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 Page 2 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 Page 3 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 Page 4 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 Page 5 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 Page 7 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.
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