ILSS Updates and Reports

Colonel Josh Wright is replacing Colonel Cummings as the Professor of Military Science. COL Wright is a native of Girard, Illinois and a graduate of Eastern Illinois University. Commissioned as an Infantry Officer, he served in air assault, airborne, infantry, mechanized and cavalry units and deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom and Freedom Sentinel in Afghanistan, Operation Spartan Shield in Kuwait, Operation Joint Forge in Bosnia, Operation New Horizons, and the Multinational Force and Observers in the Sinai, Egypt. He is a graduate of the Air War College, and holds Masters of Science degrees in Management and Leadership, and Strategic Studies. His highest award is the Silver Star, the third highest decoration for valor in combat.

The ILSS created an opportunity and funding for Cadets Rose and Franklin to train at the Swiss Mountaineering Course in July. They trained on top rope and lead climbing, snow and glacier travel, and multi-pitch climbs. They look forward to teaching their new-found skills to other members of the UNG Mountain Order of Colombo. Of course, they took a weekend break in Luzern, Switzerland.

Between this summer and the fall semester, about 75 cadets have traveled or are expected to travel out of country for study abroad, internships, cadet exchanges, Cultural Understanding and Language Program, and the Cadet Troop Leader Training. In addition, this summer there were 108 UNG cadets sent to train at the Army ROTC advanced camp at Ft. Knox Advanced camp.

Thirty-nine new freshman cadets opted to enroll in the Summer Language Institute (SLI) this summer prior to FROG Week (cadet basic training). The SLI consists of the 1001 and 1002-level courses for eight academic credits in Arabic (13 cadets), Chinese (6 cadets), Japanese (5 cadets), Korean (2 cadets), and Russian (13 cadets). Another 10 returning cadets enrolled in SLI as well. Also note that cadets who are contracted to commission can get paid $100-$250 per credit hour – amount depends on language – if they earn a B or above in Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Japanese or Russian under the Critical Language Incentive Program (CLIP).

UNG will host a symposium on 14-15 November entitled Leadership in a Complex World: Private Military Security Companies’ Influence on International Security and Foreign Policy. The event is free and open to the public – register on the website now. We will have several well-known speakers including Erik Prince, Molly Dunigan, Eeben Barlow and others.

Please help us recruit future cadets! Tell anyone who might have a high school student who is interested in becoming an Army officer or in developing their leadership skills for public service or the corporate world to come visit! See the different opportunities to visit UNG. Encourage high school sophomores, juniors or seniors to register now for National Leadership Challenge Weekend on 26-28 October to experience the Corps first-hand and participate in adventure training.

Georgia Gold, American Treasure development initiative is on-going for the sole benefit of the Corps of Cadets. With a goal of $93,145,000, the vision of the initiative is to “Secure and strengthen the Corps of Cadets at the University of North Georgia”. All contributions benefitting Cadets will count toward our goal. For more information, contact Phil Collins at phil.collins@ung.edu. We encourage alumni, friends and family of the Corps to participate in this vital fundraising effort.

If you’re interested in hearing more about the Institute for Leadership and Strategic Studies, and you are visiting Dahlonega, we’d like to schedule a one-hour personal briefing for you. Please contact Keith Antonia at keith.antonia@ung.edu.

Major General James (Jamie) Jarrard (UNG ’88) will move from Commanding General Special Operations Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, to Director of Operations, U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill AFB.

LTC Alan Kehoe (UNG ‘00) assumed command of 1st Battalion, 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment in the “Old Guard” in Washington DC.

Cadet LTC Bryton Wenzell earned the Paul Hutcherson Outstanding Student Award from the Alumni Association for a male and female student who demonstrates the highest ideals of citizenship through their accomplishments on campus or in home or community life.

Congratulations to our Ranger Challenge Team! On 14 April, our team won the Sandhurst ROTC Cup beating all other ROTC teams in the nation placing 4th overall. Winners: U.S. Air Force Academy (1st place), Canadian Royal Military Academy (2nd place), UK, Sandhurst Red Team (3rd place), UNG (4th place) followed by West Point Gold Team (5th place). Lieutenant General Caslen, West Point Superintendent, personally congratulated us as being the 1st ROTC team to ever lead the competition which we did earlier in the day before being over taken by the Air Force and international teams. These teams won, but they come from much larger Corps of Cadets.

On 4-5 May, 75 cadets graduated of whom 58 commissioned as second lieutenants. 42 commissioned active duty and 16 commissioned into the Georgia Army National Guard. 30 cadets were Distinguished Military Graduates. Top three branches: infantry (10), armor (6), quartermaster (6). 34 cadets commissioned in December 2017, and we anticipate a total of 110 commissions for the year by the end of this summer. Also, General Townsend, UNG ’82 and Commanding General of TRADOC spoke at the commencement for the College of Arts and Letters on 4 May.

Major General Stephen Fogarty (UNG ’83), chief of staff, U.S. Cyber Command, will receive his third star and take command of Army Cyber Command. Read the story.

