CWU ROTC Earns High Honor

Central Washington University Army ROTC cadets earned the highly-valued German Armed Forces Badge for Military Proficiency during recent competition, which included active duty personnel, at the Yakima Training Center. In all, 17 of 21 members of the Wildcat detachment earned their badges in the testing of physical fitness and military training, designed to assess a soldier’s combat readiness.

Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Ackiss, Central Army ROTC detachment commander and military science professor said, "I think here at Central, there's a culture of excellence in the ROTC cadets that they take the training to the next level whether it's physical preparation, academic excellence and they really embody that and that culture of excellence has become who they are as cadets and future Army officers."

The rigorous competition included a physical-fitness test, seven-and-a-half-mile road march, carrying 35-pounds; and military-specific assessment of first-aid, nine-millimeter pistol marksmanship, and swimming in full uniform. The cadets can now proudly display the German Armed Forces Badge for Military Proficiency, which is one of a limited number of foreign awards allowed to be worn on United States military uniforms.