Retired Lt. Col. Ed Longo delivers keynote commissioning address
EDINBORO, Pa. – Seven graduating Edinboro University seniors and ROTC cadets were officially commissioned as officers in the U.S. Army during Friday’s ceremony on Edinboro’s main campus.
Cadets Alex Keller (Somerdale, N.J.), Owen Tshudy (Edinboro, Pa.), Zachary Weidner (Pittsburgh), Amber Bokshan (Erie, Pa.), Cameron Silvis (Erie, Pa.), Garrett Locke (Warwick, R.I.) and Ryan Stratton (Smethport, Pa.), completed their experience with the Fighting Scots Battalion and will now enter active military duty.
“Edinboro University helped prepare me for the future by providing a top-notch nursing department and a phenomenal ROTC program,” said Bokshan, who will join the Army Nurse Corps as an active-duty officer following graduation. “Both have been beyond supportive of each of my goals – becoming a registered nurse and a second lieutenant.”
Lt. Col. Benjamin Kavanagh, who accompanied his third commissioning class of military officers, credited the roster of cadets in the Class of 2019 for their commitment to success and growth as students and leaders.
“It’s a bittersweet moment to see our outstanding student leaders proceed to their next chapter in life and depart from Edinboro,” said Kavanagh, who became commander of the battalion in July 2017 after serving as Officer in Charge of the 517th Geospatial Planning Cell as part of U.S. Army Africa (USARAF) in Vicenza, Italy. “However this cadre of cadets has proven their capabilities of succeeding, regardless of the circumstance.”
During his time at Edinboro, Cadet Owen Tshudy not only majored in Geoscience, but he also participated in theRanger Challenge team that competed at the Sandhurst Competition at West Point, home of the U. S. Military Academy.
“I have always wanted to become an infantry officer, and Edinboro University’s Army ROTC program gave me the tools I needed to achieve that,” he said. “The cadre at Edinboro University has continually challenged me for the past four years, ensuring that I will be ready for the next step: becoming an officer.”
Edinboro invited retired Lt. Col. Ed Longo, a 1979 graduate of Edinboro University with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice, to provide the commissioning address. A native of Meadville, Pa., Longo served in various capacities on active duty and reserve duty. His duty assignments include regional confinement commander, platoon leader, physical security crime prevention officer and company commander as a military police officer.
He currently serves as a consultant to various corporations concerning security programming.
“You will be working aside greatest of all Americans – those who give so much of themselves to keep this country the land of the free and home of the brave,” said Longo, who retired as a senior U.S. Army Civilian in 2012. “Your education from this outstanding University and your education and training from the excellent Reserve Officer Training Program have given you the tools to go on and serve our great country.”
Joining the student-cadets during the commissioning ceremony on Friday were Fighting Scots Battalion staff members Lt. Col. Benjamin Kavanagh, commander and professor of Military Science; Master Sgt. Mark Kirchoff, senior Military Science instructor; Maj. Robert W. Parker III, assistant professor of Military Science; Capt. David Voorhees, assistant professor of Military Science; Pete Ochocki, supply technician; and Tom Anderson, scholarship and enrollment officer.
Since Edinboro University’s ROTC program founding in 1973, the Fighting Scots Battalion has commissioned more than 200 U.S. Army officers.
To learn more about the Fighting Scots Battalion and the journey from training to commissioning, visitwww.edinboro.edu/ROTC.
