Four cadets in the Army ROTC Program at East Tennessee State University took the oath of office Dec. 13 and were commissioned as second lieutenants during a ceremony held in the Grand Soldier’s Ballroom at the Carnegie Hotel. The new officers will serve in various branches upon graduation from ETSU.
Lt. Col. Shawn Dodge, professor and chair of military science, and Col. Hershell E. Wolfe (retired) addressed commissionees at the ceremony.
Wolfe graduated from ETSU with a B.S. in 1972 and an MPH in occupational health from the University of Texas School of Public Health in 1978. Wolfe has 46 years of federal service and 33 years of service in the U.S. Army. Notable assignments include assistant chief, Medical Service Corps and consultant for all preventive medicine sciences, Office of the Army Surgeon; adjunct professor for preventive medicine and biometrics, Uniform Services University of Health Sciences; and deputy assistant secretary of the Army for environment, safety and occupational health, Pentagon.
Wolfe retired from the Army with the rank of colonel in 2002 and retired from civilian work in 2015.
Today, Wolfe volunteers as a lecturer and research consultant at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He also serves as senior mentor to the board of directors for two minority small businesses and is the third vice president of the SENCLAND chapter of the Military Officers Association of America.
The four graduating members of the ETSU Buccaneer Battalion received their diplomas at Commencement ceremonies held Dec. 14. Those commissioned as second lieutenants are Jared Kenneth Cathey, Issac Kinser, Natalia Lyszczarczyk Kinser and Alicia Sue Rodriguez.
In addition to the pinning of the bars, the commissionees also took part in the “Silver Dollar Tradition” giving a shiny silver dollar to the first enlisted soldier to salute him or her.
To learn more about the Army ROTC program at ETSU, visit www.etsu.edu/rotc.
