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Nine Niagara University ROTC cadets earn placement on National Order of Merit List

by jmaloni
Thu, Oct 11th 2012 08:50 am

With last week's results in from the 2013 Army Cadet Command Accessions Board, Niagara University's ROTC program continues to extend its distinguished record of achievement.

Nine cadets from the Second Brigade, Purple Eagle Battalion, made the National Order of Merit List by placing in the top 20 percent of competitors:

  • Andrew Burger (of Buffalo)

  • Adam Burns (North Tonawanda)

  • Kyler Dabolt (Varysburg)

  • Thomas Eggert (Lockport)

  • Skylar Fairchild (Trumansburg)

  • James Kemnitz (Mumford)

  • Matthew Mulvihill (Middletown)

  • Jaimee Schweigert (Canandaigua)

  • Marc Skill (Dayton, Ohio)

Only one other college placed more cadets among the top 20 percent.

In addition, Dabolt, No. 52, Schweigert, 77, and Eggert, 82, placed within the top 100 of all finishers. No other second brigade had more than one cadet among the top 100.

The Cadet Command Accessions Board meets annually to determine the order of merit list score of all 5,592 cadets that will graduate and commission from Oct. 1, 2012, through Sept. 30, 2013. The order of merit list places each of the cadets in relation to the others based on academic and leadership factors.

Following a 29-day training assessment, cadets are scored by their grade-point average, performance in a national leadership course and in specific leadership dimensions, observations made by ROTC instructor cadre and physical fitness test scores. The cadets are then given an overall rating of Excellent, Satisfactory or Needs Improvement.

Burger, Dabolt, Eggert, Mulvihill and Schweigert each earned Excellent ratings while Burns, Dabolt, Kerins and Sutton received Recondo Badges, which are granted to cadets with the highest levels of competence in military skills and abilities.

As a unit, the Purple Eagle Battalion scored a 280 on the physical fitness test, good for third among 41 programs in its brigade and 25th of 272 institutions nationwide.

"I have always tried to live by the motto 'deeds not words' and I believe that the measured metrics reinforce that Niagara University ROTC is as strong a program as there is in the Northeast," stated Lt. Col. Paul Dansereau, professor of military science. "The environment created at Niagara University by the faculty, staff and administrators as well as by my team's professionalism, provides the purpose, direction and motivation to the cadets to strive for excellence. I am very proud of their efforts and I believe they will pass along the skills and knowledge to continue to sustain the exemplary performance of the Niagara University ROTC program."

Niagara University's Army ROTC program is consistently ranked among the best in the country, garnering the No. 1 standing in the U.S. in 2004 for recruitment, retention and quality of training.

Military alumni of Niagara include two Medal of Honor recipients, Gen. William Donovan and Lt. John Bobo, and a humanitarian nominated for sainthood, Father Nelson Baker. Being in close proximity to Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station and the regional Military Entrance Processing Station, Niagara is responsive to the unique needs of military students, veterans and dependents.

Niagara University participates in the Department of Veterans Affairs GI Bill Yellow Ribbon Program, a provision of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008.

For more information on Niagara University's ROTC program, visithttp://purple.niagara.edu/rotc/.

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