LHU ROTC Students Train with Professionals in the Field
By LaKeshia Knarr
LOCK HAVEN – If you were passing through Lock Haven on West Water Street this afternoon, you may have been surprised to see emergency responders and police blocking off the levee entrance, directing traffic and assisting men and women donning camouflage.
Rest assured: it wasn’t a catastrophic emergency, but rather a drill for upcoming leaders.
The Lock Haven University Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) students were participating in a Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA) training exercise aimed at preparing them for the future.
Faced with various real-life scenarios, the students in the ROTC program were tasked with different responsibilities, from assisting with a water rescue and preparing for a levee break or flood to more common tasks associated with traffic control and listening to commands from dispatchers.
The two-hour event began at 3:30 p.m.
A command post was established in Ulmer Hall and dispatchers sent out calls notifying participants of emergency situations at hand. Then – they went to work.
After assisting two “stranded” individuals from Boom Island, the “injured” participants were taken to a casualty collection point, or staging area, for care. Meanwhile, other students were filling sandbags in an effort to stave off a potentially imminent flood.
According to LTC David W. Morgan, professor of military science at LHU, 88 percent of the university’s cadets who have committed to military service following graduation intend to go into the Army Reserve or the National Guard.
Between LHU’s two campuses (Lock Haven and Clearfield), there are currently 54 students enrolled in the ROTC program.
“We’re charged with teaching them how to become second lieutenants, which is the entry-level rank for officers in the Army,” explained Morgan. “We’re trying to give them leadership repetitions.”
These exercises, he said, help develop problem-solving and decision-making skills, in addition to exposing them to secondary training tasks such as first aid.
“We’re replicating the National Guard in this scenario,” he said.
Local emergency responders offered expertise and equipment during the training exercise, including: Lock Haven Police Department, the city Levee Authority, Lock Haven Fire Department and ambulance, and university police. The Pennsylvania Army National Guard: 1-109th IN (CAB) was also on scene, acting as advisors to the scenarios at hand. HUC Inc. provided sand and a truck for the drill.
Norm Wolfrom, chief of Lock Haven Citizens Hose Fire Company #6, said he understands the value of such training exercises.
“It’s nice to have cooperation between all the agencies – the university, ROTC program, the Levee Authority, university and city police, fire department and ambulance,” he said. “This is a learning experience for the future.”
