Army ROTC Cadets listening to Brigadier General Gil Ferguson speech at the Spring 2023 AROTC Commissioning Ceremony on May 12, 2023. Photo courtesy of Aaron Sager.
The Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (Golden Buffalo Battalion – Alpha Company) commissioned eleven CU-Boulder graduates as officers into the U.S. Army at a ceremony held on Friday, May 12, 2023, in the Old Main Chapel on campus. The ceremony took place in-person at 10:00 a.m. and was also presented via a Zoom Meeting for those friends and family members that were unable to attend.
Cadet Brendon Himes (MSIII) led as the emcee for the mornings event along with assistance from Cadet Claire Fleckenstein (MSII). The AROTC A-Company Senior Assistant Professor of Military Science (SrAPMS), Captain Chris Head was the officer in charge of the commissioning event. Lieutenant Colonel Bryce Kawaguchi began the ceremony with a few opening remarks.
Brigadier General Lawrence “Gil” Ferguson, currently serves as the Deputy Commanding General (Operations) for the 1st Special Forces Command at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, delivered the keynote address on Friday. And less than 20 minutes later, his son Lawrence Ferguson, Jr. became the second, Second Lieutenant to recite the Oath of Commissioned Officers.
Ten Cadets getting ready to be commissioned as Second Lieutenant’s into the U.S. Army on May 12, 2023. Photo courtesy of the Golden Buffalo Battalion.
In his address, BG Ferguson brought up the importance of family support for the students. And how the military these days is a family run business with 80% of members having relatives who served. He followed up with some advice to the soon to be Second Lieutenant’s. His advice was to always be open to learning new things and it’s okay to ask for help when you need it. Your troops don’t expect you to know everything on day one. But you have to earn the respect of those new troops they will soon be leading. Take care of your people. He stressed that each Second Lieutenant must invest the time to get to know the people under them. Under no circumstances can this be faked. And you will make mistakes. But if you do not own up to them and learn from them, then you will never have the full respect of your unit.
Four Cadets were sworn in by a ranking friend or family member and the other six Cadets were sworn in as Second Lieutenants with the Oath of Office being administered by LTC Kawaguchi. After the oath for each 2LT, they had their rank pinned onto their uniform by chosen family members or friends. And the final act of commissioning was to give the first “Silver Dollar Salute” to a Non-Commissioned Officer of their choosing.
The ten Cadets that are now officially Second Lieutenant’s in the United States Army, are as follows (alphabetical order):
1. 2LT Matthew Brocklander – from Thornton, Colorado, majored in Finance and commissioned into Transportation Corps
2. 2LT Jack Fanikos – from Andover, Massachusetts, majored in Classics and commissioned into Field Artillery
3. 2LT Lawrence Ferguson, Jr. – from Fayetteville, North Carolina, majored in English and commissioned into Field Artillery
4. 2LT Jared Gervasi – from Hingham, Massachusetts, majored in Marketing and commissioned into Infantry
5. 2LT Kyle Johnson – from Aurora, Colorado, majored in Integrative Physiology and commissioned into Armor
6. 2LT Sloan Lorino – from Huntersville, North Carolina, majored in Communications and commissioned into Ordnance
7. 2LT Ethan Martin – from Seoul, South Korea, majored in Environmental Studies and commissioned into Adjutant General Corps
8. 2LT Eric Misak – from San Diego, California, majored in Communications and commissioned into Field Artillery
9. 2LT Killian Picard – from San Diego, California, majored in Political Science and commissioned into Quartermaster
10. 2LT Carter Sussman – from Ambler, Pennsylvania, majored in Communications and commissioned into Quartermaster
Congratulations to our new Second Lieutenants. May your new experiences with the U.S. Army be as rich and fulfilling as they were here at CU-Boulder.
Army ROTC Spring 2023 Commissionees [from left to right]: 2LT Martin, 2LT Sussman, 2LT Johnson, 2LT Gervasi, 2LT Misak (behind to left), 2LT Fanikos, 2LT Lorino, 2LT Picard, 2LT Ferguson, and 2LT Brocklander. Photo courtesy of Aaron Sager.