May 9, 2008

The ROTC Commissioning Ceremony led off 2008 Commencement Weekend at PC on Friday, May 9.

Members of PC’s Scottish Highlander Battalion and 2008 graduates who were commissioned include: Jeff Brown of Cassatt, SC; Taylor Duren of Columbia, SC; Cody Mitchell of Bethune, SC; and Corey Wynn of Brevard, NC.

Mitchell received the Wysor Saber, which is awarded annually to the top cadet in the Scottish Highlander Battalion.

Mitchell, the son of Mr. and Mrs. T. W. Brown, majored in history and minored in business administration. In addition to receiving the Wysor-Saber, Mitchell received the Outstanding Senior award and the George C. Marshall ROTC award during the Honors Day ceremony on April 22. Mitchell served as Student Government Association president, Kappa Alpha Order president, Inter-fraternity Council vice president, and Honors Council member. He also interned with U.S. Sen. Lindsay Graham and U.S. Congressman John Spratt. He will receive an education delay to attend law school in the fall.

Brown, the son of the Rev. and Mrs. Robert Brown, majored in biology and minored in chemistry. Brown served on the Student Life Judicial Board and was a member of Bluefish and the Wilderness Activity Program. Brown also helped with Special Olympics, competed in intramural sports, and interned with Dr. Julie Childers. In August 2006, Brown graduated from Air Assault School in Fort Campbell, Ky. He will be assigned to medical services in the S.C. National Guard and will attend dental school in the fall.

Duren, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Tracy N. Duren, majored in history. Duren served as president and risk manager of Theta Chi and as a representative of the Inter-fraternity Council, later being appointed its president. Duren’s first military assignment will be in the transportation corps in Fort Hood, Texas.

Wynn, the son of Mr. and Mrs. James M. Wynn, majored in political science. A member of Pi Kappa Phi and the Inter-fraternity Council, Wynn also competed in intramural sports. He will serve on PC’s campus until September ’08. Wynn’s first military assignment will be to the 3^rd Infantry Division in Fort Stewart, Ga.

Cadet Christian Hall of Whitmire, S.C., was the recipient of the 2008 Capt. Kimberly Hampton Scholarship, presented in honor of the late Kimberly Hampton, a 1998 alumna and U.S. Army helicopter pilot who was killed in Iraq while flying reconnaissance near Fallujah. The scholarship was awarded to Mitchell by Hampton's parents, Dale and Ann Hampton of Easley, S.C.

As it has since 1988, the ROTC program inducted a distinguished soldier and alumnus into its ROTC Hall of Fame. This year’s ROTC Hall of Fame inductee is retired brigadier general Roscoe Lindsay Jr. of Charlotte, N.C. A retired attorney, he was active in the U.S. Army, the Army Reserves, and the Army National Guard for more than 30 years.

Lindsay served in Germany during both the Berlin Crisis and the Cuban Missile Crisis and commanded both a Mountain Battalion and the 30 Infantry Brigade. During this tour, he trained with NATO troops at Fort Bragg, N.C.; Italy; and Portugal as part of the Land Forces Southern Europe in Verona, Italy.

He was awarded the Legion of Merit and the North Carolina Distinguished Service Medal, in addition to the Ancient Order of Saint Barbara. After his service as commandant of the OCS Academy in North Carolina, Lindsay had a cannon and monument dedicated in his honor at Fort Bragg.

Lindsay took a moment to tell the seven cadets about the little gold bar they were about to receive when they get commissioned.

“I never knew the journey that the little gold bar would take me on. It’s amazing," Lidsay said. "I say if you work hard and try, there’s no telling where you can be.”

The commission speaker, Brigadier General Rick Porter, a 1978 graduate of PC, also spoke to the cadets, talking to them about what they can expect in the coming years. Porter encouraged them to be positive and ready in their positions as leaders.

“Possibly the deepest question of every lieutenant, especially in today’s Army, is ‘How will my combat-experienced soldiers or my non-commissioned officers accept me as a true leader?,'" Porter said. "And the answer is simple: You’re going to have to earn it.”

Porter told the cadets that they are ready to accept the challenge.

“You are well-prepared to take on the responsibility as leaders," he said. "Your education and training will make you successful.”





posted by Stacy Dyer '96