The Islander Battalion Page 3 Our Team Talk MVP`s of the TAMU

Our Team Talk
Page 2
TAMU-CC in
April
The Islander
Battalion
Page 3
Greetings to Islander Alumni, Islander Cadre, and the
Islander Battalion, this is the first official Islander
newsletter, The Frago. In The Frago upcoming events
within the Islander Battalion will be presented for the
month, and information regarding the Islander Battalion
team events, the TAMU-CC campus events, and Corpus
Christi events. This will include team performances, team
competitions, Battalion volunteer events, university events
and Battalion mission accomplishments. I would greatly
like to thank all our readers for the interest in The Frago
newsletter many more are to come with great upcoming
events in our community.
Page 3
Mission Accomplished
Page 4-6
Signed Cadet Aurora Alejos
MVP’s of the
Month
Page 7 & 8
THE FRAGO
Volume 1, Issue 2
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Our Team Talk
The Color Guard’s mission is to present and honor our nation’s colors and
the symbols of freedom for which they stand. The Color Guard’s role in the
battalion is to present the colors at organizational events within the
community.
Upcoming events:
7 April 2015; Event: Islander Tribute located in the TAMUCC OCNR 135 @
1800
24 April 2015; Event: Military Ball located in NAS Catalina Club @ 1700
14 May 2015; Event: Hooding Ceremony located in the TAMUCC PAC @
1830, others will be announced as the semester continues.
The Drill Team’s mission is to develop selected Islander Battalion cadets to
exceed far beyond the minimal standard in aspects of physical fitness, various
soldier tasks and skills, and leadership; while Inspiring Past, Present, and
Future members of the Islander Battalion and the TAMU-CC Campus at
large. The Drill Team is a perfect team to join if you want to learn basic
Army regulation, exhibition rifle movements and travel throughout Texas and
the US.
Moto: To Inspire, with Discipline, for Honor
Upcoming Events:
18 April 2015; Event Island Day located at TAMU-CC Campus @ 0900
02- 05 May 2015; Event College Nationals located in Daytona Beach, FL
Koa Mano: In the process of seeking perfection we achieve excellence. Koa
Mano’s is a goal oriented organization. Koa Mona takes pride in appearance,
behavior and character. If you are looking for a hobby, or to join a local
school club, we are not merely a club but a lifestyle. The Koa Mano team
trains and competes in the Annual Ranger Challenge, a challenge that tests
your team’s physical and mental strength. If you like real challenges, try out
Koa Mano.
Motto: "Integrity first, service before self, excellence in all we do!!!"
Our mission is simple, 4.0 GPA, 300 APFT scores.
Next event will be next year in the Fall Semester.
Airsoft Team: The objective for the TAMUCC ROTC Airsoft team is to tune
cadet’s tactical sense, raise money for the battalion, and give the local
community support in the means of fundraisers. Using Airsoft rifles and the
skills taught in the Islander ROTC, the Airsoft team competes in local events
and events around the US hosted by the Third Coast Airsoft (TCA). The team
also hosts events in the community. If you are a “get down and dirty” kind of
person this is the right team for you.
Upcoming events:
No events are scheduled for the month of April. Events will be announced as
the semester continues.
Volume 1, Issue 2
THE FRAGO
Battalion in the
Month
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TAMU-CC
In the Month
These are this month’s events happening in the Islander
Battalion; these events are hosted and assisted by the
Islander Battalion.
These are this month’s events happening in and around
campus; these events are hosted by TAMU-CC and maybe
accompanied by the Islander Battalion.
11 April 2015- Islander Track Meet
This track meet is hosted by TAMU-CC and is judged by
the Islander Battalion. We will be involved in all running
and field events. We will be conducting and assisting with
judging, as well as setting up the track meet.
Fri, April 03, 2015 – Film Festival
The Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Department of
Art will be projecting films by legendary female film
makers on the outside walls of K Space Contemporary on
Friday, April 3, starting at sundown. K Space
Contemporary is located at 415 Starr St. #D in downtown
Corpus Christi. This event is free and open to the public.
For more information, contact Rachel Holman at
361.825.3756.
14 April 2015- Walk a Mile in Her Shoes
Women’s Center for Education and Service at Texas
A&M University-Corpus Christi will hold its second
“Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, International Men’s March to
Stop Rape, Sexual Assault, and Gender Violence” on
Thursday, April 29, beginning at 5:30 p.m. outside of the
University Center next to the Science and Technology
Plaza.
