Twenty-eight graduates of UCCS and five other area colleges and universities will be commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army during official ceremonies at 9 a.m. May 25 at Berger Hall.
U.S. Army Brigadier General Joseph Whitlock, deputy director for strategy, policy and plans at North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Northern Command will be the guest speaker and will assist U.S. Army Lt. Colonel and professor of military science Mark Thompson in administering the oath of office. UCCS officials will also attend.
The cadets completed the requirements of the U.S. Army Reserve Officer Training Corps and are scheduled to graduate from area universities this May. Of the 28 cadets, eighteen will graduate from UCCS and ten from other area universities including Colorado State University-Pueblo, Colorado Technical University, Colorado Christian University, Devry University and National American University.
UCCS spring graduation ceremonies are scheduled for May 24 at the Colorado Springs World Arena.
Since 2012, Whitlock has served as deputy director of strategy, policy, and plans for NORAD and USNORTHCOM at Peterson Air Force Base. Previously, he was deputy joint base commander at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey and Executive Officer to the Chief of the Army Reserve. He was an Army officer from 1986 to 2012.
The Mountain Ranger ROTC Battalion traces its roots at UCCS to 1965. The university was designated a host institution in 1981 and in 1983 was reorganized as cadet battalion of two cadet companies and renamed the Mountain Ranger Battalion with partnerships at other Colorado Springs-area universities while remaining based at UCCS.
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