Leader's Training Course

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Fraternity brother finds new motivation

Posted on July 12, 2011 by PAO

Second Lt. Kevin Matthews makes sure teams are ready to compete at the stream-crossing challenge. Photo by Sammy Jo Hester/LTC PAO

By Noelle Wiehe
Staff writer

Unity and strength are two qualities Soldiers acquire through training and combat. But for 2nd Lt. Kevin Mathews of the University of Southern Mississippi, the Army isn’t the only team he has relied on to keep him motivated.

In 2007, Mathews, a 23-year-old Louisiana native and Leader’s Training Course cadre member, participated in a 4,100-mile bike trip with his fraternity, Pi Kappa Phi, to raise funds and awareness for people with disabilities.

“I had the most wicked tan lines ever,” Mathews said.

The event, called Journey of Hope, was started in 1987. Mathews and his group of 27 other fraternity brothers from across the country trained for five months before traveling through 13 states on the bike trip, starting in San Francisco and ending in Washington, D.C.

“We would ride about 75 miles a day,” Mathews said. “Then, we’d get off the bikes and do ‘friendship visits’ where you hang out with the people with disabilities and get to know them.”

As a participant, Mathews was required to raise a minimum of $5,000 for the cause through donations and sponsors. He admitted, however, the number was surprisingly easy to reach and he actually surpassed the goal, raising $7,000.

“I’d get sponsorships where I’d hit a state line and take a picture in the company’s T-shirt — anything to raise the money,” he said.

Mathews was impressed by the generosity of people he’d never met who he’d tell about the trip, and they would send him large checks and wish him luck.

To raise awareness of his trip and help him meet his goal, Mathews created a Facebook page for the trip, which gained 50 followers within a day of its creation and now has 120 followers. On the page, friends and family of Mathews showed their support with words of encouragement.

“I am so proud of you for doing this,” posted Mike Barry, a pledge brother of Mathews.

The ride was something totally different for Mathews because he had never been on the type of bike they used for the trip.

“We used the type of bikes they use in Tour de France,” he said. “It was definitely a steep learning curve.”

While Mathews had no particular connection to the event, such as a relative with a disability, he was inspired by someone close to him, Lindsay Mingo, a fraternity brother who had participated in the event the year prior.

“He was kind of like me,” Mathews said, “a type of person who likes to push himself, try new adventures and try new things that push the body.”

Mathews and Mingo were up late one night, and Mingo was telling him all about the event. Mathews could see how much it had changed him and made him a better person.

“It was about 4 a.m. that night when I thought, ‘God, I really want to do this,’ ” Mathews said.

The 13-state trip lasted 64 days, but by the time Mathews’ 100-person group reached the third state, Mathews’ previously torn ACL started giving him trouble. The pain was merely a hurdle for Mathews to get over, however.

A cortisone shot and supportive team members were all he needed to keep going.

“My teammates understood some days if I had to get off the bike a little bit early because I still had the military in my mind,” he said.

Mathews enlisted in the military just six months after he participated in Journey of Hope.

“My mom was more worried about me doing (Journey of Hope) than me joining the military,” Mathews said.

At the Leader’s Training Course, Mathews works as part of the stream-crossing and situation training exercise committees.

While the Army is in Mathews’ future, he is constantly reminded of the Journey of Hope in his past and all those who his journey helped.

“It’s one of those things, you feel like you’ve pushed yourself as hard as you can,” he said. “But then you get done, and you see a kid who would just wish he could feel the pain in his legs that you’re feeling. You’re like, ‘God, I could have pushed further.’ ”

Move to U.S. opens Army door for lieutenant

Posted on July 11, 2011 by PAO

Second Lt. Freddy Mawyin instructs a Cadet on releasing and setting up a one-rope bridge during a stream-crossing demonstration. Photo by Sammy Jo Hester/LTC PAO

By Sara Nahrwold
Staff writer

At age 18, 2nd Lt. Freddy Mawyin had some money from his parents, a backpack full of clothes and headed for the United States from Ecuador to pursue his education.

The American-born Mawyin, who first moved to Ecuador when he was about 2 months old, wanted to try living in the States for a couple months and if he liked it, he would stay and if not, he would go back.

“I knew it would be hard since I didn’t speak English, and I didn’t know anybody,” he said. “I was a little nervous but I felt like I would try it for a couple months at least and if I didn’t like it, just go back. I liked it and decided to stay here.”

The biggest problem Mawyin faced was a language barrier.

“I normally walked around with a dictionary, and I think my vocabulary consisted of a couple hundred words,” he said. “It was very difficult for me to produce a full sentence.”

The pronunciation was difficult but he struggled even more with grammar.

“I didn’t actually learn it for about four years,” Mawyin said. “At that point, I was able to speak it, but it wasn’t at the college level.”

What he really wanted was to go to college, but his two jobs were barely paying enough to cover his rent. That’s when Vincent Higgins, a Vietnam veteran who Mawyin was renting a place from, talked to him about joining the Army.

He then took the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or ASVAB test, which is used to determine qualification for enlistment in the military.

“I think that was the most scary thing,” he said. “It was four and a half hours of test, and I literally was looking at the screen and I didn’t understand a single thing.”

Despite his difficulties with the language, Mawyin was able to enlist. The military was his chance at a better life.

“At that point, I was looking into living the lifestyle that I had, which was living pretty much day by day or having a more difficult, more stressful life but not having to worry about those basic needs such as food and sleep,” he said. “The Army gave me shelter and gave me food, and that was pretty much enough for me at that point.”

