Leader's Training Course

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For one Cadet, LTC a break from the markets

Posted on June 22, 2011 by PAO

Bravo Company Cadet Matthew Neuringer maneuvers through the tactical training this week. He is a second-year student at New York Law School and participates in ROTC at Fordham University. Photo by Dorothy Edwards/LTC PAO

By Thomas Gounley
Staff writer

At age 23, Matthew Nueringer, a Cadet in Bravo Company, is working full-time as an investment banker, goes to law school in the evenings, advises New York state Sen. Greg Ball and is already a veteran of two political campaigns of his own.

When it comes to having to take a 29-day break from his regular life to come to the Leader’s Training Course, he is likely the only one who can attribute his attendance to a characteristic of financial markets.

“Liquidity dries up in the summer,” Nueringer said. “Trading is down.”

Thanks to market activity at one-fourth of its typical levels, Nueringer managed to fit LTC into his busy schedule. Needless to say, with conversations like that, it’s safe to say his background makes him stand out.

“We don’t usually get lawyers, we don’t get financiers,” said Capt. Richard Gomez, assistant professor of military science and battalion recruiting officer for ROTC at Fordham University. “It’s great to see someone like this who just wants to serve.”

Gomez said Neuringer first contacted him expressing interest in the Army a year-and-a-half ago, as he was preparing to enter New York Law School. Neuringer graduated from Fordham in 2009, and New York Law partners with it for ROTC.

The Army first appeared on Nueringer’s radar when in 2007, at age 19, he ran for city council in his hometown of Southeast, N.Y., and lost by six votes to a retired Army colonel in the hotly-contested race.

“It was the highest voter turnout in the history of the town,” said Nueringer, whose campaign cost $250,000.

Nueringer’s interest really peaked, however, while working as a legislative director for Ball back when the latter was still a state assemblyman. As part of his job, Nueringer interacted with lots of veterans, helping to draft legislation on their behalf.

“You get a lot of respect for them, listening to their war stories,” he said. “Every one of them said it was the best decision they ever made.”

Nueringer’s desire to join the military also stems from his belief that, as a matter of integrity, politicians should have personal experience dealing with decisions they will make while in office.

“I think everyone who is in the position to send others into battle should put themselves in the position of the Soldier,” he said.

In Nueringer’s opinion, too many politicians today are “getting on-the-job training” to make informed decisions, rather than coming in prepared. A staunch conservative, Neuringer’s opinion on the subject extends to the economy as well.

“I did the finance thing for the same reason I’m doing the military,” he said.

Nuerringer is looking to put his law background into use as part of the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, more commonly known as JAG. And given the two races under his belt already, it is no surprise he is interested in getting into politics more in the future.

“My goal is to ultimately be in a position where I can alter the opinion the public has of their elected officials,” Nuerringer said, referring to several local instances of corrupt politicians.

For a man used to consistently being on the go, life at LTC has meant some adjustments. His schedule is still just as busy, but he’s not in control of it.

“It’s very different to have everything mapped out for you,” he said between bites of a spaghetti and meatball MRE during lunch Tuesday.

And things are different at Fort Knox than they are in Manhattan. Cadet Dan Mobilio, of East Shroudsburg University in Pennsylvania, knows Neuringer simply as his partner in navigating the day-to-day challenges of LTC.

“We’re sticking together,” said Mobilio, who is Neuringer’s battle buddy. “He’s been very reliable.”

LTC is Neuringer’s first real military experience, unlike some of his fellow Cadets. So despite the job titles he may hold at home in Manhattan, he finds himself looking up at them.

“They came here with a lot more knowledge,” he said. “It’s been a very humbling experience.”

Showing up for training, in lime green boots

Posted on June 17, 2011 by PAO

Cadet B.F. Hammons, wearing his lime green cowboy boots, stands out in his platoon formation after arriving at the Leader's Training Course. The airline Hammons flew to Kentucky lost his bags. Photo by Bobby Ellis/LTC PAO

By Thomas Gounley
Staff writer

It was Sunday, the first day of Leader’s Training Course for Alpha Company, and Cadet B.F. Hammons stood out for all the wrong reasons.

As drill sergeants gathered Cadets outside their barracks, while everyone else wore the required gray Army-branded T-shirts and shorts, along with non-descript tennis shoes, Hammons wore a solid blue shirt and non-standard black shorts.

But what really stood out was his footwear.

On his feet, Hammons wore a pair of brown and lime green cowboy boots, complete with blue and orange accents. They rose halfway up his calves. And with every drill sergeant he encountered, he went through the same ritual.

