ROTC Selected Geronimo Award Recipient

PROVO, Utah – Mar 08, 2016 – After a year of strategic program changes, Brigham Young University’s Army ROTC program celebrated a major success after being named the best large-level program in the region.

“We are here to develop leaders of not only America but also our families, churches and communities,” says Lt. Col. Chanda Mofu. “It’s great that the work the cadets do is being recognized.”

The Geronimo Award is given annually to one of 36 ROTC programs in the states of Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Utah. When the BYU Army ROTC received this award, it was cited for its excellence in quantity and quality of cadets commissioned, average GPA and average physical training scores. 

On behalf of the program, Mofu accepted the award in San Antonio from the U.S. Army Fifth Cadet Command Battalion. He says the focus of the ROTC program has shifted to help train cadets to become leaders who could adapt and think more dynamically.

“Now when we ask a question, we always end with ‘why?’ Why did you make that decision?” explains Mofu. “We’re trying to teach skillful decision making.”

Jumping into new methods and tactics has paid off. Younger cadets are developing faster thanks to more responsibility under the guidance of experienced officers. In addition, sophomore cadets are being trusted as team leaders, a position that used to be strictly for junior cadets. This is giving them more chances to develop leadership and decision-making skills. 

“The award shows the amount of work that we’ve put into the program,” says Gregory Fitzpatrick, an economics senior from Mission Viejo, Calif. “It means that we’re being recognized as the best.”

The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, entrepreneurship, finance, information systems and public management. The school’s mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,300 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.