Each semester, the University’s ROTC passes command of the unit to a new batallion commander based on physical fitness, academics and leadership skills. This tradition takes place bi-annually, and this semester Meredith Woodward became the first female chosen to be batallion commander at the University. The University’s Army ROTC’s change of command ceremony — in which commanders over each company and the battalion commander pass their titles and responsibilities to the new commanders — took place on Jan. 22. The students in Army ROTC stood in formation, hands placed behind their backs and feet at shoulders width, waiting for the ceremony to begin. The color guard held the unit flag. Then Lt. Col. Philip Pugh, Preston Collich, general studies senior, and Meredith Woodward, biochemistry senior, entered and took three seats at the front. After both an invocation and the national anthem had been presented, Pugh spoke briefly about both Collich, Woodward and the ROTC program overall. At the ceremony a flag, called the battalion guidon, was passed from Collich, the current battalion commander to Meridith Woodward, incoming commander. This flag is always in the unit’s colors and symbolizes the unit’s identity. The passing of the flag symbolizes the leadership and command of the unit being passed from one leader to the next. Pugh said Woodward excels as a leader and in physical fitness, pointing out that she received a perfect score on her physical fitness test. Each semester the ROTC has a change of command ceremony, Pugh said. The commanders are always senior cadets, and they run the battalion almost completely on their own. The battalion commander is responsible for running events for ROTC and attending weekly briefings with Pugh. Some of the events Woodward said she will be responsible for handling are Chancellor’s day, the military ball and FTX, a joint physical training session between all of the region’s ROTC units. Last semester Collich said he helped with events such as salutes, stadium clean-ups, and a ranger challenge team. The cadets are chosen to be commanders by an evaluation based on 16 different dimensions of leadership including communication skills, decision-making skills and their ability to motivate the rest of the unit. The cadet’s GPA and physical fitness level are both taken into account. After the cadets’ third year they attend a four-week camp called the Leader Development and Assessment course. When Pugh decides the next battalion commander, he takes into account his or her performance at this camp. “Sometimes students who perform well at the University don’t do well at the camp,” Pugh said. “Students who exceed both at the University and the camp are usually chosen.”The change of command ceremony is an Army tradition that has been practiced since the era of Frederick the Great of Prussia. Woodward, who was executive officer of the unit last semester, said this didn’t come as a complete surprise to her. “Basically, it’s my responsibility now to make sure that everything happens smoothly,” Woodward said. ——Contact Nichole Oden at [email protected]