From the President

On behalf of the Board and the Executive Committee, greetings from Cadets of the Ole War Skule. We are transitioning to a new year with several new Board members, and we also welcome new officers. I take this opportunity to personally say thank you to our outgoing president – John W. Milazzo, Jr. – and convey our deep gratitude for his years of commitment to our organization and to LSU. We look forward to his continued involvement with our many projects and programs.

To our members, thank you for your interest in “the Long Purple Line.” We exist to support the Cadets, Midshipmen, and Cadre in LSU ROTC programs and to encourage their efforts to realize academic excellence and achieve technical and military expertise in their training. We preserve and promote the contributions of LSU’s military alumni to the nation by supporting and growing the LSU Corps of Cadets, fostering the heritage and traditions that are important to LSU’s military history, recognizing and honoring deserving veterans, supporting LSU patriotic events, and promoting public awareness of the value of LSU’s military contributions. These statements are often repeated and sometimes become so familiar that they lose part of their significance. Over the next two years, we hope you will join with the leadership to ensure that these statements are not just words.

There are several projects in progress that we believe will ultimately lead to significant growth in the size of The Corps and the scope of its military footprint. Among these:

• We are working with the Cadre and interested alumni in efforts to increase cadet strength to 750-800 cadets.
• Memorial Tower has been returned to its principal occupant, Cadets of the Ole War Skule, and, during 2020, following the completed renovation and restoration efforts, it will resume its intended role of housing the long-awaited LSU Military Museum. LSU Salutes 2020 is scheduled for the week of Nov. 2–7, 2020, and the activities will include the formal grand opening of the LSU Military Museum on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020. Please add these events to what will likely become a very busy fall calendar for most of us.
• To support this effort, the University committed time and talent to ensure the success of this initiative through the LSU Military Excellence Fund Commission, with the proceeds being used to develop both the new student veterans center and the museum. As we move forward, we hope our future efforts will be used to underwrite cadet scholarships to reward several current Cadets and Midshipmen and recruit other students who will help us realize the desired growth in The Corps.
• As we near the time for the LSU Military Museum to open, we do so with the creation of the Board of Governors – which will be the administrative board that manages and oversees the work of the museum. The new board will work alongside those involved with Cadets of the Ole War Skule and report through us, but its mission will be more focused. We hope to present the names of those members in the near future.
• With LSU, we continue to cosponsor LSU Salutes, the University’s annual program honoring all veterans, especially those who are LSU alumni.
• We support University participation in regular commissioning ceremonies as well as the President’s Day Parade, the official Change of Command Ceremony for the LSU Corps of Cadets, and the Joint ROTC Awards Ceremony.
• We annually present Corps Achievement Awards to Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force ROTC newly commissioned officers and present scholarships honoring the memory of numerous alumni.
• We work with the Cadre to introduce new programs, such as The Ole War Skule Senior Symposium, which both honors and further educates select senior Cadets and Midshipmen as they make their transition to active duty.
• We recently completed the needed revisions for our By-Laws that were recommended by many members.
• We support and encourage the return and continuation of many of LSU’s rich military traditions, including the firing of the 75 mm PAK Howitzers on game day Saturdays to welcome the Fighting Tigers into Tiger Stadium.
• We support the recognition made possible by the addition of the POW/MIA Chair of Honor located in Tiger Stadium, the Maravich Center, and Alex Box Stadium. We applaud The Corps for making this initiative a reality.
• During the fall semester, approximately 60 members, Cadets, Midshipmen, and Cadre participated in a Board Retreat/Strategic Planning Forum focused on all things related to Cadets of the Ole War Skule. We will soon share with you the names of the two individuals who will serve as co-chairs of this effort to implement the recommended and approved changes for our organization, as well as information discussed during the retreat.
• We continue to support and promote the designation of LSU as the Ole War Skule – our traditional military name – and hope to work with the leadership of the University to undertake those efforts which will enable us to regain the once-present visibility and awareness related to LSU’s military history and heritage.

We believe strongly in what we are doing, and we hope to continue to enjoy the total support of the University administration and the LSU Board of Supervisors. We are certain that if we continue these and other efforts, we will in the near future realize our dream – a brigade-size LSU Corps of Cadets. This is not about us – it is all about those present and future Cadets and Midshipmen who will proudly become part of “the Long Purple Line” and boldly serve in our nation’s armed forces.

For the Long Purple Line...
Jake L. Netterville
President
Cadets of the Ole War Skule

LSU Salutes 2019 - 8 Inducted into Military Hall of Honor

Front row, from left, Brig. Gen. John B. Dunlap III; Mary delaHoussaye Belleau, representing her late husband, Capt. Arthur J. delaHoussaye, Jr.; Joe Roberts, representing his late brother, Marvin J. "Buddy" Roberts; and Louise Mitchell, representing her late husband, John H. Mitchell. Back, then-President F. Alexander, Eugene A. Booth, Capt. Leonard J. Drude, John Elphick, Peter D. Burland, and John W. Milazzo Jr., president of Cadets of the Ole War Skule.