“They yelled at me,” said Hammons, who attends the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, which is in Belton, Texas. “ ‘What are you wearing? Where is your uniform?’ ”

The reason for Hammons’ delinquency was simple, and entirely out of his hands. Sunday morning, he caught a flight out of San Antonio en route to Fort Knox. He transferred in Chicago, but lost something along the way.

“The baggage handlers did not take one of my bags off the flight,” Hammons said.

As a result, when Hammons, who is part of the Army ROTC program at Tarleton State University in Texas, caught his flight to Louisville, his bag made an unscheduled trip to Detroit. Arriving at Fort Knox, Hammons was forced to make due with only those clothes he had with him. The boots, which he wore during the flights, were the only piece of footwear he had, and thus were what he wore while standing at attention outside.

“The boots were a gift from my girlfriend,” he said. “It’s her favorite color.”

A close-up of Hammons' boots. Photo by Bobby Ellis/LTC PAO

In addition to temporarily raising the ire of every cadre member he encountered, Hammons’ colorful boots also earned him the nickname “Tex” among his fellow Cadets. And one drill sergeant now calls him “Woody” in honor of Disney’s well-known cowboy.

When he got a chance to call home Sunday night, Hammons relayed the story of his first day to his girlfriend.

“She laughed at me,” he said. “She had no sympathy.”

Hammons eventually received his missing bag Sunday night, and fit in when Cadets met Monday morning. The Harper, Texas, native looked into Army ROTC as a way to help pay for college.

“This seemed like a great way to get scholarships,” he said Thursday as he and fellow Cadets did squad tactics training.

To his credit, Hammons’ battle buddy, Cadet Antonio Lopez, said he is “very friendly.” The two first talked Sunday evening, and Hammons is helping to ease Lopez’s transition to training.

“He’s helping me with my English,” said Lopez, who attends the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez.

Although he called the first couple days of training “informative,” Hammons is looking forward to less classroom instruction and more field exercises, particularly rappelling.

For the entirety of those exercises, Hammons’ feet will be clad in the standard light-brown combat boots issued by the Army. But his personal lime-green counterparts will be making a comeback.

He plans to wear them on his days off.

LTC kick-starting martial artist’s Army career

Posted on June 16, 2011 by PAO

Cadet Wendell Groudy covers his battle buddy in individual movement training Thursday during which Cadets learn how to work in teams to move across land while under fire. Photo by Heather Cortright/LTC PAO

By Sara Nahrwold
Staff writer

This summer, Alpha Company Cadet Wendell Grouby Jr. is combining the physical and mental skills he has learned over the nine years of tae kwon do with the skills of the Army.

“These guys are pushing you to be organized, to be disciplined, to be a great leader, to be loyal, respectful,” he said. “That’s the same thing you find in martial arts.”

When he leaves the Leader’s Training Course, he will travel to China in August to compete in an Olympic qualifier with the U.S. Virgin Islands Olympic tae kwon do team.

“China is a different place to compete, its definitely a place you don’t want to lose at,” he said. “When you get beat in China, they beat you bad so you want to make sure you don’t get your butt kicked.”

Grouby, who started in martial arts, has competed in Spain and won a bronze medal when he competed in another Olympic qualifier in the Dominican Republic..

Evworth Charles, his instructor of about 15 years, said Grouby is one of his most disciplined students.

“He knows what he wants,” Charles said. “He’s a hard worker and very dedicated. He’s the first to come to practice and the last to leave.”

Grouby was an instructor for one of Charles’s classes because he is one of the most qualified of his students.

“He relates to younger students, older students and is very good at communicating with others to get the technique across,” he said.

Grouby is attending the Leader’s Training Course for two reasons — to be part of the Army and for martial arts training.

“It’s a great opportunity for me to get experience here at LTC to condition myself,” he said. “It’s good to train with them until I get to train with my team back home.”

Although he’s only been at LTC less than a week, Grouby has learned a lot in the short time.

“I like that they emphasize teamwork, but not just teamwork,” he said. “I like that they always push you. I’m usually not the kind of person who makes a lot of mistakes, and since I’ve come here, I’ve made some mistakes and they discipline me for it big-time.”

Although yelled at from drill sergeants for doing wrong, Grouby’s strong mental focus from his martial arts background is useful when it comes to the Army.

“I’ve seen people who couldn’t break a twig but if you put them in the right set of mind, I’ve seen them break bricks,” he said. “The hardest thing and the best thing to do is to get in that right state of mind.”

Grouby said he picked up marital arts easier than most people, but it was still a challenge.

