Joseph Babitsky

Alumni Donations

I'm sure everyone's heard the news that Norwich University has recently received it's largest alumni donation in the entire history of the school by now, but in case you haven't, here's a copy/paste from the official announcement from President Schneider: 

"I am thrilled to announce that at the April 25, 2013, Board of Trustees dinner, COL (IL) J. N. Pritzker, IL ARNG (Retired) committed $25 million toward the University’s upcoming bicentennial campaign.

This is by far the largest gift in our 194-year history. It will transform the University and make a significant impact on future generations of students and faculty. Col. Pritzker served on Norwich’s Board of Trustees from 1997 to 2007. His gift is a challenge to current, former and emeriti trustees to cumulatively match the contribution.

We will publicly launch the bicentennial campaign at Homecoming 2014, and this gift positions us to be successful in meeting our fundraising goals.

“It gives me great joy to support Norwich’s upcoming fundraising campaign with this gift to ensure that it has the facilities and resources to meet every challenge as it begins its third century of service to the nation,” said Pritzker. “There is no other place like Norwich University. This gift demonstrates my dedication to the University, its mission and my faith in its leadership.”

Col. Pritzker is president of the Tawani Foundation, trustee emeritus and founder of the Pritzker Military Library in Chicago. This historic donation was made through the foundation.

We are all here at Norwich for one purpose: to educate America’s future leaders. I am humbled by this charge and extremely grateful for Col. Pritzker’s remarkable support as we prepare to celebrate the 200th anniversary of our founding in 2019."

I was totally floored by this announcement. The generosity of the alumni, and their dedication to this university and our education never fail to amaze me. When I read this announcement, it reminded me what I am a part of as a student here at Norwich, and the incredible network of alumni that came before me. 

This news also served as a reminder that no matter what, Norwich students past and present are always, and will always be there for each other. This is truly the spirit of the university, and it makes me proud to say that I go to Norwich University, and in two short years when I graduate, I'll certainly be proud to tell others about my alma mater. 

For all of those prospective students out there, know that this is the legacy that you will become a part of if you choose to come here, the legacy that you will carry on when you graduate from this institution. 

 

Norwich forever!

 

-CPL Babitsky

Sabers Night 2013

Yesterday, 11 April 2013, the newest class of Cavalry Troopers completed their training and earned their sabers. 

Participating in the event, known as Sabers Night, a multi-hour test of physical fitness and Cavalry knowledge, as an upperclassman brought back many memories of my own Sabers Night just last year. The camaraderie and endurance shown by the trainees (now new Troopers) was admirable, and I feel privileged to have been an upperclassman to such a fine training class. 

For the duration of the event, I functioned as PAO, or Public Affairs Officer, taking pictures to document the event. I got to take quite a few action shots of both trainee and trooper alike during the course of the night!

The picture below is of the class of new Troopers, I hope it serves as inspiration and motivation for those of you looking to join the Cavalry Troop here at Norwich! 

I hope to see many of my readers as trainees in the coming years! 

 

Catch y'all later!

 

-CPL Babitsky

RPI 31st Annual Drill Meet

Hey everyone! This past Saturday, 6 April, the Air Force ROTC drill team here at Norwich participated in the 31st Annual Drill Meet at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and it was a blast!

Last year, I had the opportunity to participate in the competition as well, and I have to say, it's even more fun from an upperclassman perspective than it is from a freshman perspective. Whereas last year I felt a little off of my drill game (as my longtime readers might know, I participated in AFJROTC drill team for all 4 years of my high school career) due to the shift over to Army marching during Rookdom, this year, I enjoyed the extra practice in Air Force marching since Field Training is quickly approaching. 

We performed very well at the competition this year, winning 1st place in Armed Squad Basic, Armed Squad Inspection, and Armed IDR Knockout, and 2nd place in Armed Dual Exhibition. 

I highly encourage any cadets participating in the AFROTC program (or planning on participating in the program next year) to consider signing up for the drill team, as it's definitely a ton of fun (and helps you out when competing for Field Training Entry Allocations!) 

Here are some videos from the competition:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HgmNspBOOs (Unarmed Flight Basic)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2Fwwp8Z4tg (Armed Dual Exhibition)

 

Catch y'all later!

 

-CPL Babitsky

Trip to Taiwan Part 5

Hey guys! So this will be my last post on my trip to Taiwan, and today I'll be telling you about what it takes to get selected (or to apply for) a program like the one I attended. 

Our trip to Taiwan was as a delegation representing Norwich University to one of our sister schools (ROCMA, or the Republic of China Military Academy) and a school which we would like to form an exchange partnership with (Fu Hsing Kang.) There were only four of us students on the trip, and we were chosen based on our performance in Chinese class. 