This summer, 75 cadets will travel to 24 countries for study abroad experiences, internships, cadet exchanges with foreign military academies, professional development and conferences, Cadet Troop Leader Training

Georgia Gold, American Treasure development initiative is on-going for the sole benefit of the Corps of Cadets. With a goal of $93,145,000, the vision of the initiative is to “Secure and strengthen the Corps of Cadets at the University of North Georgia”. All contributions benefitting Cadets will count toward our goal. For more information, contact Phil Collins at phil.collins@ung.edu. We encourage alumni, friends and> family of the Corps to participate in this vital fundraising effort.

If you’re interested in hearing more about the Institute for Leadership and Strategic Studies, and you are visiting Dahlonega, we’d like to schedule a one-hour personal briefing for you. Please contact Keith Antonia at keith.antonia@ung.edu.

In the past two months, cadets participated in short-duration trips to international cadet conferences in Japan, Latvia, Canada, and the Republic of Georgia; take courses at the School of Applied Sciences in Italy; participate in Model UN in France; and even compete in an international ski patrol competition in Poland. Learn more about the ski patrol competition from UNG News.

Cadets Gomez and Wenzel were honored by Governor Nathan Deal and the General Assembly at the Georgia state capitol on 21 March for being ranked in the top 5 of all 5,500+ commissioning cadets this academic year.

Alumni Weekend will be held on the Dahlonega Campus and surrounding area on 20-22 April. There will be many events throughout the weekend, but the highlights will be the Memorial Retreat ceremony with Colonel Jason Williams as keynote speaker, and the Corps of Cadets Military Awards Review parade on Sunday afternoon at 1400 with Brigadier General Ron Stephens UNG ’88 as keynote speaker.  

This will be the Cummings’ last parade before departing for his next assignment. It is impossible to overstate the achievements of the Department of Military Science under the leadership of Colonel Cummings. He led his team to elevate the performance of our Corps of Cadets to the best Army ROTC program of all military colleges, and arguably the best of all 274 programs in the nation. His team of consummate professionals has been recognized by their individual accomplishments highlighted by a member being selected as the Army Cadet Command Instructor of the Year and another earning the first Army instructor badge in Cadet Command. The Corps of Cadets was nationally recognized by the Association of the U.S. Army as the most active ROTC unit, was selected by Cadet Command for the MacArthur award as the top Army ROTC program among the nation’s elite military colleges, had two cadets in the top five of more than 5,300 on the national order of merit list, consistently achieved the best performance from our cadets at advance camp out of all senior military colleges, and had the third highest average order of merit score of all 274 Army ROTC programs in the nation. The Department will have commissioned more than 300 cadets as second lieutenants in the Total Army.

Georgia Gold, American Treasure development initiative is on-going for the sole benefit of the Corps of Cadets. With a goal of $93,145,000, the vision of the initiative is to “Secure and strengthen the Corps of Cadets at the University of North Georgia”. All contributions benefitting Cadets will count toward our goal. For more information, contact Phil Collins at phil.collins@ung.edu. We encourage alumni, friends and family of the Corps to participate in this vital fundraising effort.

If you’re interested in hearing more about the Institute for Leadership and Strategic Studies, and you are visiting Dahlonega, we’d like to schedule a one-hour personal briefing for you. Please contact Keith Antonia at keith.antonia@ung.edu.

The UNG Corps of Cadets won the MacArthur Award! U.S. Army Cadet Command 1st Brigade (the military college brigade) recently announced that UNG won the MacArthur award this year. The award is based on the achievement of the school's commissioning mission, cadets' performance, standing on the command's National Order of Merit List, and its cadet retention rate. Other senior military college Army ROTC programs in contention were The Citadel, VMI, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, and Norwich. Congratulations to our cadets and cadre are in order!

Our “average” contracted senior is above the average contracted senior in 271 of the 274 Army ROTC programs in the nation. The “national order of merit list” contains over 5,300 seniors who will commission as lieutenants this year. All cadets are ranked by a score that measures scholar/athlete/leader criteria. Ranking third, UNG is significantly ahead of the other senior military colleges, the next closest of which was 26th.

Lieutenant General Townsend, UNG ’82, relinquished command of the XVIII Airborne Corps on 19 January 2018. He will pin on his fourth star and take command of the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command at Ft.
Eustis. 

The UNG Corps of Cadets appeared on the front cover of Real Hero Report, a publication targeted to Metro Atlanta’s active and reservist military, veterans and first responders.

FROG Week was conducted the 1st week in January. Sixty-five new cadets showed up and four additional new cadets showed up after FROG week. Demographics: 23% ethnic or racial minorities/77% white; 19% women/81% men; cadets came from Georgia, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and exchange cadets from Poland and South Africa; 42 are in the National Guard/3 are in the Army Reserve. The cadet NCO Academy was also conducted the 1st week in January. Eighty-nine cadets were trained. Among the graduates were two international cadets from our partners in Poland, Tadeusz Kościuszko Military University of Land Forces.

Size of the Corps of Cadets this spring: 724

Georgia Gold, American Treasure development initiative is on-going for the sole benefit of the Corps of Cadets. With a goal of $93,145,000, the vision of the initiative is to “Secure and strengthen the Corps of Cadets at the University of North Georgia”. All contributions benefitting Cadets will count toward our goal. For more information, contact Phil Collins at phil.collins@ung.edu. We encourage alumni, friends and family of the Corps to participate in this vital fundraising effort.