“Martial arts is a way of life,” he said. “It teaches you not only how to control your body, but how to control your mind and control your energy.”

Charles credits Grouby’s attitude toward tae kwon do to his success.

“He eats it, sleeps it, drinks it,” Charles said.

The master’s student in biomedicine at Florida Atlantic University is using the Army to help pay for his education and pursue his passions.

“I want to become an officer,” he said. “All my passions and dreams that I want to follow, LTC is an open door to pursue it.”

Grouby said tae kwon do is one of the military sports he could participate in and he would like to follow that path in his future.

“Its my dream to stay fit, stay academic and pursue both of my passions,” he said.

Cadet from Guam facing different LTC fear

Posted on June 14, 2011 by PAO

University of Guam Cadet Matthew Cabrera gets his mugshot taken for his military ID during in-processing for LTC's Alpha Company. Photo by Dorothy Edwards/LTC PAO

By Noelle Wiehe
Staff writer

Most every Cadet comes to the Leader’s Training Course with a fear. A fear of heights, a fear of water or a fear of having no control.

Matthew Cabrera’s biggest fear is letting down his fellow Cadets.

If the first few days of the course are any indication, that fear will be short-lived.

“Whenever I needed help with something, this was the first guy who was there to help me,” said Wendell Grouby Jr., Cabrera’s battle buddy in Alpha Company.

Cabrera, 22, endured a 17-hour flight Sunday from Guam — the longest trip made by any Alpha Company Cadet. He is the only Cadet in his company from the island.

Saipan, with a population of 70,000, is Cabrera’s home island. It is in the Northern Mariana Islands, a string of 15 islands that are a three-hour flight from major Asian cities such as Tokyo and Hong Kong.

One hurdle some Cadets attending the course from outside the mainland U.S. encounter is a language barrier. But Cabrera conquered that issue long ago when he attended a private high school that forbade students from speaking any language other than English.

“You would pretty much get punished,” he said. “They’d give you cleaning detail and all that.”

Last year, Cabrera moved to nearby Guam to attend the University of Guam, where he is majoring in marketing in hopes of going into public affairs after graduation.

In 1994, the University of Guam’s ROTC program was named the Triton Warrior Battalion to more appropriately convey the strength of these Cadets and cadre. That program is the main reason Cabrera chose to attend.

While Cabrera wishes there was a course like LTC closer to home, he is still optimistic about being a part of the training at Knox.

“I was looking at enlisting, and I wanted to give this thing a shot because I also wanted to finish my degree,” he said. “So I kind of wanted to kill two birds with one stone.”

He was encouraged to attend LTC by Cadets who attended in the past. His family influenced his decision as well.

“My dad’s brother, he’s a captain in Hawaii,” Cabrera said. “He’s been giving me a heads up on what to expect in the program.”

He also has cousins who are enlisted Soldiers, some of whom are stationed in Afghanistan. Most of Cabrera’s family is home waiting for him to return to Saipan, including his 3-year-old daughter, Miana.

“I’ve caught her sometimes saluting her mother,” he said, “or I’ll catch her saying ‘Hooah’ just out of nowhere.”

Cabrera is proud, yet surprised his little girl has picked up his habits by watching him. The admiration is obvious, but Cabrera can’t ignore that his little girl will be without her father while he is away.

“She is not liking the whole thing that I live on a different island,” he said.

Miana is home with her mother in Saipan. Cabrera is assured that their daughter won’t have to share another parent with the Army, however. In Saipan, Miana’s mother works part-time for the ROTC program at Northern Marianas College, but has no interest to serve in uniform.

“She feels my pain, so to speak,” he said.

Of course, Cabrera faced more pressing issues than leaving his daughter and her mother behind. Fort Knox is 14 hours behind the time in Guam.

“The drill sergeants do a good job of taking my mind off of the time difference and jet leg,” he said.

There is no specific method for getting used to the time change so quickly, said Sgt. Daniel Sisto, an Alpha Company drill sergeant.

“Truthfully, until its lights out, we are just constantly doing training,” he said. “They are basically moving at all times.”

The main advice he gives is for schools to help Cadets adjust even before they arrive at LTC.

“Their school needs to say, ‘Hey, maybe don’t sleep at all until that night you get there and then sleep a full night,” Sisto said.

Restlessness cannot be an issue at the course, Sisto said, because “when they get here, everyone has to train the same.”

When Cabrera finishes the course, he will return to his university for another two years before he graduates.

“I’m trying to get this whole thing done so we can get our lives jump-started,” he said.