Demonstrating its motto “Primus Inter Pares”—“First Among Equals”—Columbus State University’s ROTC Cougar Battalion claimed the top spot among its regional counterparts and the No. 3 spot nationally at Cadet Summer Training.

The Army ROTC’s 35-day Cadet Summer Training—considered the Army’s largest annual training event—tests cadets’ leadership, academic excellence and physical fitness skills. Like year-round campus-based ROTC activities, the annual summer program at Fort Knox, Kentucky, focuses on developing cadets into tough, adaptive leaders who can thrive and make decisions in complex environments.

“Our cadets’ unwavering commitment inspires others and exemplifies our motto and mantra of ‘First among Equals – Cougars lead the way!’,” said Maj. Dale Cox, who assumed battalion leadership during the summer as its professor of military science. The Columbus State alumnus, who earned a master of public administration degree in 2019, continued, “They embody the spirit of scholastic achievement, leadership excellence and athletic dominance.”

Seventeen Columbus State cadets—students in their junior and senior years—were among the nearly 6,000 cadets across 10 regiments representing every corner of the U.S. who attended.

Training activities evaluate Army fundamentals—drill and ceremony, land navigation, marksmanship skills, physical fitness, road marches and field training exercises—while testing cadets’ mettle and ranking them and their battalions regionally and nationally.

As the No. 1 battalion in its tier and the entire 6th Brigade, Columbus State reclaimed the coveted Titan Helmet for the third consecutive year—and the fourth time in six years. In doing so, they beat in-state battalions at the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech, out-of-state ones like Auburn University and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and others in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Puerto Rico that comprise the 6th Brigade.

That same performance also ranked Columbus State’s Cougar Battalion third nationally among the 900 universities and colleges that form the U.S. Army Cadet Command.

INDIVIDUAL HONORS

Of Columbus State’s 17 cadets who attended Cadet Summer Training, 15 were rated in the top 50% nationally—and nine of those in the top 15%. Two from Columbus State—Tyler Fleming and Sean Heisterman—rated in the top 1% of the camp’s 5,871 cadets.

“The fact that the Cougar Battalion was the only battalion in our brigade to have two cadets rank in the top 10 speaks to how our cadets value personal achievement and bring distinction to our program, institution and community,” Cox said.

The Cougar Battalion’s strong reputation and its proximity to Fort Moore were among the factors that attracted Fleming, a Rutherfordton, North Carolina, native to Columbus State.

“My success at camp was largely due to surrounding myself with highly motivated individuals. I believe that iron sharpens iron, and their determination inspired me to push beyond my limits,” said the second-year cadet and a senior who ranked first in his regiment, seventh in the brigade and 40th in the nation. As the top cadet in the Cadet Command’s 2nd Regiment, Fleming received the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) Leadership and Excellence Award.

“I realized early on that Columbus State had one of the best ROTC programs in the nation,” added Heistermann, a second-year cadet who ranked ninth in the brigade and 56th in the nation. The senior, originally from Anaheim, California, continued, “In its success, it never rests on its laurels. Columbus State strives for excellence, and its exceptional CST performance will be carried far beyond 2024.”