ROTC
Creating Scholars, Athletes and Leaders

The ROTC battalion leadership judges their cadets on academics, athletics and leadership.

“Coming to Florida Tech has taught me a lot of self discipline—physically and mentally,” said Megan Burns, a sophomore who already has her private pilot’s license. As an aeronautical science major, accruing flight time, the Andover, Conn. resident takes up to 20 credits a semester. “So,” she added, “I also had to learn time management.”

Florida Tech’s Panther Battalion has long been known as one of the most challenging and disciplined battalions in the region. Historically and, since 2000 under the leadership of Lt. Col. Thomas L. Tate, the battalion earns top honors whenever it competes.

Completing his four-year tour of duty at Florida Tech this year, Tate will be leaving his post as director of ROTC and professor of military science on a high note.

Last fall, after placing first of eight teams in Central Florida, the battalion finished first in its tier and third overall in the Seminole Brigade Ranger Challenge Competition. The Panthers competed in a field of 20 Florida and Georgia teams at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Ga.

“The Ranger Challenge is Army ROTC’s varsity sport and the Seminole Brigade Ranger Challenge is the equivalent of the Sugar Bowl,” said Cadet LTC Jesse Rostveit, senior and battalion commander.

Cadets test mental toughness and physical endurance. They compete in events including: weapon assembly and disassembly; marksmanship; combat patrolling; a hand grenade assault course and a grueling 10K “ruck-run.” In this competition, cadets race carrying a 30-lb. rucksack.

Just the previous summer, Panther Battalion cadets ranked first in the pivotal National Advanced Leadership (NALC) training. The annual event, which took place in Ft. Lewis, Wash., brought together 21 Georgia-Florida region schools that offer Army ROTC. All cadets must complete NALC.

The NALC tests cadets’ physical fitness, rifle marksmanship, land navigation and water survival skills. Florida Tech’s success placed it in the top 10 percent nationally, of 270 participating schools.

“The NALC is the most important block of training in the career of the Army cadet. It challenges them physically, mentally and emotionally for 32 days,” said Tate.
ROTC directors like Tate seek students not just for their grades, SAT scores and extracurricular activities. “We look for young men and women who are scholars, athletes and leaders. They have to know how to accept responsibility and lead from the front,” said Tate.

Michelle Collazo, a junior cadet from Dorado, Puerto Rico and molecular biology major, said that Army discipline was one thing that attracted her to ROTC.

“I like the drills, the attention to detail and the structure,” she said. “ROTC is confidence-building and teaches mutual respect.”

Responsibility as a team leader while a Florida Tech freshman taught her teamwork and to communicate better, she said. “You have to adapt to all different kinds of personalities. What I’ve learned in ROTC I apply to team class projects and intramural football.”

Rostveit agreed. As battalion commander, he’s responsible for between 80 and 90 cadets. “I can’t think of any better course in human resource management than being in ROTC,” he said.

Preparing the future leadership of the U.S. Army is a satisfying task for Tate.

“It’s rewarding to see kids—especially those just out of high school—mature into responsible adults. I feel fortunate to help prepare them to take on the challenges they will encounter as junior officers and in their chosen careers.”

Karen Rhine