If you’re interested in hearing more about the Institute for Leadership and Strategic Studies, and you are visiting Dahlonega, we’d like to schedule a one-hour personal briefing for you. Please contact Keith Antonia at keith.antonia@ung.edu.

Top news is two of our cadets are ranked #2 and #5 out of 5,535 on the U.S. Army national order of merit list. The #2 Cadet is Andrew Gomez (left) from Gainesville, Georgia who will commission cyber on active duty, and #5 Cadet Bryton Wenzel (right) from Albany Georgia who will commission in the Corps of Engineers in the Army National Guard. No other ROTC program placed 2 in the top 5 this year.

LTC Rembert Rollison, UNG ’66, was inducted into the Georgia Military Veteran’s Hall of Fame in November for valor.

Our Ranger Challenge Team beat all five other senior military colleges at Ft. Knox at the end of October to claim the SMC Ranger Challenge trophy. Next is West Point’s Sandhurst international competition in April.

There will be 68 teams from West Point, other service academies, 8 Army ROTC, and 15 international teams in the competition. Congratulations to the Ranger Challenge Team, and good luck at Sandhurst!

An alumni gathering was held at McKellar’s Lodge on Ft. Bragg on 28 October. LTG and Mrs. Townsend were in attendance. Thanks COL (Ret.) Chris & Renee Bagley for hosting!

Boar's Head Weekend returned to Dahlonega Campus on Oct. 6-7 with a goal of connecting current and former cadets during a weekend of mentoring and networking. GreyStone Power Corporation sponsored COL (Ret) Jimmy Blackmon, UNG ’91, spoke to the Corps on leadership (author of Pale Horse: Hunting Terrorists and Commanding Heroes with the 101st Airborne Division) Thanks NGCCA!

LTC (Ret) Sandra Owens, UNG ’85, was named Teacher of the Year in Richmond County, GA – a school system with nearly 2,300 teachers.

Cadets beat cadre 41-35 in the Turkey Bowl touch football game on 13 Nov. The NGCCA sponsored Ft. Benning’s Silver Wings parachute demonstration team’s jump onto the drill field to open the game. Join the NGCCA today - “Fraternity of the Corps”.

Georgia Gold, American Treasure development initiative is on-going for the sole benefit of the Corps of Cadets. With a goal of $93,145,000, the vision of the initiative is to “Secure and strengthen the Corps of Cadets at the University of North Georgia”. All contributions benefitting Cadets will count toward our goal. For more information, contact Phil Collins at phil.collins@ung.edu. We encourage alumni, friends and family of the Corps to participate in this vital fundraising effort.

If you’re interested in hearing more about the Institute for Leadership and Strategic Studies, and you are visiting Dahlonega, we’d like to schedule a one-hour personal briefing for you. Please contact Keith Antonia at keith.antonia@ung.edu.

Please help us recruit high school students for the Corps of Cadets! Spread the word about National Leadership Challenge Weekend, 3-5 November 2017. High school students will rappel down a sheer rock cliff, rope bridge across a rushing mountain stream, negotiate leadership reaction and obstacle courses, all while learning about the Corps. Learn more about the National Leadership Challenge.

The Corps of Cadets numbered 777 this fall. An increase of 2 over last year. Our goal is to reach 850 in the next couple years, and sustain that number indefinitely. Doing so will allow us to achieve the Army’s commissioning mission.

The 2016-2017 ILSS Annual Report is available is the right-hand column of this page.

The Corps of Cadets broke all previous records and commissioned 111 Cadets into the Total Army this past year. Of the 111, 36 were Distinguished Military Graduates (DMG). DMGs have a 3.0 cumulative GPA and rank among the top 20% of all Cadets on the National Order of Merit List.

77 of our 110 Cadets who completed ROTC advanced camp were rated outstanding or excellent. Thirty Cadets were outstanding meaning they were in the top 5 or 6 of their 3-40-Cadet platoons. Cadet Albershardt was recognized as the female Cadet with the highest PT test score.

The ILSS, the College of Arts and letters and the Center for Cyber Operations Education will host a symposium on 8-9 November: “Civil-Military Cooperation and International Collaboration in Cyber Operations”. Details at go.ung.edu/symposium. If you’re interested in the subject and would like to participate, please contact Keith Antonia at keith.antonia@ung.edu.

Prior to the beginning of this fall semester, 235 new Cadets went through FROG Week; 120 Cadets went through the NCOAcademy; and 80 Cadets participated in the pre-command course. All three numbers were higher than last year.

This fall, we have 23 Distinguished Military Students (DMS), another record-breaking number. Last fall, we had 25.

We’re looking forward to Boar’s Head Brigade Weekend activities this weekend, 6-7 October. The North Georgia Corps of Cadets Association provides networking, mentoring, and career advice to our Cadets. Colonel (Ret) Jimmy Blackmon (UNG alumnus) will speak to the Corps on Friday night at 1900, and the DMS review parade will occur Saturday morning at 1000.