17 April 2015- La Copa LTX
This training event is for the MSIII who are attending
Cadet Leadership Course (CLC) in the summer. Other
cadets that will also be attending for weapon training and
familiarization are the MS IIs and MS Is that are
contracted and other scholarship cadets.
18 April 2015- Wings over Texas
This event is a flight demonstration of different kinds of
aircrafts including The Blue Angels representing the
United States Navy and Marine Corps. Cadets will be
attending and recruiting at this event.
24 April 2015 Awards Ceremony
This end of the school year award ceremony will be held
at Corpus Christi Hall, Rm 118 @ 0800. Several Cadets
are expected to receive awards for their hard work and
dedication to the program.
Sat, April 11, 2015 – Literacy Award Luncheon
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi’s Student Reading
Council will honor University alumna Dr. Tammy Francis
Donaldson at its annual Literacy Award Luncheon in the
University Center, Anchor Ballroom. Tickets are available
for $20 and must be reserved in advance by contacting
[email protected]. The goal of the Student Reading
Council is to promote literacy in our community and serve
as a network group between current and future educators.
This event is open to the public. For more information,
contact Tiana Pearce at [email protected].
Thu, April 23, 2015 – San Antonio Fiesta
Join the Fiesta San Antonio festivities with the Texas
A&M University-Corpus Christi Islander Alumni
Association. The Alumni Fiesta will be held at 6 – 8 p.m.
at La Paloma on the San Antonio River Walk, 215
Losoya. The event is free and open to Islander Alumni and
guests. Come enjoy a good time on the River Walk
complete with free food, cash bar, and great company. For
more information, contact Islander Alumni Relations at
361.825.5787.
25 April 2015-Military Ball
The Islander Battalion will host this year’s annual Military
Ball at the NAS Catalina Club, starting at 1700. This ball
is celebrating the success of the 2014- 2015 school year,
while following in time-honored traditions of the Islander
Battalion. This ball is a formal dining event, followed
by dancing and fun.
Want to find more events going on this month visit the
TAMU-CC events page. http://eventslist.tamucc.edu/
THE FRAGO
Volume 1, Issue 2
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Islander Challenge
7 March 2015— This past month was a very eventful month for the
Islander Battalion, the Islanders hosted the 6th Annual Islander
Challenge. The year’s event brought 26 high school JROTC teams, ready
and excited for the challenges to come. They would be led by our very
own Islander cadets through 2 phases of challenges; the Presidential
Challenge and the Teneo Challenge. The Presidential Challenge consisted
of 1 minute push-ups, 1 minute sit-ups, and a 1- mile run. The winning
team was Winston Churchill High School in San Antonio. The next phase
of the challenge was the Teneo Challenge which consisted of orienteering
on momentum, an Obstacle Course on our beach front, the Commander’s
Challenge, the rope bridge challenge, the Humvee vehicle push, and the
equipment carry and ruck all taking place throughout the island. The
JROTC cadets and Islander Lane Runners ran against time to complete all
the challenges. The team that complete each challenge most efficiently
and in the least amount of time would claim the Overall Champion of the
6th Islander Challenge the team that took the cake this year was Winston
Churchill High School in San Antonio. They did fantastic in this
challenge; Winston Churchill claimed first in 3 of the six events including
Presidential Challenge, Commander’s Challenge, and Orienteering. Other
teams that claimed firsts were Douglas MacArthur High School in San
Antonio in our beach front obstacle course and Rope Bridge, and Roy
Miller High School in Corpus Christi in the Humvee vehicle push. All the
teams competed well, teams learned that they could push themselves to
new limits, and learned the meaning of team work. We hope to see them
again next year.
Cadet Guillenwaters motivating his team
in the Presidential Challenge
Cadet Ramirez motivating JROTC cadets
in the Obstacle Course
Here are some of the Lane Runners
hanging out, and having some lunch.
Cadet Pablo posing with his team
right before attempting the Obstacle
Course
Cadet Carrizales motivating
her team in the Humvee push
THE FRAGO
Volume 1, Issue 2
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The Big Event
In this photo Cadets Maldonado and Urbina are
pulling out weeds in one of homes.
