New assist. commandants bring NU professional experience

Maj. Joyce Rivers: it's tougher now because of 'corps, academics juggling act'

By Kyle Blaikie
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

In May 1987, Joyce Rivers graduated from Norwich University and received a commission in the United States Army. Now, 14 years later, she has returned to her Alma Mater to take a position in the administration as an assistant commandant.

"I'm very enthusiastic to be back at Norwich," Rivers said. "I love my alma mater; I love the military; I love the field of education; and I love working with young people. So this is everything that I love."

After serving active duty in the Army as an Intelligence Officer, Rivers changed her duty status from active to reserve with plans to pursue a career in teaching.

Today, she is still in the reserves as a Civil Affairs Officer.

"I really wanted to get out of the classroom," Rivers said. "I wanted to have more of a one on one relationship with students."

She returns to Norwich with hopes of bringing change and "making sure that the heritage of the corps is maintained."

She explained that although she wants civilian students here, she doesn't want the civilian population to "supplant the military population."

"I would like to see myself as a guardian of the corps," Rivers said. "I don't want what happened to Texas A&M to happen here. I would like to see the corps as our primary student body and to view the military as the appendage that Alden Partridge intended it to be. That's another big reason why I am here."

One change Rivers said she had seen was the attitude that things at Norwich have gotten easier in the past years, a perception she said is inaccurate.

"In reality, life at Norwich has gotten tougher," Rivers said. "I can look back 15 years and say things are harder now in general than they were in the '80s."

Rivers said she thinks the "juggling act" of balancing academics, corps., sports, etc. makes the cadets' lives now tougher than before.

"There has always been that tension, but I think that it is harder to do now," Rivers said.

"The best part is just being out there with the students and being available to them," Rivers said. "It's not for me to tell students what they should be or what they should do, but it's for me to bring out the student and help him become what he wants to become."

The one thing that Rivers doesn't like about her new job as assistant commandant is that she is a disciplinarian.

"I came here for the opportunity to be with young people. To be a coach and a mentor, not a disciplinarian," Rivers said. "But it's just what goes with the territory."

Rivers also said she didn't agree with the adversarial attitude that exists between Jackman and the cadet corps.

"People think Jackman is out to get them," Rivers said. "We are not out to get anyone. We are here for you guys. Sometimes cadets perceive that we are unfair or too harsh, but that perception is held by students that do not know the whole story."

As for her own goals at Norwich, Rivers said she would like to finish her master's degree and get started on a Ph.D. But for now, Rivers said her focus is on her work.

"I am not someone that just got educated somewhere else and just came here simply for a job," Rivers said. "Norwich has taken me back and allowed me to have a full time job and still fulfill my obligation to my country."

Rivers said that she plans to spend many years giving back to Norwich in her role as an assistant commandant.

"I hope that there isn't an 'after this job,'" Rivers said. "I would like to be here for a long time. As for retirement, I would like to go into the full time ministry either as a Bible translator or a Christian schoolteacher."

Maj. Russell Holden: NU could have olympic biathlon competitor in 10 years

By Natasha Waggoner
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

After 28 years of traveling the world with the Army, native Vermonter and Norwich alumnus Maj. Russell Holden has returned to Norwich University as assistant commandant of the Corps of Cadets.

"Once you get Norwich in your blood, it never leaves," Holden said. "Being back is like being a cadet again. It's changed, but it hasn't changed."

According to Holden, Norwich is a fun place to be, and by returning he said he hopes to give back to the school what he got from it.

Holden graduated from Norwich in 1973 with a degree in physical education.

After graduation, Holden traveled everywhere from Panama, where he was assigned to aviation, to Italy, Austria, Norway, and France, where he was in Mountain Warfare.

"I got selected to take a special operations company, and I worked on that initiative for three years," said Holden. "Then they formed a special operations unit where I was the first commander of light attack helicopters in the Army."

Holden's last duty station was at Fort Benning, Ga. He retired from the Army in 1997 at the rank of Lt. Col.

He moved to Florida for three years and then returned to his native Vermont to attend St. Michael's College in Colchester.

"I took two semesters of special education and was about to start my third when I found out about the assistant commandant position at Norwich," Holden said. "I applied for the first vacancy, and then, when a second one came up, I was called by Col. McKean."

Being back at Norwich has been a great experience, Holden said.

"For me to talk to the rooks and get to know them, it's tremendous," Holden said. "It's really an opportunity to help them make the most of their experience here."

Holden would like to see more activities for the cadets, including a biathlon team.

"If we were to start a biathlon team here at Norwich, we could have an Olympic competitor here within 10 years," Holden said, adding that he remembers when he attended Norwich, a "very large portion of the cadets" were athletes.

"Every afternoon, everyone went to practice," Holden said. "As an athlete, you had the benefit of taking a breath and not having to think about academics or corps activities. It was really refreshing."

As well as being an athlete, Holden was a member of the university's Mountain Cold Weather Company and served as company commander his senior year.

"That experience really served me well throughout my whole Army career," Holden said. "It really put me ahead of my contemporaries."

The biggest difference Holden observes between MCW from his days as commander and today is the quality of equipment.

"Now, the clothing, the equipment, the snowshoes, the backpacks, the technology has really gotten better," Holden said. "Once you've been in MCW, it's always a part of your life. It's a special, special part."

Holden said when he attended Norwich, the ROTC department had a more active role in the day-to-day activities of the corps.

"The corps was run more like the service academies, where we had TAC officers and there was more specific guidance from the commandant's office to the corps," Holden said. "Now it's more of a concept of student governing."

Another difference from when Holden was here is the admittance of women.

"I'm extremely impressed by the women that are in leadership positions in the corps," Holden said. "They're phenomenal and doing a wonderful job. That's very impressive for me to see that."

"I like very much what I see here," Holden said. "I think that the corps has grown in numbers tremendously. I think it's an excellent learning environment."