Georgia Gold, American Treasure development initiative is on-going for the sole benefit of the Corps of Cadets. With a goal of $93,145,000, the vision of the initiative is to “Secure and strengthen the Corps of Cadets at the University of North Georgia”. All contributions benefitting Cadets will count toward our goal. For more information, contact Phil Collins at phil.collins@ung.edu. We encourage alumni, friends, and family of the Corps to participate in this vital fundraising effort.

If you’re interested in hearing more about the Institute for Leadership and Strategic Studies, and you are visiting Dahlonega, we’d like to schedule a one-hour personal briefing for you. Please contact Keith Antonia at keith.antonia@ung.edu. 

The large UNG sign near the main entrance to UNG is in the final stages of completion. Thanks to an involved Cadet alumnus, among others, the old sign that was missing “The Military College of Georgia” tag line was replaced by the new sign pictured here!

1988 graduates Paul Calvert and James (Jamie) Jarrard have been selected for promotion to major general and will serve as Commanding General of the 1st Cavalry Division, and Commanding General of the Special Operations Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, respectively.

Stellenbosch University (South Africa) Rector with representatives from the South African Military Academy (SAMA) signed a Cadet exchange agreement with UNG on 14 Jun. Cadet Herbert is now at SAMA and SAMA will send a Cadet to UNG in the spring.

The Department of Military Science sent 111 Cadets to the Cadet Leader Course (Summer Camp) at Ft. Knox this summer. The last training regiment graduates on 16 August. We sent the UNG Counsel, Jenna Colvin, a big Corps of Cadets supporter, to visit CLC to observe the leadership development training Cadets receive. While there, she did a tandem HALO parachute jump with the Golden Knights.

In addition to CLC, we have lots of Cadets in training this summer all over the world. One Cadet is with the National Security Agencies Cyber 2017 Summer program internship at Ft Meade. Also, 8 to airborne school; 10 to air assault school; 1 to master fitness trainer; 17 to Cadet Troop Leader Training at 8 Army installations including in Korea and Germany; 4 to the Nurse Summer Training program; 2 to the International Military Academic Forum in the Czech Republic; 1 to an intel/cyber conference in New Zealand; and 13 to 8 countries under the Cultural Understanding and Language Program.

LTC (ret) Tony Fritchle, our military representative in the UNG Center for Global Engagement, along with SGM (ret) Terry Baumann visited the Brazilian Military Academy in June to study and coordinate a possible Cadet exchange program.

The ILSS, the College of Arts and letters and the Center for Cyber Operations Education will host a symposium on 8-9 November: “Civil-Military Cooperation and International Collaboration in Cyber Operations”. Details at go.ung.edu/symposium. If you’re interested in the subject and would like to participate, please contact Keith Antonia at keith.antonia@ung.edu. 

New Cadet basic training, or Freshman Recruit Orientation Group (FROG) week begins on 13 August and ends with graduation on 19 August. We anticipate approximately 245 new Cadets to show.

Note that the construction activity on the drill field is replacing the old dilapidated culvert.

Georgia Gold, American Treasure development initiative is on-going for the sole benefit of the Corps of Cadets. With a goal of $93,145,000, the vision of the initiative is to “Secure and strengthen the Corps of Cadets at the University of North Georgia”. All contributions benefitting Cadets will count toward our goal. For more information, contact Phil Collins at phil.collins@ung.edu. We encourage alumni, friends and family of the Corps to participate in this vital fundraising effort.

If you’re interested in hearing more about the Institute for Leadership and Strategic Studies, and you are visiting Dahlonega, we’d like to schedule a one-hour personal briefing for you. Please contact Keith Antonia at keith.antonia@ung.edu. 

This year will be the largest commissioning class in the history of the Corps of Cadets. Quality is excellent with a 3.31 average cumulative GPA and 291 average Army Physical Fitness Test score.
Twenty-five commissioned in the fall semester, and 66 commissioned in the spring. We anticipate commissioning another 20 this summer. Total will be over 110. As far as we’ve been able to determine, the most commissions occurred one year in the 1950s with 96.

Captain Rose, UNG ’12, assigned to 2d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, and his partner MSG Horsager, won the 2017 Best Ranger competition at Ft. Benning. CPT Rose also won it in 2014. He is one of only four to ever win the competition twice.

On 24 April, Major General Saeed Abdulrhman Abu Assaf, the commandant of the Royal Saudi Forces Land Academy visited to better his understanding of what his Cadets will experience while at UNG in the Corps of Cadets.

The National University for Public Service (Hungary) Rector and Commandant of Cadets with other representatives signed a Cadet exchange agreement with UNG on 12 May. We will send Cadets to Hungary and they will send Cadets to UNG.

LTG Garrett, UNG ’81, spoke at the Corps of Cadets military awards review and parade during alumni weekend on 23 April. LTC Gannaway spoke at the annual Memorial Retreat on 22 April, and also received the Ralph Colley Spirit of North Georgia Award which is given to an alumnus who has experienced adverse circumstances in his/her life and has risen above those circumstances to live an exemplary life.

On 6 April, the Corps of Cadets conducted their annual military ball at Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville.

