UNC NROTC
Alumni Association
News Bulletin
May 2018
In this Edition:
  • President's Memorial Day Message
  • Commanding Officer's Corner
  • 2018 Commissioning and Commencement Highlights
  • Nominations for 2018 Distinguished Alumnus / Alumna Award and Distinguished Service Award
  • UNC NROTC Alumni Association Annual Meeting & Reunion 2018
  • What can we do for you?
  • Membership Roster Update
  • Annual Giving Update
President's Memorial Day Message:
Captain Eric S. Schneider, USN (Ret.) '86

I had the honor earlier this year to join a group of our members in attending the retirement ceremony of CAPT Frank Linkous (’87), in Washington, DC. And while we celebrated the distinguished accomplishments of Frank’s 31 years of service, we also remembered one of his classmates, LT Pat Connor. There were several members from the class of ’87 with us that weekend, and they took the trip to Arlington to visit their fallen classmate. As many of you are aware, Pat was killed in action in aerial combat during Desert Storm. In thinking back on my career, there are too many shipmates with whom I served who are no longer with us. While many of us will be enjoying a three day weekend, the families of these brothers and sisters in arms will be remembering their lost loved ones. Let us join these families in remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Commanding Officer's Corner:
Captain Marc Stern, USN,
Commanding Officer NROTC Unit North Carolina Piedmont Consortium and Professor of Naval Science, University of North Carolina

This has been a great year for the Tar Heel NROTC Battalion, and it's particularly satisfying to think back to the amazing contribution the alumni have made to our midshipmen's success. Whether contributing money for things such as scholarships or the Dawson Library, or contributing your valuable time to come and provide mentoring and Q&A periods with the students, your support has made a significant, and noteworthy, difference. It all culminated when we were able to commission six new Ensigns and Second Lieutenants on Saturday, May 12th.
As many of you know, I'm working with the university to try and avoid the engineering buildings' expansion project leading to our losing the Armory. As a fallback position, I'm committed to ensuring our needs will be fully met if we end up losing the Armory -- any new location needs to be an adequate facility as well as in a similarly great location on campus as the Armory is now. I'm grateful for the advice and perspective several of you have given me as I work this issue.
Again, thank you for all you do to support the UNC NROTC Battalion!
Commissioning and Commencement, May 2018
by Will Stubbs '85, Secretary
Commissioning 2018
T he UNC NROTC Class of 2018 was commissioned on Saturday, 12 May 2018 at the Tate-Turner-Kuralt Auditorium. Brigadier General Julian D. Alford, USMC, Commanding General, Marine Corps Installations East was the guest speaker.
Four navy Ensigns and two Marine 2nd Lieutenants were commissioned. Our President, Eric Schneider '86 along with Past President Bob Smith '75, Rob Rivers '73 and the Commencement speaker Rye Barcott '01 all attended the ceremony.
Class of 2018 members Sara E. Eason and Carlos Urquilla are scheduled to be commissioned later this Summer, 2018.
Congratulations Class of 2018!


UNC Commencement 2018
The commencement speaker for the UNC Class of 2018 is a UNC NROTC alumnus, past director and life member of our Association: Rye Barcott '01, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, With Honor and co-founder of Carolina for Kibera.
Al link to the Commencement Ceremony for 2018 is provided below. Rye's address starts at the 1hr 15 min mark.
Navy Ensigns:
Tatihana V. Moreno, Samir D. Patel, Thomas J. Singley and Alexander H. Stephenson
Marine Second Lieutenants:
Bryan M. Towers and Patrick J. Buhr
Last call for Nominees:
31 May 2018 Deadline Approaching:
2018 Distinguished Alumnus / Alumna Award
2018 Distinguished Service Award
by Steve Fish '85, Awards Committee Chair
The Awards Committee is now soliciting nominations for our two awards – the Distinguished Alumnus / Alumna Award and the Distinguished Service Award for 2018. Nominations remain open until May 31, 2018. Selections will be made in June 2018. The committee will recommend selectees for Board approval in June 2018. Presentations will be made at the Annual Meeting in November 2018

As a member, log into the Alumni Association website and use the Awards Nomination Form (click here) to provide the your nomination to the Board.

