Two cadets of the Lander University Army ROTC were commissioned as officers of the United States Army at Lander on Friday, August 9.
Cadets Erin Nicole Fowler and Isaac James Auzenne were sworn in as second lieutenants of the Army in a ceremony that included close family and friends. Lieutenant Colonel John R. Shipe, professor of military science for the New Highlander Battalion, gave the commissioning address.
According to Shipe, 71% of Americans do not qualify for military service, due to health, physical fitness or education requirements, and only 1% are both eligible and willing to serve.
"You two represent the best of America," Shipe said of Fowler and Auzenne.