Et cetera : UW-Stout to hold commissioning ceremony

University of Wisconsin-Stout department of military science will hold its winter commissioning ceremony for Army ROTC cadets in the Northwoods Battalion at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20, in the Riverview Ballroom at UW-River Falls.

UW-Stout, UW-Eau Claire and UW-River Falls comprise the Northwoods Battalion in northern Wisconsin. ROTC stands for Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.

The cadets to be commissioned are James Bremser, of Marquette Mich.; Seunghwan Kim, of Buchon, South Korea; Jonathan Secraw, of Colfax; and Andrew Usher, of Vinton, Iowa. Bremser and Secraw are students at UW-Eau Claire; Kim and Usher are students at UW-River Falls.
Commissioning ceremonies include a commitment to support and defend the U.S. Constitution. A cadet is granted authority to carry out the duties as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army. The authority to grant a commission rests with Congress.

During the ceremony, each cadet takes the Oath of Office, similar to the president of the United States at inauguration. The cadet chooses an officer or retired officer to administer the oath. Family members, or others close to the individual being commissioned, pin the cadet with gold bars. The ceremony culminates with the newly commissioned officer being saluted by a noncommissioned officer of his or her choice.

Each year the battalion trains approximately 140 cadets across all academic levels and produces an average of 16 lieutenants. Winter, spring and summer commissioning ceremonies are held. Students enroll in leadership courses as electives in pursuit of a degree of their choice.