The Distinguished Alumnus / Alumna Award is provided to recognize a graduate of the UNC NROTC program who has distinguished himself or herself in contributions to our nation, the armed services, industry or business, the arts, philanthropy, or other social contributions. This is not singularly a "distinguished member of the military" award, and the individuals need not have been career members of the armed forces. The board will consider the achievements of a non-military professional with an NROTC pedigree on equal footing with a career officer.

Please see the website for a list of previous Distinguished Alumni (click here).

The Distinguished Service Award is provided to recognize the graduate (or former staff member), usually a Member of the Association who has distinguished himself or herself in contributions to the UNC NROTC Alumni Association. This criteria is intentionally nonspecific, and can include any manner of contributions to the efforts of the NROTC Alumni Association. Current Directors are ineligible for selection.

Please see the Association website for a list of previous Distinguished Service recipients (click here).
Hon. S. Jay Plager '52
2017 Distinguished Alumnus Award
Leo H. "Rusty" Phelan '59
2017 Distinguished Service Award
UNC NROTC Alumni Annual Meeting & Reunion
2-4 November 2018, UNC Homecoming Weekend
Book hotel rooms early, space is limited
by Pat Connelly' 85, Events Committee Chair
The UNC NROTC Alumni Association, the UNC Department of Naval Science and the UNC NROTC Battalion of Midshipmen are delighted to continue our collaborative effort with the Association's Annual Meeting and Reunion for 2018. Registering for the weekend and staying connected will be easier than ever.

Friday, 2 Nov 2018
President’s Reception ,
  • Courtyard by Marriott,
  • Open to alumni and family / guests, Unit Staff and Midshipmen.
  • Refreshments (including alcohol) served, registration required, fee applies

Saturday, 3 Nov 2019
Annual Meeting of the UNC NROTC Alumni Association ;
NROTC alumni, family and friends welcome to attend.
  • Update from NROTC Unit and Midshipman Battalion Leadership
  • Presentation of Midshipman Scholarships
  • Presentation of Distinguished Alumnus /Alumna & Distinguished Service Awards
  • Association update by officers and committee chairs.

Barbecue Lunch. Join fellow alumni, NROTC Midshipmen and Unit Staff for a pre-game meal.
  • Alumni, family and friends welcome (fee applies)

UNC vs. Georgia Tech Football Game
We expect a block of football tickets will be available and will solicit members in a future bulletin. As a charitable, educational non-profit, the Association cannot purchase tickets on risk, but we can probably make tickets available to members who commit in advance to purchase them at registration. More to follow in a subsequent announcement.

Weekend Lodging - Recommend Book Early
We have secured room blocks at two Chapel Hill hotels:
Cut off for rooms at the block rate for each hotel is 2 Oct 2018.
Event Registration for President's Reception, Annual Meeting, Barbeque Lunch and game tickets (if available) is expected to be available in August 2018. The UNC General Alumni Association will be facilitating the registration process in conjunction with Homecoming. More to follow in subsequent announcement.
President's Reception 2017
Annual Meeting 2017: Mike Richardson '88 DSA, Janet Keech 89 and Dave Keech '88 in foreground
Captain Andy Bunch (Past President) and Captain Donald Cuddington '86
Courtyard by Marriott, Chapel Hill
Fairfield Inn, Durham Southpoint
What can we do for you?
The UNC NROTC Alumni Association Board of Directors will meet in June and would like to hear from you. As we strive to bring the membership levels back up to a financially sustainable level, we would like to hear from our members, would-be members and any alumnus who would like to send us thoughts and suggestions.

  • What would you like us to do that would enhance your membership experience (if a member) or would inspire you to join our association?

  • Is there anything we are doing that you would like to see discontinued?

  • Is there a project or initiative you would like to sponsor or have the Association partner with?

  • What do you like or not like about the website?