Cadets Maldonado and Urbina pulling
out weeds at ----
28 March 2015— The Big Event is a Student Volunteer
Connection (SVC) hosted event, executed nationwide.
Colleges all over the nation participate in this city wide
volunteering event where organizations and individuals can
work together to make someone’s living environment better
within the community. This was the first year the Islander
Battalion has participated in The Big Event, and they lead the
wave. The Islander Battalion was tasked out to clean two
locations, Mrs. Castillo on Angela Dr. and Mrs. Castro on
Halsey Rd. both were local senior citizens’ homes. These
homes were yards that needed a total makeover from the
Islander Cadets. The cadets worked with tools provided by the
SVC and the residents of the homes. With time, hard work and
motivation our cadets changed forest-like lawns into organized
and clutter free backyards. The Islanders had fun and learned a
valuable lesson “If you aren’t helping someone, why are you
here…?” words from the speaker of The Big Event. Thank you
to all the Islander Cadets that helped out in this event.
These are all the cadets that participated in The Big
Event and resident, Mrs. Castillo.
In these photos before (top photos) and after (right bottom)
shots of Mrs. Castillo’s property, along with some cadets for
scale
We also have Cadet Alejos throwing some garbage away. (Left
bottom)
In this photo Cadet Marrou is relocating a tree to
place it deeper into the ground.
Volume 1, Issue 2
THE FRAGO
Page 6
MS4 Staff Ride
Cadet Weber is poking his head out of an M1 Abrams Tank.
Cadets are learning about the 25mm Lannor for the Bradley
Fighting Vehicle.
LOFT STEM Symposium
25 April 2015- This Islander Battalion hosted
and participated in this year’s LOFT (Latinos on the
Fast Track) STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics) Symposium. This event is sponsored
by The Hispanic Heritage Foundation; they invited
promising high school students from in and around the
Corpus Christi area. This special symposium
showcased the benefits of attending college, pursuing
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
degrees and participating in Army ROTC. This
symposium’s theme revolved around leadership and
what it means to be a leader in todays and World.
Students learned the importance of attending college,
students also learned how they could afford college,
and informed them that college is not out of reach for
financially challenged individuals. Our own Lieutenant
Coronel Harvey was one of the panels of professionals
leading the symposium, encouraging students and
answered students’ questions. The Drill Team also
performed for the opening ceremony, to add excitement
and fun to the symposium. Special thanks to the Cadre,
cadets and the Drill team for assisting with the
symposium, we hope that students found this helpful
and this inspires students to attend college.
26 March 2015- The MS IV Staff took the
annual Staff Ride down to Fort Hood Texas, to
the Warrior Skills Training Center. Our upper
classmen conducted site familiarization for the
Combat out Post (COP) Keating defensive
training. They conducted COP Keating defensive
training with simulations attacks. In these
simulations they had virtual figures they had to
recognize as civilians or enemies. Our MS 4’s
also received some training from Junior Officers
from 1-5 CAV, 2 BCT. 1st cavalry division, .
They had the chance to see inside of an M1
Abrams Tanks, and learn about the 25 mm
Lannor for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. While
at Fort Hood the MS 4’s also received some great
knowledge that will help them in their career as
Army Officers.
The Drill Team reportout for the opening of
the symposium (Top)
Lieutenant Colonel
Harvey is introducing
the drill team and the
Symposium. (Left)
Volume 1, Issue 2
THE FRAGO
Page 6
MVPs of the Month
11 March 2015- Cadet Garcia is our
most recently contracted cadet.
As an MS3 he is 1st Platoon
Leader. He is also one of our
very dedicated Nursing cadets.
He has reached an important
momentous achievement in his
future career. This summer he
will be attending the Cadet
Leadership Course. Good luck
and great job.
30 March 2015- Cadet Reyes attended The George C.
Marshall (GCM) Leadership and Awards Seminar. The
George
C. Marshall (GCM) Leadership and Awards
`
Seminar is the United States Army Cadet Command’s
(USACC) premier capstone leader development event.
