Brigadier Gen. Wilbur Wolf (Ret.), a WVU alumnus, speaks at the 2015 ROTC commissioning ceremony.
WHAT: Six West Virginia University Army ROTC Cadets will be commissioned as second lieutenants during a December ceremony.
WHEN: Thursday (Dec. 14), 3 p.m.
WHERE: WVU Mountainlair, Mountaineer Room
WHO: Retired Army Lt. Col. Mitch McCoy, a WVU Army ROTC grad, will deliver the commissioning address. Lt. Col. McCoy had military career that encompassed more than 20 years of service as a logistician in the Army Reserve, National Guard, and on active duty. He was deployed for several operations in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq, but moved back to the Morgantown area this fall.
Maj. Donald Kirk, Professor of Military Science, and Master Sgt. Jeff Ladisic, Senior Military Instructor, will present the Cadets for commissioning.
Those being commissioned on Dec. 14 are:
• Kevin Grauel (Forest Park HS, Montclair, Virginia), B.S. Civil Engineering, Active Duty - Corps of Engineers
• Derek Hamman (Pocahontas County HS/Marlinton), B.S. Civil Engineering, Active Duty - Aviation
• Jay Koepfle II (Archbishop Moeller HS, Mason, Ohio), B.S. Business Administration, Active Duty - Transportation Corps
• James Mason (N. Harford HS, Churchville, Maryland), B.S. Journalism, WV Army National Guard - Signal Corps
• Terrence Parks (Gonzaga HS, Hyattsville, Maryland), B.A. Criminology, Active Duty - Chemical Corps
• Kyle Wall (Jefferson Township HS, Oak Ridge, New Jersey), B.S. Electrical Engineering, Active Duty - Infantry
BACKGROUND: Army ROTC is a four-year progressive leadership development program. During classes, leadership labs, physical training and field training exercises, Cadets learn first-hand what it takes to lead others, motivate groups and conduct missions as an Officer in the United States Army. Upon graduation from WVU, Cadets receive a commission as Second Lieutenants in the U.S. Army on Active Duty, in the Army National Guard, or in the Army Reserve, and become leaders for life.
WVU’s ROTC program was recognized in 2007-08 as the best program in the Eastern Region of the United States and was subsequently awarded the General Douglas MacArthur Award.
This is the first group of what is anticipated to be as many as 21 lieutenants commissioning from Army ROTC this academic year. Five will transition into the active Army while one will continue to serve in the WV Army National Guard. Twenty-four Cadets were commissioned in 2016-17 academic year.
Pre-ceremony interviews with any of the newly commissioned officers can be arranged on an individual basis. The newly commissioned lieutenants will also be available for interviews after the ceremony.
-WVU-
CONTACT: John Dowling, WVU Army ROTC
304.685.7766; john.dowling@mail.wvu.edumailto:Lawrence.Perella@mail.wvu.edu
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