Tragically, Lieutenant Weston C. Lee, UNG ‘14, was killed on 29 April 2017 in Mosul, Iraq. From Bluffton, Georgia, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice and commissioned as an infantry officer. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 325th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina and was supporting Operation Inherent Resolve.

Georgia Gold, American Treasure development initiative is on-going for the sole benefit of the Corps of Cadets. With a goal of $93,145,000, the vision of the initiative is to “Secure and strengthen the Corps of Cadets at the University of North Georgia”. Any contributions benefiting Cadets will count toward our goal. For more information, contact Phil Collins at phil.collins@ung.edu.

If you’re interested in hearing more about the Institute for Leadership and Strategic Studies, and you are visiting Dahlonega, we’d like to schedule a one-hour personal briefing for you. Please contact Keith Antonia at keith.antonia@ung.edu.

April 1, 2017

AUSA Army Magazine March 2017 edition contains an article on UNG ILSS/Corps of Cadets entitled, “Mining a Different Kind of Gold: University of North Georgia Expanding ROTC Studies”.

Military Science instructor SFC Jason Bent was selected Cadet Command Instructor of The Year and recognized at the Georgia State Capitol on March 17.

In addition, SFC Shannon Clark was the first ROTC instructor in U.S. Army Cadet Command to earn the Army Basic Instructor Badge. We have outstanding cadre teaching and mentoring our Cadets.

The ILSS visited universities in the four other Five Eyes countries (Australia, New Zealand, Canada and England). In addition, the Georgia National Guard is establishing a relationship with Argentina under the DoD State Partnership Program. The ILSS accompanied the guard team on a visit to that country. Partnerships with academic institutions in these nations will produce additional educational opportunities for our Cadets, with particular emphasis on security and strategic studies.

BG Joe Jarrard, UNG ’88, the Adjutant General of the State of Georgia and Commanding General of the Georgia Department of Defense, was promoted to Major General in a ceremony at Dobbins Air Reserve Base on March 13.

The Commandant hosted a ceremony on March 28 in which 62 cadets were awarded for military excellence, academic achievement or leadership. 20+ organizations presented awards, totaling more than $53,000. The final Cadet awards ceremony for the year takes place on Livsey Drill Field at 1400 hours on Sunday, April 23, to which you’re all invited. 20 more cadets will be honored, most of whom will receive prestigious scholarships provided by donor families and organizations.

A portion of the Colonel (Ret) Jack C. Peevy Endowment Fund will be distributed to more than 30 cadets in fall 2017. The amount distributed this academic year is $100,000, with $80,000 to current cadets and $20,000 to incoming freshmen (FROGs). This is the second year the fund provided financial assistance to cadets. All Peevy Scholars will be recognized at the Corps of Cadets Awards Review on Sunday, April 23, 2017. Per Colonel Peevy’s wishes, the Commandant of Cadets provides oversight of the endowment, which should reach full maturity next year.

Blue Ridge Rifles precision drill team competed at the University of Southern California and placed second in 4-man; 1st in platoon exhibition; second in platoon regulation, and third overall. Also, UNG claimed the 2017 Southern Conference Rifle Championship at The Citadel beating VMI, The Citadel, Georgia Southern, Wofford, and UAB.

Georgia Gold, American Treasure initiative is on-going for the sole benefit of the Corps. Goal is $93,145,000 to “Secure and strengthen the Corps of Cadets at the University of North Georgia”. Contact Phil Collins at phil.collins@ung.edu.

If you’re visiting Dahlonega, we invite you to schedule a personal briefing on the Institute for Leadership and Strategic Studies with Keith Antonia, 706-867-4576 or keith.antonia@ung.edu.

February 1, 2017

Corps strength was at 738 at the beginning of this semester, compared to 709 last spring. The Corps is always smaller in the spring than in the fall.

Colonel Cummings, the Professor of Military Science, anticipates commissioning more than 90 Cadets this year into the Total Army.

Rick Maze, Editor-in-Chief of AUSA Army Magazine, visited UNG on 8 December to learn about the Corps of Cadets and we anticipate an article in the March 2017 issue of the magazine.

Cadet Alexandra Bennett is participating in the capstone year of the Chinese Language Flagship program. She was selected to intern at the U.S. embassy in China in the trade division. She will commission into the Cyber career field (branch).

Military Science instructor Sergeant First Class Jason Bent was selected Cadet Command Instructor of The Year, and will now compete for Training and Doctrine Command Instructor of the Year. We have outstanding cadre teaching and mentoring our Cadets.

The U.S. Army Cadet Command national order of merit list was released in November. Thirty-four Cadets were Distinguished Military Graduates ranking in the top 20 percent in the nation, of whom eight were in the top 10 percent. This compares to four Cadets in the top 10 percent last year, and 22 in the top 20 percent. Placement on the order of merit list is determined by superior grade point average, strong performance on the Army physical fitness test, and demonstrating exceptional leadership skills.

We’re creating a “National Service Leadership Track” for Cadets who will not commission. Cadets will fully participate in the Corps of Cadets, and make a decision to enter the track beginning their junior year. They will take courses that are now being designed in lieu of Military Science III and IV courses that will focus on preparation for leadership in federal agencies or global entities. Implementation is planned for fall 2018. This will be good for recruiting and retaining Cadets.

