Princeton Tiger Battalion Army ROTC

Tiger Battalion would like to highlight Patrick Plunkett as our FINAL . Patrick is a senior at The College of New Jersey majoring in History. He is currently serving as Tiger Battalion’s Public Affairs Officer, having previously served as Tiger Battalion’s Logistics Officer (S4). Patrick will spend the first three years of his Active Duty career as a Field Artillery Officer, and the next four as a Military Intelligence Officer. At TCNJ, he is the Treasurer of the Miliatry Science and Veterans Association and plays intramural soccer and basketball.

“I can do this all day.” -Steve Rogers

Tiger Battalion would like to highlight Maxwell Janeiro as our next . Max is a senior at TCNJ majoring in Business Management. He is currently serving as the Bravo Company First Sergeant and served last semester as the Bravo Company Commander. He will be branching Active Duty Ordnance and assessing into the EOD pipeline.

At TCNJ, he is in the Honors and Scholars Program, is the President of the Military Science and Veterans Association, the Vice President of the Lion’s Chess Club, plays club volleyball and is in the BJJ/MMA club. He is also an SMP cadet in the New Jersey National Guard with the 104th BEB C Co.

“The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places.”
-Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms

Tiger Battalion would like to highlight CDT Christopher Dunfee as our next . Chris is a super senior at The College of New Jersey majoring in Business Management. He currently serves as S1 and Bravo Company Executive Officer, and has previously served as Bravo Company Commander and Assistant Operations Officer.

During his time at TCNJ, he joined Phi Alpha Delta Fraternity, where he served three terms on the judicial board, two terms as Vice President of Risk Management, and two terms as New Member Educator. He also served as vice president of the Military Science Club and Veterans Association. During his college career, he also worked with the New Jersey National Guard, acting as Assistant Operations Officer for the 119th Combat Support Sustainment Battalion. 2LT Dunfee will be joining the Transportation Corps on Active Duty.

“In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love.
In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile.
In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm.
I realized, through it all, that…
In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.
And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.”
-Albert Camus

Tiger Battalion would like to highlight CDT Lauren Besch as our next . Lauren is a senior at Princeton University majoring in Neuroscience. She is currently serving as the Tiger Battalion Commander and served last semester as the Alpha Company First Sergeant. She will be branching Active Duty Medical Service Corps. At Princeton, she was a member of Club Lacrosse, the Princeton Neuroscience Network and Tiger Inn and was a neuroscience researcher in the Peña Lab.

We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same. -Carlos Castañeda

Tiger Battalion would like to highlight CDT Ajay Prasath as our next . Ajay is currently a senior at The College of New Jersey, majoring in Finance. He is currently serving as Tiger Battalion’s Assistant Operations Officer and served last semester as Bravo Company’s First Sergeant. He will be branching Actibe Duty Armor.

At TCNJ, Ajay is on the E-Board for the Military Science and Veterans Assocations club, an Active Member of the Beta Alpha Psi Fraternity, and the Vice Captain of the Hackettstown Bulldawgs an intramural basketball team.

“Want it all, I won’t leave a breadcrumb” -Godkiller

Tiger Battalion would like to highlight CDT Will Goldberg as our next . William is a senior at Princeton University majoring in History. He is currently serving as the Alpha Company Commander and served last semester as the Tiger Battalion Operations Officer. He will be branching into the Active Duty Infantry. At Princeton, he is a member of the Tiger Inn, Mercer County Tactical Fitness, and the Center for Jewish Life.

“If I am only for myself, who am I?” - Pirkei Avot 1:14

Tiger Battalion would like to recognize CDT Ryan Kieffer as our next . CDT Kieffer is a senior at Rowan University majoring in marketing. He is currently serving as Tiger Battalion’s Command Sergeant Major, and was previously the Tiger Battalion Intelligence Officer (S2). He will be serving as an Infantry officer in the New Jersey National Guard.

“Tough times never last, but tough people do.”
-Robert H. Schuller

Yesterday, the Tiger Battalion MSIVs participated in a morale flight around New York City to mark nearing the end of the school year and their time as cadets. Many of these MSIVs will soon be commissioned as Second Lieutenants, and will begin their careers as Army officers.

For most of these cadets, it was their first time flying in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. Big thanks to the New Jersey National Guard for allowing us to have this incredible experience.

