MARQUETTE, Mich.—Eleven cadets from Northern Michigan University’s ROTC Wildcat Battalion have secured professional development opportunities this summer. These are in addition to the 11 cadets attending the Leader Development and Assessment Course or Army schools such as Airborne or Air Assault training.

            “All of these cadet professional development (CPD) selections were very competitive, said Lt. Col. Kyle Rambo, commander of the Wildcat Battalion. “This is the largest number of seats we have ever earned and reflects the quality of the NMU cadets selected and the efforts of their cadre.”

The cadets and their CPD summer assignments, each of which lasts a month, are (listed by hometown, with Michigan first):

Michigan

Alpena: John Owens will attend Airborne school at Fort Benning, Ga.

Burton: Thomas Molteni will attend Airborne school at Fort Benning, Ga.

Greenville: Garett Schoenfelder, who participates in the simultaneous membership program by serving with the Soo National Guard unit while attending ROTC classes, will go to Togo for a Cultural Understanding and Language Proficiency (CULP) program. He will work with the Togo Military Academy as part of the Army Security Cooperation Plan and also serve as a cultural educator.

Grosse Pointe: Nick Ireland will participate with the Cadet Troop Leader Training program at Fort Bliss, Texas. He most likely will train with the Infantry and Armor Division and get better acquainted with its operations, ranges and training in the Texas desert.

Lake Orion: Stephanie Roberts, a nursing major, will participate in the CULP program in Moldova. She will organize and deploy with a provisional medical team assisting Moldovian citizens and soldiers.

Lansing: Chelsea Farquhar, a nursing major, will go to Airborne school while also studying at the U.S. Army’s South American and Latin American Studies and Spheres of Influence Academy at Fort Benning, Ga. Last summer, she had the opportunity to participate in the Leadership Development and Assessment Course. She competes for NMU in Division II cross country and indoor track and field.

Marquette:  Samuel Zyburt will participate with the Cadet Troop Leader Training program at Fort Irwin, Calif. He will train and operate with mechanized infantry units in the Mojave Desert.

Ravenna: Emily Allen will lead an educational and medical team in Guyana, beginning in June. She was recognized as the top cadet in NMU’s brigade, which earned her the CULP assignment in greatest demand. Allen will also attend Airborne school. Allen competes for NMU in Division II cross country and track and field.

Royal Oak: Tyler Ratton was one of only a few cadets nationwide selected to conduct research and analysis for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in San Francisco, Calif.  His topic of research is classified as secret.

Florida

Key West: Brett Dehanas, whose classification is Military Science (MS) III, will participate in Cadet Troop Leader Training at Fort Bragg, N.C., to see how the Army and Airborne community operate and train.

Missouri

Republic: Twins Benjamin Carlson and MacKenzie Carlson will both venture beyond U.S. borders this summer. Benjamin, who is studying biology with an emphasis in physiology, will travel to Lithuania to work with a NATO partner and Lithuanian Military Academy for the CULP program. MacKenzie, a nursing major and Wildcat Battalion color guard captain, will study at the U.S. Army’s South American and Latin American Studies and Spheres of Influence Academy at Fort Benning, Ga.

Wisconsin

Milwaukee:  Preston Mozingo will attend Air Assault School, where he will learn and participate in helicopter operations.

Stevens Point: Daniel Lee will go to Latvia with CULP and the Michigan National Guard. He will work with the Latvia military in its conversion from a Soviet Doctrine-based military to a Western, NATO member country military. Lee is working toward a criminal justice degree at NMU.