On May 20, 2011, U.S. Army 2nd Lts. Matthew Dinwiddie, Nicholas Friederich, Earle Pope and Damion Guy, and Air Force 2nd Lt.Theodore Slusher celebrated the culmination of four years of training to be military officers.
Having completed their rigorous program of tactical training, technical courses and leadership evaluations, over and above their demanding academic curricula, these commissionees look forward to their future assignments.
Dinwiddie will be a military intelligence officer and proceeds to training at the U.S. Army Military Intelligence School at Fort Huachuca, Ariz.
Friederich and Pope will be field artillery officers, specializing in employing weapons systems ranging from cannons to missile systems. They will train at Fort Sill, Okla.
Guy will be a medical service corps officer and will be assigned to the 1/158th Cavalry Regiment.
Slusher will be a pilot with a first duty station of Columbus Air Force Base, Miss.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, Vice Adm. William Gortney ’77, director of the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, provided leadership guidance to the new officers, emphasizing the great responsibility they are shouldering. One of the key points that he imparted to them was to take care of their troops, underscoring the major priority of a military leader.
Elon Army and Air Force ROTC congratulates the military’s newest Lieutenants.