Kayleigh Adam - majoring in Athletic Training, in a 3+2 program
MS3 Aidan McGinnis - majoring in Political Science
MS3 Alexander Raymond - majoring in medical diagnostics, pre-PA
MS2 Carolyn Richardson - Biomedical Engineering, pre-med

We hope everyone had a great start to the semester, and can’t wait to kick PT off this Wednesday!

FEAR THE BIRD!

Over the University of Delaware’s winter session, CDT Mears was also able to study abroad and expand his cultural awareness and earn credits for his degree in Material Science. He was able to go to Portugal and study material science and a history of Portugal. He visited Lisbon, Paris, Barcelona, Milan, and Venice. In addition to Lake Como where he had a lecture on polymers and Geneva where he saw CERN the super collider.

Cadet Mears:
“Studying abroad has been a great opportunity. Experiencing first hand the different cultures of Europe is very important to a young leader.”

The possibilities are endless here at the University of Delaware, with the large study abroad program, diverse number of majors to choose from and within our ROTC program as well.

All of our cadets return to campus tomorrow, and we cannot wait to welcome everyone back. Fear the Bird!

Yesterday, 21DEC23, we had 3 of our cadets commission into the US Army as 2nd Lieutenants.

2nd LT Darwine Daniel, graduated from the University of Delaware with a bachelor degree in Criminal Justice and a minor in Africana Studies. Daniel will be going Active Duty, Military Police. She leaves for BOLC in January at FT Leonardwood, Missouri.

2nd LT Ian Shalk, graduated from the University of Delaware with a bachelors degree in Political Science. He branched Ordnance in the PA National Guard and will be heading to Gettysburg PA assigned to Fox company, 328 BSB, 1-108th Field Artillery.

2nd LT Brian Wambui, graduated from the University of Delaware with a bachelors degree in Finance. Wambui will be going Active Duty Aviation. He will be coming back to the Blue Hen BN as a Gold Bar Recruiter until his BOLC date in May.

We wish you all the best of luck in your military careers, and will miss you here at the Blue Hen BN!

One of our MS2 CDTs recently went to West Point to represent the program at the National Conference of Ethics in America. Her is what she learned and experienced there:

“We had multiple speakers and panels about the overarching meaning of ethics. The one portion of the conference that really amazed me was the leadership challenge we did with the members of our table. There was this recent graduate of Westpoint (LT Karim) that got deployed to Afghanistan on a very short notice and had to make a difficult call without any rules of engagement from the higher-ups. What really struck me was how he used his moral judgment in his leadership. A good judgment that prevented a challenge from a crisis. He executed something well for the first time and that was his good judgment made.

Overall, this conference was actually life-changing for me as a future Army officer. I did not know what to expect from this conference but all I can say is the immense gratitude and privilege I have here at UD. I was really amazed by the purpose of this ethics conference. They stressed to us to be the author of our own lives and trickle down the effects of leadership with good judgment and always watching our sectors of fire. And, I am hoping to bring what I learned to the BHB and strive to be a better leader.

Thank you all for this incredible opportunity, I am extremely humbled and honored to represent our school at the NCEA. Thank you once again.”

Very Respectfully,
Kaylyn Lim

Congratulations to our MS4s and MS5s on receiving their branch assignments! They have worked so hard for this and we can’t wait to see them grow and succeed as officers!!

Happy Veterans Day! We are honored to be following in the steps of great men and women who have their lives, time, and service to this country. Thank you for your service and the amazing standard set that we as Cadets hope to live up too.

The Bluehen battalion showed our appreciation by helping our veterans plant flags to line the main walk way of campus!

🇺🇸

Cadet Spotlight! Cadet Andie Garcia!

Hey Blue Hen Battalion! My name is Andie Garcia and I am an MSIII this year! I am a Cognitive Science major here at Delaware and will graduating Spring of 2025. I joined ROTC last year just as something to try and to also get out of my comfort zone. I quickly realized that serving our country in the Army was what I wanted to do with my life, but had to grow mentally and physically to do so. My advice for freshman is to keep pushing your first semester and really take the time during the week, weekends and especially winter break as a chance to get ahead and be the strongest version of yourself. That’s what I did and ended up joining Ranger Challenge, massively improving my ACFT score and taking fitness seriously by starting my journey in bodybuilding. I ended up competing in a show this past August. I look up to my mentor from last year,  Sonya and every one that pushed me to be the very best last semester and never giving up. I look forward to meeting with my other MSIII classmates to rehearse tactics and gain as much information as we can for FTX and CST. Everyday counts and is change to only get better.

The Bluehen Battalion recently completed their culminating event! FTX consisted of day and night land nav, stx lanes, and patrol base OPs. Check out our CDTs in action!

Congratulations to our Ranger challenge team! They competed recently in competition, taking 2nd in call for fire and communications. Overall they placed 17th! The Battalion is so proud of the hard work our Cadets have been putting in to prepare for this event!!

