Army ROTC
Clubs
Ranger Company
Ranger training at Norwich University dates back to the late 1950s. This training develops leadership skills of selected cadets by requiring them to perform effectively as small unit leaders in a realistic tactical environment under demanding mental and physical conditions.
Ranger training today at Norwich has evolved into a company level organization. Held twice weekly, training includes dismounted patrolling, battle drills, weapons familiarization, and MOUT training. Exercises are held throughout the semester and include day and night missions and bivouacs. Physical training is also a large component of the Ranger program. Intense, organized PT is conducted three times weekly.
The culminating event of Ranger training, Cat Eye Weekend, occurs at the end of each year where candidates are able to apply, and are tested on, all the skills that they have learned throughout the year. At the completion of this rigorous event, candidates are awarded the coveted cat eyes, signifying membership in the Ranger Company. Ranger Company participation is open only to Army ROTC cadets.
In addition to weekly training in the Fall Semester, those who are at least second year cadets are afforded the opportunity to try out for the Ranger Challenge team. Ranger Challenge is a competition which pits a 12-person team against other Army ROTC teams from different schools in the region. The competition is held annually at Devens, Mass. and consists of several events testing Cadets’ land navigation skills, physical aptitude, technical knowledge, marksmanship, and endurance in several other physically and mentally demanding events.
Mountain Cold Weather Company
“Climb to conquer” is the motto of the Mountain Cold Weather Company. The training company was established by the United States War Department in August of 1947. The War Department saw the uniqueness of Norwich University’s location in mountains with severe winter temperatures and mission to train disciplined cadets to be officers in the Army. The first instructor assigned to Norwich was MSG Leslie Hurley. MSG Hurley was a mountaineer and a member of the famed 10th Mountain Division during World War II. Realizing the need for officers with experience in mountain warfare, MSG Hurley and the Army started the Mountain Cold Weather Company at Norwich. Skills taught to these students included: skiing, snowshoeing, wilderness survival, basic and advanced first aid, climbing and mountaineering, day and night land navigation, and cold weather injuries.
In 1960, SFC Don Jennings started the Mountain Cold Weather Company Rescue Team. The mission of this organization is to provide Northern New England with a rescue service capable of conducting search and rescue operations at any time of year under any climatic condition. The Rescue Team has gone on to provide this service on many occasions. Northern New England recognizes the MCW rescue team as the one to call when no one else can complete the rescue. An important first was accomplished in the fall of 2000 with the certification of 45 company members as National Search and Rescue Association Search and Rescue Technicians II.
Currently, Rescue Team members hold qualifications ranging from Army Combat Lifesaver, Wilderness First Aid, and National Association for Search and Rescue: Search and Rescue Technicians, Emergency Medical Technician, US Army ‘Echo Qualified’ Military Mountaineer, as well as many others.
Today, the Mountain Cold Weather Company trains three times a week. One day of training is company training designed to teach freshman and sophomores the basics of mountain and cold weather fighting. The other two days of training are platoon training days where they conduct training that supports their missions.
This training culminates in an exercise held in January where members can practice what they have learned in a mountain and cold weather environment. Cadets conduct all the training with the advice of Army ROTC cadre. The MCW Company also conducts numerous rescue and special operations demonstrations throughout the year. Demonstrations range from Rook Week and Family Week to the Boy Scout Jamboree. Cadets who complete this training can go into the Army knowing they possess skills few of their peers have.