Tiger Battalion would like to recognize CDT Gabriel Morales as our next . Gabriel is a senior at Rowan University majoring in Computer Information Systems. Gabriel is currently serving as the Tiger Battalion S4 and served last semester as the Tiger Battalion Operations Sergeant Major. He branched Signal with an Infantry Branch detail as an Active Duty Officer.

“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.” -Marcus Aurelius

Tiger Battalion would like to highlight CDT Janae Weise as our next . Janae is a senior at The College of New Jersey, majoring in Criminology. Janae is currently serving as Bravo Company Commander and served last semester as Bravo Company’s Executive Officer. She will be branching into the National Guard as an Aviation Officer.

“Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.” - Wilma Rudolph

Tiger Battalion would like to congratulate Princeton Alum 2LT Brendan McManamon on passing Ranger School. It is a fantastic achievement and we couldn’t be more proud. RLTW!

Tiger Battalion would like to highlight CDT Jonathan Lin as our next . Jonathan is a senior at Princeton University majoring in Economics. Jonathan is currently serving as the Alpha Company First Sergeant and served last semester as the Tiger Battalion Command Sergeant Major. He will be branching into the Infantry as an Active Duty Officer. At Princeton, he is a member of the Tiger Inn and Mercer County Tactical Fitness.

“My name’s Forrest Gump. People call me Forrest Gump.” -Forrest Gump

Today, Bravo Company had the honor and privilege of conducting a joint leadership exercise with . Players went through strenuous physical and mental exercises in order to further develop strong team cohesion. The physical aspect stemmed from military movements such as the low crawl, high crawl, buddy carries, fireman carries, and other different types of tough exercises. Seniors, juniors, sophomores, and freshman were all given the opportunity to develop their leadership skills. Big shoutout to the players for bringing the motivation and hard work!

For the last tactical lab of the semester, Alpha Company and Bravo Company conducted an attack. The success of this mission highlights the improvements that have been made over the course of the semester. Our MS3s are fully equipped and prepared for next weeks CFTX, and eventually CST which is only a few weeks away.

This past week, Tiger Battalion held its annual Awards Banquet at Princeton University. Over the past year, our cadets have done incredible work at making this program as good as it can be. These awards are meant to highlight those cadets who truly stand out for their hard work and dedication. Our cadets wouldn’t be able to celebrate these achievements without the dedication of our cadre team and the supporting organizations, who allow our program to thrive. Congratulations to all the award recipients!

Tiger Battalion would like to congratulate Princeton Alum 2LT Roman Wright on passing Ranger School! It is a remarkable accomplishment and everyone here is super proud. Also pictured is Princeton Alum 2LT Eric Love, who passed in a previous cycle. RLTW!

Tiger Battalion would like to recognize Isaac Tabi as our eighth . Isaac is a senior at Rowan University majoring in Biological sciences. He is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa society. Isaac joined the Army by enlisting back in 2021 into the USAR. Following basic training and AIT, Isaac joined the 716th Quartermaster Company.

Isaac is currently serving as the Charlie Company’s Commander and served last semester as Charlie’s Company Executive Officer. He will be branching into the Medical Services in the National Guard.

On Sunday 07APR, Tiger Battalion closed out the Spring FTX with the range. Critical tasks for the cadets were to successfully group and zero their weapons. Following this, the cadets were transported to the qualification range, in order to face the same M4 qualification that the MSIIIs will face at CST. The weekend was officially concluded with the MSIIIs receiving their positions within the battalion and respective companies for their senior year. Next stop, CFTX.

Day 2 of Tiger Battalion’s FTX consisted of tactical lanes. The cadets woke up bright and early inside their patrol base, and swiftly moved into their first lane, which was an ambush. Following the ambush, the next lanes were a raid, an attack, and finally a defense. These evaluated lanes are the perfect preparation for the MSIIIs, as they move closer to being at CST. Shoutout to the MSIs and MSIIs for providing the manpower and extra motivation!

On Friday 05MAR, Tiger Battalion officially kicked off its Spring Field Training Exercise at Fort Dix. The cadets began their day by rotating through different classes, where they sharpened their skills related to areas like Call for Fire, PMI, TCCC. Following these classes, the training population got together to develop SOPs (standard operating procedures), in order to ensure unit cohesion for the next day’s tactical lanes.

The large bulk of the day was then spent refreshing on basic land navigation, as well as taking a land navigation written test. After successfully passing the test, the cadets completed both day time and night time land navigation.