As you progress through your Norwich career, you'll find that doing well in classes and forming good professional relationships with your professors will result in being selected for trips such as the one I took. 

On another note, I'm sure some of you remember my posts about Project GO (Global Officer) where I study abroad in China for two months over the summer, all expenses paid. The program I attend, hosted by the University of Mississippi, accepts about 30 students each year. Again, having good grades will benefit you greatly if you plan to study abroad or apply for a similar program, as the better a program is (deal-wise), the more selective they will generally be. 

If anyone has any questions about studying abroad or visiting other countries during the course of a Norwich career, feel free to ask!

Tune in next time for a post about the Air Force Drill Team's time at the 31st Annual RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) Drill Meet!

 

Catch y'all later!

 

-CPL Babitsky

Trip to Taiwan Part 4

Hey there everyone! Here it is, the moment you've all been waiting for: the pulse-pounding conclusion to my series of posts on my spring break trip to Taiwan!

After an incredible closing ceremony at Fu Hsing Kang, we departed Taipei via high-speed rail for Kaohsiung, in the south of Taiwan. I'd like to take a second to comment on how incredibly convenient public transportation in Taiwan is. Not only does each major city have it's own MRT, or Mass Rapid Transit system, but there is also a high-speed rail line in Taiwan that covers the length of the island in 90 minutes. Yes, that's right. You can travel the length of the entire island in an hour and a half. It's very, very convenient! (And relatively cheap as well, only about 20USD for a ticket from Taipei to Kaohsiung.)

When we arrived in Kaohsiung, we were met by our guide, a first lieutenant in the Taiwanese army (who, incidentally, had studied at VMI) and our 4 cadet hosts. After throwing our bags in the back of an Army truck, we had a quick lunch and set out in vans for the Republic of China Military Academy, or ROCMA. 

ROCMA was quite a different experience than FHK was. There was no elaborate reception, no prepared presentations, no gifts at every turn.......it almost seemed as if no one had known we were coming and we took them by surprise (which was impossible, seeing as the director of the international office, who was with us, had contacted them the same time FHK had been contacted.) 

The shift in atmosphere wasn't entirely unwelcome, however, as we got to see how the school operated on a day-to-day basis. We were more observers at ROCMA than guests, which wasn't all that bad. We stayed with the cadets in the barracks, as opposed to the visiting officers' quarters at FHK, which was an interesting experience. We also got to watch some of their formations and be on a nearly empty campus for the second of our two days spent there, since the cadets had leave on the weekend we arrived. 

We also got to tour scenic spots around the city of Kaohsiung, the most memorable event of which was our time spent biking around the coast. I can't remember the last time I did something as thrilling (or dangerous) as biking around a city with as much traffic as Kaohsiung. It definitely required all of my situational awareness to not get run down (which wasn't entirely helped by the fact that I attempted to make a video while biking, holding my phone with one hand and controlling my bike with the other.) 

After ROCMA, we headed back to Taipei to stay in a hotel near the airport for a day before our flight. Some of us (myself included) headed back to FHK to meet up with our friends (whom we already started to miss even though we were only gone for a couple of days), have dinner one last time, and share our final goodbyes. 

Reflecting on the trip, I am very thankful to have been afforded the opportunity to go, and I certainly hope to have the chance to study abroad in Fu Hsing Kang my senior year!

In my next post, I'll address how one gets to participate in such a trip (a question I'm sure you all have after reading this series!) and, as usual, I'll talk about whatever big news is going on around Norwich at the time!

 

Catch y'all later!

 

-CPL Babitsky

Trip to Taiwan Part 3

Hey everyone! So it's been a while since I've written my last post (or at least, it feels like a while since I'm jet-lagged and I've got pneumonia.......again) so I'm now continuing my series of posts on my trip to Taiwan over break!

Unfortunately, I don't really have the time to write as detailed posts as I did the last two, not to mention my memory isn't as fresh as it was when I was writing right after the events occurred, but in this post I'll discuss the remainder of my time spent at Fu Hsing Kang.

The rest of the week went by pretty much on a schedule, we visited academic departments in the mornings and early afternoons, and got to tour the city and surrounding areas in the late afternoons/evenings. We got to see a lot of cool places (I'll include a link to my photo album on Facebook at the end of this post) and got to know our cadet hosts really well. 

At the end of the week, the entire school prepared a huge closing ceremony for us, with musical performances, dance performances, and a performance by their cadet corps' drill team. It was, in a word: epic. I could hardly believe that they had prepared the entire two and a half hour event purely for our visit, and I was a bit overwhelmed at being treated so well. As we left, they even played theme music from The Pirates of the Caribbean, making the night feel that much more fantastical. 

Overall, my time spent at FHK was absolutely incredible, and we all made great friends that we still keep in contact with via Facebook. I certainly hope to be able to study abroad there my senior year!