The Georgia House of Representatives Military Affairs Study Committee visited UNG on 30 Nov – 1 Dec. We briefed them on the ILSS/Corps of Cadets. Jenna Colvin, our UNG Counsel, said this about our Cadets who participated, “My favorite part of the two days was the session with cadet leaders and the representatives after the public portion of the meeting … the cadets were simply extraordinary. One common theme I hear in the media and at the Capitol is that today’s college students are entitled snowflakes. These cadets were the counterpoint to that narrative. They were thoughtful and articulate in their presentation and interactions with the legislators, passionate and dedicated to their calling to serve in the military, and hardworking and focused in their preparation to accomplish their goals. As a mom, I can say they embody what I aspire to develop in my child. I was so proud of them for their parents ... They are also great ambassadors for our program and the training they receive here.”

Georgia Gold, American Treasure development initiative is on-going for the sole benefit of the Corps of Cadets. With a goal of $93,145,000, the vision of the initiative is to “Secure and strengthen the Corps of Cadets at the University of North Georgia”. For more information, contact Phil Collins.

If you’re interested in hearing more about the Institute for Leadership and Strategic Studies, and you are visiting Dahlonega, we’d like to schedule a one-hour personal briefing for you. Please contact Keith Antonia.

Corps strength stood at 775 at the beginning of this semester. This is the third largest in the Corps’ history.

UNG continued its tradition of outstanding performance at the ROTC summer camp (Cadet Leader Course – CLC) at Ft. Knox. We sent 123 Cadets, more than any other year in our history. Of those, 40 (32 percent) received the highest performance rating putting them in the top 15 percent of the entire nation. The closest senior military college had 18% percentin this category. Of our other Cadets, 43 had the second-highest rating of most qualified; 26 were highly qualified; 15 were qualified; and none were not qualified.

The first annual Boar’s Head-Corps Alumni Weekend occurred 9-11 Sep, and was a rousing success. The event was conceived and sponsored by the North Georgia Corps of Cadets Association. We thank all Cadet alumni who participated and interacted with our Cadets throughout the weekend. Kris “Tanto” Paronto, hero of Benghazi and featured in the movie 13 Hours spoke with the Cadets, alumni and guests about his experiences during the Benghazi attack. He held the audience’s attention while describing small unit combat leadership in an ambiguous, uncertain, and complex environment. Colonel (Ret.) Jimmie Blackmon spoke with groups of Cadets about leadership. Other alumni spoke with Cadets about succeeding in various occupations after college. We’re looking forward to next year’s event!

Mr. Bob Mathews, UNG ’70, president and CEO of Colliers International – Atlanta and chairman of the UNG real estate foundation, addressed the Corps of Cadets during distinguished military student review and parade. Twenty-five Cadets were honored.

General Carter Ham, U.S. Army (Retired), President and CEO of AUSA, spoke with the Corps of Cadets on 13 Sep. He was extremely impressed, and stated that he was “blown away” by our Cadet program.

UNG signed a Cadet exchange agreement with the Polish Land Forces Academy. We will send Cadets to study at their academy for a semester, and they will send Cadets to study with us. This fall, our Cadets attended short duration programs in the Czech Republic (University of Defense Economics Course), Italy (NATO Defense College), and Hawaii (Asia-Pacific Center for Strategic Studies). We have a Cadet from the Republic of China (Taiwan) Military Academy studying with us this semester. Also, UNG was awarded a $1.2M grant to continue our ROTC Chinese Language Flagship program. We have 21 Cadets majoring in Chinese, and 14 in Arabic.

Cadet alumnus, LTG Burton Patrick, UNG ’57, was inducted into the Georgia Military Veteran’s Hall of Fame. A total of seven UNG graduates are now in the Hall of Fame.

Cadet alumnus, LTG William (Burke) Garrett, UNG ’81, is retiring from the Army after 35 years of outstanding service as a Soldier.

Georgia Gold, American Treasure development initiative is on-going for the sole benefit of the Corps of Cadets. With a goal of $93,145,000, the vision of the initiative is to “Secure and strengthen the Corps of Cadets at the University of North Georgia”. For more information, go to unggive.org/corps-of-cadets.

If you’re interested in hearing more about the Institute for Leadership and Strategic Studies, and you are visiting Dahlonega, we’d like to schedule a one-hour personal briefing for you. Please contact Keith Antonia at keith.antonia@ung.edu

UNG graduates took command. COL Branch took command of the 780^th MI Brigade at Ft Meade on 17 Jun: a MSC of Army Intelligence and Security Command and Army Cyber Command. COL Skelton took command of the Army’s 1^st Information Operations Command at Ft Belvoir on 20 Jun. (COL Ginn commands the 106^th Signal Brigade at Ft Sam Houston.) All three jobs are critical components of the Army’s cyber operations efforts. COL Duggan took command of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall on 28 Jun. COL Beaudoin took command of 3d Brigade, 82d Airborne Division on 20 May.

Cadet Sydney Coursey was selected as the top graduate (out of more than 500 Cadets) for her CLC (Advance Camp) Regiment. She was presented the AUSA Warrior Ethos Award, a saber. 