The military was also his chance at college, the reason he came to the United States in the first place.

“It makes it easier to concentrate on studies when you’re not working 60 hours a week,” Higgins said. “It was the best bet for him and it turned out well.”

Mawyin deployed to Baghdad, Iraq, in 2005 as a company engineer for one year. This was the only time in the eight years the two have known each other that they didn’t have contact.

After deployment, Mawyin decided to transition from an enlisted Soldier to an officer. He was part of ROTC while at Washington University in St. Louis and is now a Leader’s Training Course cadre member at the stream-crossing site. He hopes his Army career will evolve into years of service.

“I would like to make stars, so I will probably stay for about 30 years but we will see,” he said. “As long as I can do this job, I definitely will.”

Mawyin can’t believe how far he has come since coming to the United States with very little money in his pocket.

“At the beginning, my first dream was coming here,” he said. “Now I realize the position I’m in right now, and I’m very grateful for that.”

He goes back to Ecuador for vacation, but his family still lives there full-time. He plans on bringing his two sisters, mother and father to the United States.
Higgins said he can’t believe how far Mawyin has come since he saw him graduate from college and commission.

“I’m proud of the guy, and I know he will do great,” Higgins said. “He deserves to receive the rewards he’s worked so hard to get.”

Mawyin credits being on his own in the United States as preparing him to be successful as a second lieutenant.

“It definitely made me look at life a little different, and it kind of helped me grow up a little bit,” he said. “I’m just very grateful for everything that happened and how the military gave me housing, gave me a job and I am very thankful for what I have now.”

Stream-crossing bridges teamwork, skill

Posted on June 28, 2011 by PAO

Bravo Company Cadets shimmy their way across a one-rope bridge. Photo by Dorothy Edwards/LTC PAO

By Sara Nahrwold
Staff writer

Sliding one foot next to the other on a single rope as his gloved hands gripped the rope above his head, Cadet Russell Allen peered down at the stream below.

With his fellow Cadets cheering him on, the University of South Alabama student crossed the bridge without falling into the water.

“You know when the guy from ‘A-Team’ says, ‘I love when a good plan comes together,’ it’s kind of like that,” he said. “After we rehearsed, everything all came together as one and it was good to see everyone working in harmony.”

After completing the high ropes course a few days before, Cadets felt prepared and able to handle stream-crossing. For Cadets at the Leader’s Training Course, stream-crossing requires teamwork skills to cross three different roped bridges.

Alpha and Bravo companies crossed a three-rope and two-rope bridge, but constructed and crossed a one-rope bridge. Although all three had its challenges, Cadets varied in the bridge they liked most.

“I liked the two-rope bridge because it’s just a lot of know-how, a lot of balance,” said Alpha Company Cadet Christopher Baker of Pennsylvania State University. “To set up was definitely the one rope bridge, especially when you have to get on that rope and just yank yourself across as hard as you can.”

Baker was the base man for his squad, where he had to get down on one knee and help people up onto the rope by allowing them to raise up by stepping on his other leg.

Before Cadets made their own one-rope bridge, stream-crossing cadre demonstrated how to do it properly.

“It was high-speed and very efficient,” Allen said. “Every single person knew exactly what they needed to do and knew exactly when they needed to do it, and did it very quickly.”

The one-rope bridge was the easiest one to cross for some Cadets.

“You can use your speed, your momentum to rappel across,” said Bravo Company Cadet Keshav Iyengar of George Washington University, a partner school of the Georgetown University Army ROTC program. “There’s no fear of falling into the water, and you have your whole squad backing you up.”

Bravo Company Cadet Allan Hillenbrand of Florida Institute of Technology said teamwork was a key factor in his company’s success.

“I feel like we all came together and felt a real sense of unity when we all went across,” he said. “Everybody’s got to do their part and do it right to get the job done.”

“Ready, pull” could be heard constantly while Cadets worked in teams to construct the one-rope bridges.

The sound of wet combat boots and dripping uniforms from Cadets was a common sound as they made their way from one bridge to the other.

Going across each bridge had its own unique challenges for Cadets.

“Panic is something that they are trying to teach you to control here because that’s a natural instinct,” Iyengar said. “As I went across, I said panic is all in the mind so keep breathing, stay calm, one foot after the other, don’t look around, don’t stop, just make it through because if you panic, you can’t stop yourself from panicking and you just have to control it.”

Cadets learned how to tie proper knots before going across the stream, learning about the gear they would be working with. They used ropes to configure Swiss seats that act as a harness to allow Cadets to hook onto the rope without falling. To ensure safety, these seats are wrapped tightly around the waist.

“It kind of gets you in the right mindset,” Allen said. “It makes you put your game face on when you’re compressed like that.”

The Cadets compete against each other at the end of stream-crossing to see which squad can construct a one-rope bridge and get all of its members across the stream the quickest. The winning squad competes against a team made up of cadre.

One of the bigger lessons learned for Cadets was knowing the difference between saying you will do something and actually doing something.

“We faced the challenge, we challenged ourselves and actually asked ourselves whether we were capable of doing it and did the obstacle, which is the most important part,” Iyengar said.

The high-speed, yelling of cadre and constant support for each other allowed Cadets to reach their goal of crossing every bridge.

“Just staying focused on the objective and the team is the most important aspect of getting a mission done,” Iyengar said.