In my next post, I'll describe my time spent at the Republic of China Military Academy, or ROCMA.

Here's the link to that photo album I mentioned: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200356106798205.1073741826.1020950297&type=1&l=c4ebde21f8

 

Catch y'all later!

 

-CPL Babitsky

Trip to Taiwan Part 2

Hey guys! So as I mentioned, my trip to Taiwan is going to be spanning quite a few different blog posts, simply due to the fact that we do so much each day, and that I am typing these up at different times (and going to be posting them separate from when I type them.) As I type this, it’s 0108, Wednesday, March 13^th. You might be wondering why I’m still up at this hour, seeing as our schedules are so packed. Well, I’m waiting for my laundry to finish, and hopefully by the time I finish typing this, my laundry will be done and I can head off to sleep.

Where did I leave off? Oh right, Monday! So our first “duty day” was quite the interesting one. We kicked it off by doing some PT with a few of our cadet hosts, and while we did so, I learned that their PT is broken up first by sports teams (so if you’re a part of Track and Field, you’ll PT with them in the morning instead of with your company) and then the remaining students PT with their company. Oh and I feel I should mention that companies here are divided by major, so if you’re a journalism major, you’d be in 4^th company, for example. After doing some PT, we got showered and dressed in our Norwich polos and khakis (we weren’t allowed to wear our uniforms due to the unique political situation between the U.S., Taiwan, and China) and headed off to breakfast.

Breakfast was also an interesting experience. Cadets sit with their companies at meal times, and it’s the duty of a select group of cadets each meal time to set out food for all of their buddies, so that by the time everyone gets to the chow hall, there’s already a tray full of food sitting in front of each space of the bench seating. In this sense, it’s vastly different from what I’m used to at Norwich, because there wasn’t a choice in what to eat as everyone had exactly the same tray full of food, but in another sense, it made me feel closer to the cadets I sat with, as everyone was literally uniform right down to the amount of food on each person’s tray. Also, because I know you all were wondering, the food was absolutely amazing. I love Chinese cuisine (real Chinese cuisine, mind you, not that stuff we call “Chinese Food” back in America) as I grew up on it, and I felt right at home at meal times.

After breakfast, we were welcomed by the commandant of the entire university and his staff, who showed us a video introduction to the university where I learned a few cool facts (such as how the university is actually split up into two very different colleges, Fu Hsing Kang College and the Management College, both under the National Defense University; and how every male cadet is airborne qualified) and when the video intro was complete, we were presented with gifts by the commandant (this is going to become a trend, you’ll notice.)

After a bunch of photos (this will also become a trend) we proceeded to tour the campus and learn about the history of the school, which is a (relatively) long and storied one. We then had a briefing by Professor Ma on an Introduction to PLA (People’s Liberation Army, the armed forces of China) Studies, which is the only major of its kind, offered at Fu Hsing Kang. After the briefing, we received yet another set of gifts, a set of books containing essays on the PLA, written by graduate students in the program.

The day ended with a BBQ that had food cooked by the commandant himself (who is an outstanding chef, by the way) and a long session of KTV (Chinese karaoke) in a private KTV room right in our barracks’ building. After losing our voices singing (though mine was already gone from being sick this whole trip) we went out to the Shilin Night Market to check out the stores and food stalls around the area.

An action-packed day indeed!

In the next part, I’ll discuss what happened yesterday (Tuesday, March 12^th) which included our intro to the politics of Taiwan, a Chinese culture presentation, and our visit to the Department of Journalism. Oh, and our sightseeing at Tamshui!

 

Catch y’all later!

 

-CPL Babitsky

Trip to Taiwan Part 1

Hey everyone! So as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I was selected along with 3 other students to represent Norwich University as a delegation to Fu Hsing Kang College (also known as the Political Warfare College) and the Republic of China Military Academy in Taiwan. As I’m writing this, it’s currently Tuesday, March 12^th, although since the internet connection in the dorms we’re staying isn’t the best, I’ll be posting these all at once when I return.

Anyways, moving on to the actual trip! We left Norwich on Thursday, March 7^th, and spent about 26 hours in transit to Taiwan, arriving late at night on Friday. The dorms we were given were very generous, equivalent to visiting officers’ quarters at any given U.S. military base, and very much like a hotel room. Amenities were completely provided, which was also totally awesome.

The next day, we were taken to McDonald’s for breakfast (incidentally, I much prefer McDonald’s in Asia to those in the U.S.) and then proceeded to tour the Yanmin Mountain area, which is very famous for its scenic views and geothermal activity. At the end of our mountain tour, we visited a garden that grew lilies, a very popular flower in Taiwan, often used in weddings. Later that night, we got to meet up with a few Norwich alumni in Taiwan and hang out with them. All in all, an action-packed day!