Please tell us how we can invest our scarce resources to better serve you.
We're all ears!
Click here to send your suggestions.
2018 Membership Roster
Please join us and become a member:
Annual, Five-year or Life

Your dues contribution pays for our website, database software, financial management software and the Distinguished Alumnus /Alumna and Distinguished Service Awards; these funds enable us communicate with the graduates so we can host and organize alumni events to support our NROTC Unit and Midshipmen. The Scholarships, Dawson Library and Connor Awards are funded through non-dues contributions. Events (Annual Meeting & Reunions) are funded on a pay-as-you go basis by event participants.

Thanks to the following alumni (in addition to our 212 Life Members) who have made the commitment of ongoing support to our Association in 2108. All of our life members are listed in order of life membership here ; all current paid members listed by class year or alphabetically by last name here .

New Life members for 2018: 8
  • Harcourt Morgan, III '59
  • E. Falcon Knight '61
  • John Fleming '71
  • John R. Schneider '84
  • Peter Bloom '83
  • Alexander Flores '95
  • Rye Barcott '01
  • Patrick J. Buhr '18

Five Year Members for 2018: 27
  • Stephen Matts - Staff Alumnus
  • Donald R. Ledford - Staff Alumnus
  • A. Earle Garrett, III '56
  • Robert C. Crates '63
  • F. Norman Christopher '65
  • Alan V. Monette '65
  • Charles J. Wolfe '65
  • Thomas W. Wright '66
  • Robert Young '67
  • Bryant Byrd '68
  • Ronald N. McManus '68
  • William O. Leonard, III '69
  • James Zumwalt '70
  • James Day '73
  • Nick Pulignano, Jr. '74
  • Michael Clark '75
  • Michael Wellman '77
  • Steven Briganti '78
  • Anthony P. Donaldson '83
  • Michael Carreiro '96
  • Sarah E. Eason '18
  • Tatihana V. Moreno '18
  • Samir D. Patel '18
  • Thomas J. Singley '18
  • Alexander H. Stephenson '18
  • Bryan M. Towers '18
  • Carlos A. Urquilla '18

Annual Members for 2018: 15
  • George E. Mosely '61
  • James A. Thompson '64
  • Joseph Woods '67
  • Charles Gore '69
  • Irvin Hankins '68
  • David Fish '70
  • Charles Sikes '70
  • Robert Swacker '71
  • David Wynne '71
  • Robert Rivers '73
  • Robert E. Smith '82
  • Charles M. Gibson, III '85
  • Douglas Montgomery '86
  • Timothy A. Hastings '88
  • Bogomir Glavan '97

2018 Goal: 120 paid members: (annual, five-year, new life installment or new life members) Progress to date: 50 of 120 or 42% with 42% of the year elapsed.

Classes with the most number of Life members: 1985(13); 1986(11); 1959(8); 1987(8)
Classes with most number of total members:1985 (14); 1986(12); 1959, 1970, 1987 and Staff Alumni (8 each);
Classes with no current members: 1962,1976, 1999, 2000, 2006-2008, 2010, 2013-2016. 
2018 Annual Giving
The following members have made generous donations to the UNC NROTC Alumni Association in 2018 above and beyond the payment of dues; please join us in extending thanks to:

Scholarship Fund
  • James A. Thompson '64
  • Joseph Fluet '65
  • Willie E. McGee, Jr. '69
  • Brian T. Smith '84
  • Willard B. Stubbs '85
  • Robert J. Gionfriddo '86
  • Eric S. Schneider '86
  • T. Jeff Kennedy '87
  • James C. Collins '03

Dawson Library Fund
  • Brian T. Smith '84
  • Geoffrey L. Owen '85

General Fund
  • Charles J. Wolfe '65
  • Michael Wellman '77

If you would like to contribute to the Scholarship Trust or Dawson Library Fund or the General Fund, please click here
If you know of a UNC NROTC Alumnus who has passed away, and wish to have this information reported in the News Bulletin, please notify the Secretary at: secretary@uncnrotcaa.org.
UNC NROTC Alumni Association| Email: secretary@uncnrotcaa.org | Website: www.uncnrotcaa.org