2008 Woodie Awards
RSSAs ROTC cadets compete, others fight wars abroad
By Sarah McClutchy
Issue date: 10/26/07 Section: News
Students in the Lehigh ROTC program placed second overall and won their division in the Ranger Challenge competition held in Lebanon County, Pa. this weekend.
Ranger Challenge Captain Aaron Raymar, '08, led the Lehigh battalion against 19 other ROTC teams.
The battalion includes Lehigh students and students from 21 nearby schools, such as Moravian College, DeSales University and Kutztown University.
Participants in the competition were chosen through the Lehigh ROTC's Best Ranger Competition on Sept. 30.
The people with the top ten personal times go on to compete in the Ranger Challenge.
This year's top three competitors were Alex Nickles, '09; Craig Miller, '08; and Joe D'Elia, '08, respectively.
Nickles, an astrophysics major from Bethlehem and ROTC house Gryphon, will be the Ranger Challenge captain next year.
Nickles enlisted after graduating high school and received an active duty scholarship.
In recent years, Lehigh has placed competitively in annual Ranger Challenges.
The team came in first place last year and was ranked within the top three teams the past several years.
Drew Gomer, '06, Ranger Challenge captain of the 2005 team and ROTC house Gryphon, led the Lehigh battalion to place in the top three in recent challenges, Cadet Alex Plotkin, '08, said.
Gomer, a mechanical engineering major, graduated first out of army lieutenants in his class and was deployed to Iraq in January 2007.
Gomer is a platoon leader and a fire support officer in the field artillery branch, which deals primarily with large guns such as howitzers, Nickles said.
"Gomer is directly responsible for one to two howitzers and coordinates fires with forward operating units," Nickles said.
Gomer is scheduled to come home in April.
Kyle Shelto, another young Lehigh alumnus, will be deployed to Iraq at some point in the future. He is currently attending flight school at Fort Rucker in Alabama.
Ranger Challenge Captain Aaron Raymar, '08, led the Lehigh battalion against 19 other ROTC teams.
The battalion includes Lehigh students and students from 21 nearby schools, such as Moravian College, DeSales University and Kutztown University.
Participants in the competition were chosen through the Lehigh ROTC's Best Ranger Competition on Sept. 30.
The people with the top ten personal times go on to compete in the Ranger Challenge.
This year's top three competitors were Alex Nickles, '09; Craig Miller, '08; and Joe D'Elia, '08, respectively.
Nickles, an astrophysics major from Bethlehem and ROTC house Gryphon, will be the Ranger Challenge captain next year.
Nickles enlisted after graduating high school and received an active duty scholarship.
In recent years, Lehigh has placed competitively in annual Ranger Challenges.
The team came in first place last year and was ranked within the top three teams the past several years.
Drew Gomer, '06, Ranger Challenge captain of the 2005 team and ROTC house Gryphon, led the Lehigh battalion to place in the top three in recent challenges, Cadet Alex Plotkin, '08, said.
Gomer, a mechanical engineering major, graduated first out of army lieutenants in his class and was deployed to Iraq in January 2007.
Gomer is a platoon leader and a fire support officer in the field artillery branch, which deals primarily with large guns such as howitzers, Nickles said.
"Gomer is directly responsible for one to two howitzers and coordinates fires with forward operating units," Nickles said.
Gomer is scheduled to come home in April.
Kyle Shelto, another young Lehigh alumnus, will be deployed to Iraq at some point in the future. He is currently attending flight school at Fort Rucker in Alabama.