On Sunday, we got to experience the city of Taipei itself. We visited the National Martyr’s Shrine, which is roughly the equivalent of Arlington National Cemetery, though the only difference is that there are no bodies interred at their site, it is only a memorial to those military members who made the ultimate sacrifice. After the shrine, we went to visit the presidential garden, which contained many, many different kinds of flowers (and quite a few large spiders as well!) After lunch, we then proceeded to the Grand Hotel, which was built for the express purpose of housing foreign dignitaries who visited Taiwan. It was quite grand indeed, as it combined both Eastern and Western architectural design to create a building unlike any I had ever seen before. We then took a city tour, including the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, the Taiwanese President’s Building (equivalent to our White House), and Taipei 101, the 3^rd tallest building in the world.

Whew. That was only the first 3 days we were on the trip! I’ll be breaking this entire trip up into multiple parts, and I’ll try to work in photographs to some of the posts so that you can see what I’m describing. Well, I’m about to head off to visit the Department of Journalism, I’ll be writing more later!

 

Catch y’all later!

 

-CPL Babitsky 

A Little Bit of Shameless Self-Promotion...

So if you didn't know, in addition to being a cadet here at Norwich, I am also a poet! I published my first compilation on Amazon a while back (available here: http://www.amazon.com/War-Never-Changes-ebook/dp/B0072WLAUI/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1362258381&sr=1-2&keywords=joseph+babitsky ) and I just finished my second compilation! 

If you're a fan of poetry and have 99 cents to spare, please check out my compilations! If you read through 'em, please leave an honest review on Amazon! 

Link to my newest compilation: http://www.amazon.com/Dream-ytilaeR-ebook/dp/B00BNQMV7A/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1362258381&sr=1-1&keywords=joseph+babitsky

Many thanks!

 

Catch y'all later!

 

-CPL Babitsky

USAFA NCLS 2013

For those of you not as acronym-inclined as I am, the title refers to the trip I recently took to the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) to attend the annual National Character and Leadership Symposium (NCLS.) Despite Murphy's Law being in full effect for the duration of the trip, I had an amazing time and learned a lot about leadership, and the Academy.

So what's this about Murphy's Law you ask? For those who don't know, Murphy's Law states that anything that can go wrong, will. And go wrong it did. We left last Tuesday after Air Force Lead Lab for the airport, only to find out that our flight from Burlington to Washington D.C. was delayed. This wouldn't be such a big deal if that flight being delayed hadn't led to us missing our connecting flight from Washington to Denver. Again, us missing that flight wouldn't have been such a big deal if that wasn't the last flight of the day.

And so we spent the night in Washington's Dulles International Airport.

From that point on, travel was somewhat smoother getting to the Academy. However, after we went out to eat in Colorado Springs Wednesday night, a huge blizzard struck while we were in town, and our vehicle slid down 3 different hills before we finally were able to make it up one of them back up to the cadet area of the Academy.

After Wednesday, things went much better. My cadet host was awesome, and I got to meet a bunch of cadets in his squadron and learn more about how the Academy runs. I found out that it's surprisingly similar to Norwich, although their campus is far newer than Norwich's (then again, it was built in the 60s, so it isn't even 100 years old yet.)

As for the actual symposium, I got to hear some awesome speakers including members of Air Force special forces, Dr. Eric Patterson (who spoke on the importance of culture education to officers who interface with other nations,) CDR Scott Waddle (who spoke to us about how failure as a commander is never final,) Col Lee Ellis (who was held as a POW, or prisoner of war in Vietnam for over 7 years,) Gen Stephen Lorenz (former Air Education and Training Command commander,) and Brig Gen Chuck Yeager (who shouldn't need an introduction.)

Overall, it was an outstanding symposium and I am very thankful that I was given the opportunity to attend!

After the symposium, we stayed in the house of one of the cadets in our group, and we all got to go hiking in the flatiron mountain range near Boulder, Colorado.

It was when it was time to leave the Murphy's Law reared its head once again.

We were scheduled to depart from Denver on Sunday morning, however our flight was cancelled, stranding us in Denver for another day. After rescheduling our flight for Monday (the earliest they had available) we spent the day rooted in place (due to the massive blizzard outside) and waited out the storm.

Thankfully, once we got underway on Monday, we had no more further issues, and made it back to campus around 0100 on Tuesday morning.

 

If you ever find yourself with the opportunity to attend the NCLS, I strongly encourage you to go! It's a great event, especially for those who are preparing to become leaders in either the military or the civilian world!

 

Leaving for Taiwan next Thursday, keep an eye out for posts on that!

 

Catch y'all later!

 

-CPL Babitsky