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Group taking the Oath of Office (L-R): Joshua Bell, Blaine McCoy, Joseph Pauley, David Putnam, Alfred Waters
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Joshua Bell gold bar pinning
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Blaine McCoy gold bar pinning (72 dpi)
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Joseph Pauley gold bar pinning
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David Putnam gold bar pinning
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Alfred Waters gold bar pinning
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Fall 2006 Army Commissioning at WIU

December 21, 2006

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MACOMB, IL - - Five Western Illinois University Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) cadets were commissioned second lieutenants in the U.S. Army during a Dec. 15 ceremony on Western�s campus.

The ceremony included remarks by the recently-retired Third District Appellate 5 Court Judge Kent Slater, the administering of the Oath of Office by Western�s military science chair Major Steven Rosson and the pinning on of the second lieutenant gold bar by family and friends selected by the cadet.

In Spring 2005, Western Illinois� ROTC Bulldog Battalion was named the best large program in the 10th Brigade and a top 15 percent school in all of Cadet Command�s 272 programs. The 10th Brigade, headquartered at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, includes 22 college and university programs in Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Established in 1968, Western�s military science department has a longstanding tradition of excellence, having been named the recipient of the General Douglas MacArthur Award for the best ROTC battalion in the Midwest in 1994, 2001 and 2002.

Below are the individuals, listed by Illinois hometowns, who took the Oath of Office of a commissioned officer:

ANDOVER - David M. Putnam, a May 2006 graduate (physics and mathematics) of Knox College in Galesburg (IL) who attended Army ROTC training at Western Illinois University, received a reserve duty commission in the United States Army National Guard Field Artillery Corps. He will attend Officer Basic Course at Fort Sill, OK. Pinning on his bars was his wife, Audrey Putnam.

LAKE ZURICH � Joshua E. Bell, a recreation, park and tourism administration major, received reserve duty commission in the United States Army National Guard Engineer Corps. He will attend Officer Basic Course at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. 2LT Bell is the son of Bob and Dona Bell. Pinning on his bars where his father, Bob Bell, and his grandfather, William Hust.

MACOMB � Alfred E. Waters, a health services management major, received an active duty commission in the U.S. Army Chemical Corps. He will attend Officer Basic Course at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. Pinning on his bars were his parents, Alfred and Jacqueline Waters, and his sister, Erin Waters.

PORT BYRON � Blaine Leigh McCoy, a law enforcement and justice administration major, received a reserve duty commission in the United States Army National Guard Signal Corps and will attend Officer Basic Course at Fort Gordon, GA. Pinning on his bars were his parents Chet and Sue McCoy.


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