Each year, USACC sends its top Cadet from each of its
275 SROTC programs to attend the two-day seminar.
These Cadets are exposed to senior Army leadership
and participate in roundtable discussions on current
national security topics. This year’s seminar is located
in Ft. Leavenworth, KS and is a partnership between
the Combined Arms Center (CAC), Center of Army
Leadership (CAL) and the George C. Marshall
Foundation. The goals for this year’s seminar were to
promote a “One Corps of Cadets”, strengthen our
partnership with USMA, CAC and CAL and to expose
our Cadets to the Army’s premier leadership training
center.
22 April 2015- Cadet Weber has
been selected to attend the
Mission Command
Conference located at
United States Military
Academy in West Point,
NY. This year’s
conference‘s theme is
“Building Trust in Today’s
Army”, this year’s speaker
is LTG Robert Brown
(CAC Commander). Some
activities that will be
conducted are Leader- toLeader Challenges, a
Mission Command panel of
presentations and group
discussions. Congrats to
Cadet Weber.
31 March- 2 April 2015- The first week of April, the
Islander battalion dedicated a week to the traditions
of our battalion, Pride Week. Pride week is a battle
amongst the platoons, ending with the last
Battalion run of the year. While one platoon
conducted either workout the other platoon would
conduct the opposite workout. 1st and 2nd platoon
competed in the Melin Workout and Rifle PT. The
Melin Workout consisted of 5 different stations
along with a lovely tour of our car garage and its
stairs. The platoon with the fastest overall time
won the Melin Workout Streamer. The platoon that
took the streamer was 1st Platoon. The next day
was the Rifle PT, to start off the day we took a tour
of the hike and bike and conducted 4 different
stations with rifles. The Platoon that took the
steamer was 1st Platoon. We ended the week with a
Battalion run on Ocean Drive. Our cadets showed
their pride, good job cadets.
Volume 1, Issue 2
THE FRAGO
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MVPs of the Month
Summer of 2015- A handful of
Cadets has been chosen to
attend summer training
camps including Cadet Initial
Entry Training (CIET),
Cultural Understanding and
Language Proficiency
(CULP), and Cadet
Leadership Course (CLC).
These cadets have been in
trusted to represent the
Islander Battalion. These
Cadets include:
CIET
Foster, Tyris
Thompson, Luke
Alejos, Aurora
Parlamas, Stephanie
Savana, Daniel
02 April 2015- Another big
achievement from our own
Cadets Reyes was his Award of
Greek Man of the Year, for Beta
Theta Pi, a fraternity built to
develop men of principle for a
principled life. Cadet Reyes is
the Fraternity’s President and
dedicated member to the
Islander Battalion and Beta
Theta Pi. Congrats to Cadet
Reyes
13 March 2015-Cadet Alejos
received the battalion coin for
being recognized by the JROTC
cadre, they were very impressed
with the hard work and
dedication she put in to Islander
Challenge. This team ran the
whole challenge at a quick pace,
they finished the challenge first,
but didn’t receive first place
overall, but good job to her, and
her team.
Some highlighted Events of the Past
2014-2015 Year:
28 March: The Big Event
13-14 March: Spring Break Track
Meet
7 March: Islander Challenge
20 Feb: Science Fair Volunteering
event
07 Feb: Islander Day Volunteering
event
07 Feb: Cadet Club Sponsored Back
to School Bonfire
02 Feb: Cadet Club sponsored
Valentine’s Day Fundraising
20 Jan: Islander Warrior Day
13 Dec: Drill Team’s first Drill
Competition
14-15 Nov: LTX- La Copa Ranch
CULP
Abraham, Charles
Colton, Allison
Cho, Junsung
Weber, Weldon
Ryan, Guillenwaters
13 March 2015- Islander Cadets
conducted the Army Physical
Fitness Test (APFT). All the cadets
tried their best, and these are the
cadets that managed to get a 290 or
above on their APFTs:
MS 1’s:
CDT Dominguz
CDT Pablo
CDT Saenz
300
290
300
MS 2’s:
CDT Alejos
CDT Wang
300
300
MS 3’s
CDT Weber
CDT Douriso
CDT Peter
294
291
291
CLC
Abraham, Charles
Aranda, Nathan
Auclair, Lisa
Bell, Reed
Baldwin, Jose
Cho, Junsung
Connell, Matthew
Farris, Ryan
Frandsen, Zachary
Garcia, Alexander
Pernell, Michael
Peter, Ryan
Shutak, Stephanie
Uresti, Mark
Weber, Weldon
Good luck to these cadets over the
summer.