Boar’s Head-Corps Alumni Weekend, 9-11 Sep. Conceived and sponsored by the North Georgia Corps of Cadets Association. Event celebrates the Boar’s Head Brigade, and encourages interaction between corps alumni and Cadets through a variety of events, classes, speakers, socials, recognitions and remembrances. Begins Friday night and culminates with the Distinguished Military Student Review on 11 Sep at 1400. A schedule can be found on the NGCCA web site:  ngcorpsofcadetsassn.org  We would be very happy if you could join us for some of the events. 

GEN Carter Ham, U.S. Army (Retired), President and CEO of AUSA, will visit UNG on 13 Sep and speak with the Corps of Cadets.

UNG was named one of the nation's top higher education institutions by Forbes Magazine in its annual "America’s Top Colleges" ranking. This is the first time UNG has been named to the list, and one of only six public universities in Georgia to make the list.

The Institute for Leadership and Strategic Studies now has an advisory board composed of accomplished experts in leadership and strategic issues who also have a deep understanding of the value of the Corps of Cadets and its contribution to society. Purpose is to provide ILSS leadership with the knowledge, understanding and strategic thinking that will enable us to more effectively accomplish our mission. Board president is LTG (Ret) Terry, Dr Crupi, LTG (Ret) Mixon, and LTG (Ret) Keen (inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame on 14 July). LTG Garrett has agreed to serve after he retires in a month or two. Bios are on the ILSS web site:  ung.edu/ilss

ILSS will co-host a security symposium on 15 November in collaboration with the Mike Cottrell College of Business and the College of Arts and Letters. The topic to be explored is international trade partnerships.

ILSS is working with foreign countries to establish military exchange opportunities and/or internships for our Cadets. Hungary, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Austria, Brazil, South Korea, Latvia, Estonia, Republic of Georgia, Czech Republic, Germany, and Italy are all candidates for agreements. We already have formal agreements with Land Forces Military Academy, Poland; Republic of China Military Academy, Taiwan; and Bundeswher Academy, Germany.

Georgia Gold, American Treasure development initiative, the first fundraising effort in the history of UNG for the sole benefit of the Corps of Cadets, launched during Alumni Weekend 2016. With a goal of $93,145,000, the vision of the initiative is to “Secure and strengthen the Corps of Cadets at the University of North Georgia”. For more information, go to unggive.org/corps-of-cadets/

If you’re interested in hearing more about the Institute for Leadership and Strategic Studies, and you are visiting Dahlonega, we’d like to schedule a one-hour personal briefing for you.  Please contact Keith Antonia at keith.antonia@ung.edu

Continuing our cyber education initiatives, UNG was just given the distinction of becoming a National Security Agency/Department of Homeland Defense Center of Academic Excellence for Cyber Defense Education (CAE-CDE).

This summer, we received a grant from the NSA/DHS GenCyber program to run a free, two-week residential “National Cyber Warrior Academy” on the Dahlonega Campus.  We’ll enroll 40 high school students 19 Jun – 1 July, who will live in Gaillard Hall, and will be taught the Certified Ethical Hacker curriculum by UNG PhD computer science professors.

In December/January, we will seek to become an Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence (IC CAE) by the Defense Intelligence Agency.  The IC CAE has the mission to increase intelligence community job applicants. They provide grants to accredited U.S. four-year colleges and universities to support the design and development of intelligence-related curricula.  We strongly feel that we meet the criteria by which the DIA evaluates applications, including having academic programs which serve as a foundation for an intelligence or national security studies certificate, major or minor.  With our degrees and minors in international affairs, strategic studies, critical foreign languages, cyber security, study abroad programs and more, we believe we’ll be very competitive to become an IC CAE.

We have four Cadets who were awarded prestigious national scholarships in 2015-2016.  Anita Renfroe is a winner of the prestigious David L. Boren Scholarship, a national scholarship funded by DoD’s National Security Education Program worth up to $20,000 to spend a full academic year studying abroad. Renfroe is a junior in the Corps of Cadets majoring in Arabic with a minor in Spanish and will spend next year studying in Fez, Morocco. Two Cadets won Fulbright scholarships.  Cadet Cody Bijeaux, a Chinese major, and former Cadet Jacob Dietrich, an Arabic major.  The Fulbright program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. In addition, Cadet Elisha Weber will spend a year at ZhieJiang Normal University in Jinhua, courtesy of Chinese Government Scholarships from the Consulate in Houston.

We commissioned 48 Cadets on 6-7 May: 36 active duty, 13 Reserve Force Duty (primarily Georgia Army National Guard); 9 were Distinguished Military Graduates (DMG). 

173 Cadets will participate in Cadet training programs this summer.  15 will participate in Cadet Command’s Cultural Understanding and Language Program (CULP) for three weeks in the following countries: Republic of Georgia (3); Hungary; Lithuania (2); Philippines, Bulgaria; Mongolia (2); Morocco; Senegal; Sri Lanka; Nepal; Bukina-Faso.  A record 126 Cadets will attend the Cadet Leader Course (summer or advanced camp) at Ft. Knox.  Forty seven will go to Cadet Initial Entry Training (CIET) at Ft. Knox (a new program for freshman and sophomore Cadets who intend to commission).  Fifteen Cadets will attend schools: airborne (5), air assault (7), and Cadet Field Training (3).  Three Cadets will do overseas CTLT in Germany, Korea, and Alaska. 

