The ROTC program honored its Leaders and Best at the annual Tri-Service Awards Ceremony Tuesday, recognizing the efforts of the University’s Army, Navy and Air Force members.
About 350 members, parents and veterans filled Rackham Auditorium, where 44 different awards — for excellence in academics, physical fitness and leadership —were presented to more than 100 cadets, midshipmen and sergeants.
Guest speaker Colonel Ronald Shun, chief of staff at the U.S. Army Tank Automotive and Armaments Command Life Cycle Management Command, spoke primarily to the graduating ROTC members about how to become great leaders and what to expect in the future.
“These are the start of their careers where they will have an opportunity to put these skills to use,” Shun said.
He said the University’s academic rigor and the ROTC program’s focus on leadership and communication help to build a well-rounded individual.
In his speech, Shun said even as the world and armed forces change, it is important to be an active, invested leader. He stressed that a good leader is a good learner, working together with those in his or her command.
“You can’t be an e-mail leader,” Shun said. “They want the real thing.”
Nursing senior Courtney Pierce, a member of the Army Nurse Corps, received the Daughters of the American Revolution Award, which honors those with lineage to the Revolutionary War. She has received two awards for academics in previous years but said this award was special.
“I kind of like this award a little better,” Pierce said. “It doesn’t focus that much on academics and I like it because it represents the whole half-reason why I joined ROTC, for the patriotism … it kind of embellishes like my idea of why I joined the military.”
LSA senior Kyle Ayers, a Cadet Sergeant Major in Army ROTC, received recognition as a graduating member of the Scabbard and Blade Society and was given the Lt. Norman Carl Anschuetz II Memorial Award. This award included a sword, signifying Aires’s substantial success in leadership and advancing the battalion.
Ayers said even though he joined the ROTC only last year, the battalion has improved leaps and bounds since he’s been there.
“They make sure that they can complete the Michigan course load and still have time to do the ROTC prep that they need,” he said.
Ayers said he was happy to see the increased interaction between the older students and the underclassmen. He said members have a sense that ROTC is not just a hobby, but also a career.
“I’m proud of the ability that I had to really mentor underclassmen and bring them up and try to instill a sense of respect for the uniform and respect for the Army in general.”