Cadre members in Army ROTC are a group of commissioned and non-commissioned officers of an Army unit (this case being the Nittany Lion Battalion) in which they are responsible for the training and overall leadership of that unit. In our battalion, the cadre practically holds the position of being professors for military science classes, sharing their knowledge and wisdom throughout the battalion, and so much more. The cadre is looked up to in so many aspects, they live(d) and do(ne) the job that us cadets desire to do ourselves one day. At the Nittany Lion Batallion headquarters in University Park, there is cadre that teaches for each military level, as well as other head positions such coordinators.
Now I won’t go through all the cadre members because there are several, but I will go through a couple of the members.
CPT (Captain) April Santos:
As a child, CPT Santos knew she wanted to be in the Army, as her brothers were in the Texas National Guard. Inspired at a young age, CPT Santos at 18-years old took a leap of faith and left for Army basic training in secrecy from her parents. She then chose to go through an ROTC program that has led her to this path as a U.S. Army Officer. This journey only got more impressive as she graduated ROTC/college and followed her dreams and became an Army aviation officer. CPT Santos is known for flying Blackhawks and being a true Texan. CPT Santos is an instructor for MSL 1 which is the freshman class.
Mr. Rizzo:
Now Mr. Rizzo isn’t technically a cadre member, but he is indeed part of the staff and a big part of our program. He works as our scholarship and enrollment officer, so practically every cadet has been in contact with him at some point. Mr. Rizzo is an active member of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, so many of us cadets have experienced receiving automatic reply emails apologizing for him being at training and such. Cadets constantly joke with Mr. Rizzo, at dining-in (formal dinner) the freshman class’ skit dropped a joke saying Mr. Rizzo is practically the “frat boy” or “Chad” of the staff, which was meant in a humorous manner. Mr. Rizzo reaches out to high schoolers, interested college students, and many others, in hopes to recruit a steady flow of good cadets into our program.
Although this list is short, I hope this gave you an idea of the great men and women that work behind the scenes and in the classrooms to make our program as successful as it has been.
I didn’t realize how big the ROTC program at Penn State was. It’s really interesting learning more about how it works and who runs the show.
This is very interesting. I have almost no knowledge of how the ROTC is ran, and this is the first I’m hearing of a cadre. I think it is so inspiring to read about CPT Santos’s couragous decision to go to Army basic training camp in secrecy from her parents. Mr. Rizzo sounds like a really fun guy. The ROTC people behind the scenes and in the classrooms seem extremely dedicated and hard working.
Through your writing, I can see that the Army ROTC is a tight bunch. It is interesting to read about personal stories or events, which show that the cadets still joke around while getting their business done! Reading about Cpt Santos and her accomplishments is very impressive, given that she flies Blackhawks.