Distinguished Military Student Review Weekend will be 9-11 Sep.  We’re planning to make this a Cadet Alumni Weekend event.  More info to follow, but would really be happy if you could join us for some of the events. 

Georgia Gold, American Treasure development initiative, the first fundraising effort in the history of UNG for the sole benefit of the Corps of Cadets, launched during Alumni Weekend 2016.  With a goal of $93,145,000, the vision of the initiative is to “Secure and strengthen the Corps of Cadets at the University of North Georgia”. For more information contact Phil Collins, phil.collins@ung.edu. Three priority areas are: Scholarships, Operational Support, and Facilities and Infrastructure.

The Institute for Leadership and Strategic Studies (ILSS) has decided to adapt the Army’s 21^st Century Soldier Competencies contained in TRADOC Pam 525-8-2, The U.S. Army Learning Concept, to our Corps of Cadets. A purpose of the ILSS is to ensure that academic and co-curricular programs are in place for Cadets to learn and practice these competencies.  The flyer is attached.

In January, UNG established a “Center for Cyber Operations Education” to provide more cyber-related educational opportunities for our Cadets.  We also applied to become a National Security Agency/Department of Homeland Security Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense. Our application has been accepted, and the next step is an on-site visit by the NSA/DHS grant team.  We have also joined a consortium of colleges and universities that offer the Army Cyber Institute’s “Cyber Leader Development Program” for Cadets who are interested in commissioning into the Army’s Cyber Branch.

Colonel Ron Stephens has been selected to promotion to brigadier general.  He’s a graduate of UNG, Magna Cum Laude in chemistry, commissioned Medical Service Corps, and later completed medical school at the Medical College of Georgia under the Health Professions Scholarship Program.  He attended UNG on the Georgia Military Scholarship. Congratulations!

MG William K. Gayler, a 1988 graduate of the University of North Georgia (UNG), was appointed the commanding general for the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker, Alabama. He previously served as the deputy commanding general, U.S. Army Europe, and commander, U.S. Army NATO.

On the international front, since the beginning of the new year, we’ve sent Cadets to conferences in Japan, Latvia, Republic of Georgia, Boston, and VMI.  We also have Cadets in study abroad or internships in Italy, Taiwan, France, China, Germany and Bulgaria.  Our leadership traveled to South Africa, Estonia and South Korea to explore partnerships with military academies. 

UNG is expecting to commission fifty-six Cadets on 16 May and more in August.  We anticipate commissioning around 90 Cadets this year. 

Dahlonega Campus Alumni Weekend will be 22-24 April 2016 (Recall).  The Honorable Debra Wada, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) tentatively plans to run with the Corps of Cadets on Saturday morning at 0800, attend 5^th Ranger Training Battalion Open House on Saturday, and speak at Sunday’s Corps of Cadets Military Awards review at 1400 on the drill field.  Recall details are available here:  https://ungalumni.org/aw

A UNG alumni event was held on 12 March at Ft. Bragg, graciously hosted by LTG Steve and Melissa Townsend.  The 82d Abn Chorus provided entertainment, and fun was had by all.  About 50 alumni attended, many of whom were younger alumni, including lieutenants and captains.  Thank you, General Townsend!

The Institute for Leadership and Strategic Studies (ILSS) has decided to adapt the Army 21^st Century Soldier Competencies contained in TRADOC Pam 525-8-2, The U.S. Army Learning Concept, to our Corps of Cadets. A purpose of the ILSS is to ensure that academic and co-curricular programs are in place for Cadets to learn and practice these competencies.  The competency flyer is attached.

In January, UNG established a “Center for Cyber Operations Education” to provide more cyber-related educational opportunities for our Cadets.  We also applied to become a NSA/DHS Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense. Our application has been accepted, and the next step is an on-site visit by the NSA/DHS grant team.  We have also joined a consortium of colleges and universities that offer the Army Cyber Institute’s “Cyber Leader Development Program” for Cadets who are interested in commissioning into the Army’s Cyber Branch.

Colonel Ron Stephens has been selected to promotion to brigadier general.  He’s a graduate of UNG Magna Cum Laude in chemistry, commissioned Medical Service Corps, and later completed medical school at the Medical College of Georgia under the Health Professions Scholarship Program.  He attended UNG on the Georgia Military Scholarship. 

Since the beginning of the New year, we’ve sent Cadets to conferences in Japan, Latvia, Republic of Georgia, Boston, and VMI.  We also have four Cadets studying in China.  Our leadership traveled to South Africa, Estonia and South Korea to explore partnerships with military academies. 

Fifty-two Cadets will commission on 16 May and in August.  We anticipate commissioning around 90 Cadets this year. 

Dahlonega Campus Alumni Weekend will be 22-24 April 2016.  Details will be available here soon:  https://ungalumni.org/