LSU Military Commission Co-chair Laura Leach; Professor of Military Science LTC Rian Carter and his wife, Danielle Carter; and LSU Board of Supervisors Chair Mary Werner.

Congressman W. Henson Moore, center, recipient of the Fred C. Dent Patriotism Award, with Fred C. Dent, III, and Elizabeth Dent Sumrall.

The POW/MIA Table is presented to remind those viewing it that we continue to have comrades who are possibly being held against their will or remain missing and unaccounted for. Their safe and eventual return is included in many daily prayers.

Eight LSU graduates were inducted into the Hall of Honor for LSU Distinguished Military Alumni during LSU Salutes 2019.The annual event is co-sponsored by the university and Cadets of the Ole War Skule.

Inducted were Eugene A. Booth, Capt., U.S. Army, Baton Rouge; Peter D. Burland, Master Sgt., U.S. Army, Fulshear, Texas; the late Arthur J. delaHoussaye, III, Capt., U.S. Marine Corps; Leonard J. Drude, Capt., U.S. Navy (Ret.), Ponchatoula, La.; John B. Dunlap III, Brig. Gen., U.S. Army (Ret.), Baton Rouge; John Elphick, Capt., U.S. Army, Midland, Texas; the late John H. Mitchell, 2nd Lt., U.S. Army; and the late Marvin J. “Buddy” Roberts, Capt., U.S. Army.

The induction ceremony took place on Friday, Nov. 22, at the President’s Reception/LSU Salutes Dinner at the LSU Faculty Club. The honorees were recognized at the Commandant’s Luncheon in the LSU Student Union Ballroom earlier that day and during pre-game activities at the LSU vs. Arkansas football game at Tiger Stadium.

LSU Salutes recognizes all veterans, in particular those who attended LSU and served in ROTC. The Hall of Honor inductees, all of whom must have attended LSU and served in the military, are selected based on their involvement with the university as well as military and community service.

The LSU Corps of Cadets, which includes LSU Army and Air Force ROTC students and Southern University Navy ROTC, which consists of LSU and Southern students, participated in the ceremony.

Photos by Ray Dry. See and download photos at http://olewarskule.lsu.edu/?page_id=33

LSU Board Dinner – LSU Executive Vice President and Provost Stacia Haynie, Board of Supervisors Chair Mary Werner, and then-President F. King Alexander were among University administrators and leaders attending the board-hosted dinner focused on supporting and strengthening military presence on campus.

Wings of Gold: LSU Alumnus Becomes Navy Pilot

Most people can say they have driven a car since the age of 16. LSU industrial engineering alumnus Christopher Dedo can say the same – about flying a plane. Dedo, who graduated in 2017, received his “Wings of Gold” in the U.S. Navy in the fall and began his first assignment as a helicopter pilot in San Diego in November. “My goal since high school was to become a naval aviator,” Dedo, a Lafayette, La., native said. “Now that I’ve achieved that, it’s about seeing what’s in store next.” Read his story at lsu.edu/eng/news/2019/11/dedonavypilot.php

Mortar Board, OΔK Induct Cadets, Midshipmen

Among the students inducted into Mortar Board Blazer Chapter Class of 2019-2020 were Army Cadet Erin J. Blanchard, Air Force Cadet Brandon Elsensohn, MIDN Phillip A. Mooney, and Army Cadet and LSU Corps Commander Dallas H. Sampey.

Air Force Cadet Brandon Elsensohn, MIDN Phillip A. Mooney, and Air Force Cadet Jack Spriggs were among the students selected to membership in OΔK for Fall 2019.

Mortar Board Senior Leadership Honor Society and OΔK (Omicron Delta Kappa) National Leadership Honor Society are the top honor societies at LSU that honor juniors and seniors based on both their leadership performance and their academic performance. Mortar Board selects 30 juniors to serve during their senior year; OΔK recognizes the top 1% of juniors and seniors each semester. Both organizations are working to better prepare their members for future leadership roles in their careers and their communities.

Congratulations to our outstanding Cadets and Midshipmen who were honored for their achievements. Photos by Ray Dry

As former Chief of the U.S. Army Reserve and current Vice President of IBM Global Public Sector, Gen. Talley is a leading authority in civil, environmental, and sustainable engineering. “Disaster management is a big data problem that requires a public-private partnership solution,” Talley said.

Calendar of Events - Spring 2020