CWU Military Science Professor Instructor Of The Year

May 10, 2004

Contact: Maj. Debbie C. Allen (509-963-3582/fax 509-963-3588/e-mail: allend@cwu.edu)

ELLENSBURG, Wash.-- Maj. Christopher Schmitt, Central Washington University assistant professor of military science, has been named the nation's Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) Officer Instructor of the Year for 2003-04.

Schmitt was selected over more than 800 instructors across the country for this prestigious award. Army ROTC presents the award annually to the ROTC instructor who best demonstrates outstanding leadership and mentoring of students by providing competent and challenging instruction in leadership, problem solving, tactics and Army values.

"This is great recognition for our program and will help us continue to recruit top caliber cadets," says Schmitt, a Special Forces officer, who came to CWU in 2002. "Receiving this award shows my cadets that hard work does pay off."

And, jokes Schmitt, "it will show my peers who have been engaged in the global war on terror that I haven't been lounging around while I've been at Central."

Under Schmitt's direction, CWU was ranked 16th out of the 272 detachments in the nation last year. And, he expects that rating to improve after this summer's Leader Development and Assessment Course (LDAC) results.

"This program definitely challenges our cadets," he adds. "Very few programs can boast of conducting land navigation training at 6,500 feet like we do at Lion's Rock. Even during the winter we run the John Wayne Trail at 7:00 a.m. and conduct battle drills in the wind and snow at leadership labs. As a result, the student-cadets in Central's ROTC program perform at a much higher level than cadets from other programs across the country."

Nineteen CWU cadets will join nearly 5,200 others from around the country at LDAC this summer. The course is Army ROTC's month-long assessment of cadets' physical fitness, navigation, marksmanship and leadership skills held each summer at Fort Lewis, in Tacoma. To earn a commission as an army second lieutenant, each cadet must demonstrate proficiency in all four areas.

"It's an honor to receive the award," Schmitt points out. "What's more important, though, is that the cadets I train, not only excel at LDAC, but also are ready to be lieutenants. The cadets I taught last year are in their basic courses right now and are getting ready to go to their units. They are all saying, 'I'm way ahead of my peers.' I think that's an even bigger recognition."

A native of Howards Grove, Wis., Schmitt graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1992. He lives in Ellensburg with his wife Kristina and daughter Alexandra, who will be one year old next week. While at CWU, Schmitt has also taken the opportunity to earn a master's degree in organization development.

Unfortunately, Schmitt's time at Central is drawing to a close. He will leave July 15 to attend the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, the U.S. Army institution that trains senior officers in both strategy and tactics.

"Then in 2005, I expect to take command of a company at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Colorado," Schmitt adds.

This is the second consecutive year that a CWU Army ROTC instructor has been selected as Instructor of the Year. Master Sgt. Al Buford earned the honor last year.