Tiger Battalion would like to recognize Janis Chen as our seventh . Janis is a senior at Princeton University majoring in Politics and minoring in History. Janis is currently serving as the Alpha Company Executive Officer and served last semester as the Tiger Battalion Commander. She will be branching into the Signal Corps as an Active Duty Officer. On campus, Janis is a member of Club Golf and the Tiger Inn.

“What is the point in worrying oneself too much about what one could or could not have done to control the course one’s life took? Surely it is enough that the likes of you and I try to make our contribution count for something true and worthy.“ - Kazuo Ishiguro

In order to prepare for the upcoming spring and combined FTXs, both Alpha and Bravo Companies conducted gear layouts to ensure complete readiness. Behind every successful operation lies careful preparation. These gear layouts allow for our cadets to be absolutely prepared for any mission that comes there way.

Tiger Battalion would like to recognize Samuel Hernandez as our sixth . Sam is a senior at Rowan University studying Biological Science.
Sam is currently serving as Tiger Battalion’s Intelligence Officer (S2) and served last semester as Charlie Company’s First Sergeant.

Outside of ROTC, Sam has served Reformed University Fellowship as the Club Senator, Treasurer, and President respectfully throughout all years of college.

“Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day. And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.” -Matt. 6:34 and Matt. 28:20b.

This is the final post highlighting the Alpha Company MSIVs trip to France.

13MAR (pictures 1-2): Day trip to Mont Saint Michel and did a guided tour of the abbey.

14MAR (pictures 3-4): The cadets Visited Mt. Ormel in the morning where Prof. Nord described the Polish 1st Armored Division formations in August 1944. Afterwards, they arrived to Paris in the afternoon and visited the Memorial de la Shoah, the Holocaust museum.

15MAR (pictures 5-6) : The cadets visited the Deportation Martyrs Memorial, which is dedicated to the 200,000 individuals who were deported from France to concentration camps throughout the course of the Second World War.

12MAR: At Pointe du Hoc, CDT Roll presented on LTC James Rudder’s mission of scaling and securing the cliffs and capturing the German guns at the top. At Omaha Beach, CDT Chen presented on BG Norm Cota’s strategic leadership and galvanizing efforts in leading and motivating troops assaulting the beachhead. CDT Besch presented on CPT Joe Dawson’s tactical leadership in clearing a route for troops pinned down by German gunfire. In the afternoon, we visited the Normandy American Cemetery and conducted a wreath laying ceremony for Princeton alumni who made the ultimate sacrifice in WWII.

On 11MAR, the cadets visited the Arromanches Museum about the Mulberry harbors, Brecourt Manor and the 101st Airborne, 506th PIR, “Easy” Company memorial, Sainte-Mère-Église and the Airborne Museum. At the La Fière Bridge and memorial, CDT Lin presented on BG James Gavin’s efforts in seizing the bridge and taking control of the vital causeway that allowed for the forces from Utah beach to move inland. This is the third post highlighting the Normandy trip.

This is the second post of the Alpha Company MSIVs trip to Normandy. On 10MAR, the cadets visited the Memorial de Caen in the morning for a comprehensive overview of 20th century history. In the afternoon, CDT Goldberg presented on MAJ John Howard’s assault on Pegasus Bridge as part of Operation Deadstick. After visiting Juno Beach Centre and learning about Strongpoint 31, CDT Deb presented on ADM Bertram Ramsey’s strategic planning and leadership of naval forces in Operation Overlord.

On 09MAR, 6 Alpha Company cadets, 8 students from the History Department, graduate student Victoria, Professor Nord, and LTC Gunther arrived in France for a Normandy staff ride of the D-Day invasion of WWII.

The group visited the Museum of Bayeux to see the tapestry of the 1066 conquest of England by the Duke of Normandy as well as the Bayeux Cathedral, the Charles de Gaulle monument, and the Bayeux cemetery.

Stay tuned for more pictures in the coming days following the groups journey in France.

We would like to congratulate Princeton alum 2LT Eric Love on passing Ranger School. This is an incredible achievement and we’re super proud! Best of luck in the future. RLTW!

Tiger Battalion would like to recognize CDT Sean Drew as our fifth . Sean is a senior at Rowan University majoring in Political Science.

Sean is currently serving as Tiger Battalion Operations Sergeant Major and served last semester as Charlie Company’s Commander. He will be branching Infantry as an Active Duty officer.

“The winner ain’t the one with the fastest car. It’s the one who refuses to lose.” - Dale Earnhardt