Life in the military, as told by MAJ Coleman

When civilians normally think of leaders in the military, some may picture iron-willed and highly temperamental men – the kind that get into the faces of underlings and bark orders from behind cigar-clenching teeth. Types like General George S. Patton, if you will.

Then, there’s Major (MAJ) Richard Coleman – a mild-mannered and personable leader in the U.S. Army, an assistant professor of military science and the enrollment officer for SRU’s Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC).

Having served in the military for about 20 years, Coleman said he joined the Army Reserve upon going to college so he could be in the military without having to leave school. He said his particular field of specialty in the military, or Military Occupation Specialty (MOS), is field artillery, and has been since he began his career.

Originally from Ohio, Coleman started his military career by going to Fort Sill, Okla. for basic training and Advanced Individual Training (AIT). After training, he said went back to his home state for drilling in Cincinatti for about one year before being stationed on active duty at Fort Riley, Kan. for about five years.

Coleman said he was also stationed in Korea after his time in Kansas, but didn’t get to see actual combat until he was deployed to Iraq in 2003.

According to Coleman, being on base in Korea is a lot like being on base anywhere in the US, with the exception of having to learn the ways of Korean culture. The initial arrival into Iraq, on the other hand, was an adjustment for him and other soldiers.

“Iraq in ’03 was a little different,” he said. “That was the initial war time frame going through there. We didn’t have many interpreters, [and] we didn’t really understand the culture as much as we would’ve liked.”

While Coleman said trying to understand the culture was difficult the first time around, he said it got much easier to understand and talk to the civilians when he went back to Iraq from 2008 to 2009, as part of a team training Iraqi soldiers. After completing his second round of duty in Iraq, Coleman came to SRU to become an assistant professor of military science, and the enrollment officer for the ROTC program.

When he came to Slippery Rock, Coleman said he had never heard of the town or university before in his life, but added that he quickly came to enjoy it.

“Initially, I didn’t know what to expect because I had never heard about [Slippery Rock] before or even knew where it was,” he said. “When I got here, I found it to be a nice small town with a nice university. I’ve been able to take and teach some classes and enjoy myself. But the important thing is, the community support for the military has been great. I haven’t been in a place more supportive.”

Currently, Coleman said he’s waiting for orders to go back to Iraq in June as an adviser for Iraq’s military. Once his duties in Iraq are fulfilled, he said he plans to retire from the military.

Transitioning from a life of combat to civilian life can be tough for soldiers who have seen combat, especially for those who come back with injuries or deal with mental trauma such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Coleman said transitioning into civilian life from life in combat back in 2009 was easy for him, but added that it could be quite difficult for other soldiers.

“It’s almost like opposite ends of a spectrum for an army guy,” he said.

The videos displayed below are various clips of a field exercise conducted for SRU's American Military Experience class on Thursday, April 12. The exercise was held at the Slippery Rock Sportsman Club, and was conducted by local students and officers from the Army Reserve.

SGA officials announce election results

Students listen for the results as SGA Parliamentarian Zacharia Dornisch (left) announces the winners of the election.

 Slippery Rock University's Student Government Association (SGA) Parliamentarian Zacharia Dornisch announced the results for the 2012-2013 SGA election at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday in the quad.

Of the three parties running in the election, being T.O.G.A. Party, Party Rock and Mario Party, the most victorious turned out to be the T.O.G.A. Party, who clinched various senator seats, as well as four of five Executive Board positions - President, David Wolfe; Vice President of Internal Affairs, Kelly Moore; Vice President of Student Affairs, James Henry; and Vice President of Financial Affairs, Benjamin Motyl. The fifth Executive Board position, being the Vice President of Campus Outreach, went to Mario Party candidate Christian McChesney.

Voter turnout for this year's election had improved by almost 50 percent from last year's election, which had a turnout of only eight percent of the student population. The poor turnout of last year's election was attributed to the fact that only one party, The People's Party, ran and did not face opposition.

SRU students gather in a crowd around the gazebo in the quad to listen to the SGA election results Tuesday afternoon.

While there were three parties in total for this year's election, T.O.G.A. Party and Party Rock were the main front-runners of the election, winning favor from students with different platforms and various promises.

T.O.G.A. Party had campaigned on the promise to bring the authority of SGA back to the students and away from faculty, but the party made other promises, such as restructuring SGA's budgeting system, readjusting the Happy Bus schedule, improving lighting on and near campus and reduced costs around campus.

Led by SGA presidential candidate Alex Hiller, Party Rock proved to be T.O.G.A. Party's biggest challenger. Party Rock had campaigned with several different promises, but it was mainly due to their controversial platform that they got attention - to make SRU a wet campus.

Though the pledge had gained attention from students, Party Rock's platform only raised more questions and skeptical attitudes instead of creating support from the student community.