Army-ten miller team crushed it this weekend in D.C.!

Our MS4’s got to attend their staff rife this week. This is an important part of every CDTs training. Giving them a chance to develop briefing skills and learn about important army officers from history, and what, why, and how they made decisions based on the principles and values.

Our CDTs were given the chance to tour the Army Heritage and Education Center at Carlisle Barracks. The center serves a vital role in education of the army and holds numbers of records in hand. It is a major aspect to the Carlisle Barracks, home of the the Army War College.

The second stop was Gettysburg PA. During their visit CDTs prepared briefs for 9 stops taking them through battle of Gettysburg and what different officers did and how it affected the battle.

Can’t wait to see these CDTs take these lessons with them into their army officer careers!

We are proud to welcome our newest contracted CDTs!! Let’s get after it!

Three of our Battalion’s CDTs: JT Farro, Seth Kissell, Jun Hyun Cho, participated and were tabbed in the Governor’s Twenty.All three are SMP CDTs at the 262nd Cico company Delaware National Guard Unit.

The Governor's Twenty is a state-level National Guard award created in 1968 and is given to the top twenty shooters in the competition. This Joint Army and Air Force Excellence in competition match is used to identify top shooters for upcoming regional, national, and international-level training opportunities.

The primary purpose of this annual event is to provide advanced marksmanship training within a competitive environment to Massachusetts National Guard Soldiers and Airmen, so that they can assist in training others with their improved skills.

Three of our Battalion’s CDTs: JT Farro, Seth Kissell, Jun Hyun Cho, participated and were tabbed in the Governor’s Twenty.All three are SMP CDTs at the 262nd Cico company Delaware National Guard Unit.

The Governor's Twenty is a state-level National Guard award created in 1968 and is given to the top twenty shooters in the competition. This Joint Army and Air Force Excellence in competition match is used to identify top shooters for upcoming regional, national, and international-level training opportunities.

The primary purpose of this annual event is to provide advanced marksmanship training within a competitive environment to Massachusetts National Guard Soldiers and Airmen, so that they can assist in training others with their improved skills.

It was the battalion’s first PT session of the fall semester! It may have been cloudy but our CDTs had a smile on their face while they

Check out our new CDTs taking their first ACFT!

The ACFT is the Army Combat Fitness Test. It is a six event test to test a soldier’s physical fitness. The events are in order: Dead lift, standing ball throw, hand release push ups, sprint drag carry, plank, and finishes with a 2 mile run.

Do you think you could pass!

It’s our new MS1’s first day!! We are so excited to have these new cadets, and can’t wait to watch grow and become future officers!!

Summer is in full swing for our cadets!☀️

Currently, CDT Kaylyn Lim is partaking in the Project Global Officer (Project GO) Korean Program with the University of Montana and Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. Project GO is a prestigious scholarship through the Defense Language and National Security Education Officer that allows ROTC cadets to study Korean in Seoul, South Korea. Here’s what Kaylyn has to say about her experience:

“It has been an incredible experience that I truly recommend every cadet should apply during their time in ROTC. I get to go on weekly cultural excursions to further enhance cross-cultural experience while attending Korean language classes.”

Stay tuned for more summer updates from the Blue Hen Battalion!💛💙

Our ‘22 grads have been busy!

1️⃣ LT Sky Rahill from Salisbury University recently graduated from Ranger School, a rigorous 62-day course. He was also last year’s George C. Marshall Award Winner and the captain of the Salisbury University’s Men’s Baseball team

2️⃣ LT Dallas Towner graduated from the Army’s Jungle Operations Training Course (JOTC) at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. JOTC is a three-week course that combines basic jungle survival skills with squad and platoon-level tactics.

3️⃣ LT Alexandria Hines is an aviation officer and graduate of Delaware State University. She recently graduated from the rigorous Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) School at Fort Novosel, Alabama. SERE School prepares troops to “return with honor” in survival scenarios

Congratulations!🎉

Please join the Blue Hen Battalion in congratulating the 16 Second Lieutenants that commissioned over these past several weeks! This incredible milestone signifies their journey to become extraordinary leaders in the US Army and their hard work does not go unnoticed!🎉

🔥🔥Cadet Shoutout🔥🔥

The Blue Hen BN’s very own Cadet Mary Quackenbush is not only a stellar cadet, but an absolute savage at women’s crew.

This past weekend, CDT Quackenbush and the first varsity eight of the University of Delaware Women’s Rowing team were able to win their qualifying heat. Then they would later go on to win the Grand Final. They managed to defeat 12 other schools in the process.

Above all else, they were named Colonial Athletic Association’s Rowing boat of the week.

Way to go CDT Quackenbush and way to make the Fight’n Blue Hens Proud!

Fear the Bird!!!