ROTC Staffers at University of Richmond Named Best in Nation
May 24, 2005
Two University of Richmond ROTC staffers have been named best in the nation by U.S. Army Cadet Command.
A board of officers selected Lt. Col. Donald J. Lash Jr. as Cadet Command “Professor of Military Science of the Year—2005” and Hoa (Lan) T. Weidle as “Human Resource Assistant of the Year—2005.” Cadet Command is the parent organization of Army ROTC.
They were selected from among staffers at the 272 Senior Army ROTC battalions in the nation. Of the six battalion-level award categories, the University of Richmond won two.
Selection took into account the university ROTC battalion’s overall performance, its success in commissioning, its cadet performance at the Leader Development and Assessment Course at Fort Lewis, Wash., and the individual’s contributions to Cadet Command.
On the way to national recognition, both Lash and Weidle were selected as the best in 4th Brigade (19 schools in Virginia and North Carolina) and the best in Eastern Region (132 schools from the eastern half of the United States). Both also took top 4th Brigade honors in 2004.
Richmond’s ROTC program was named top battalion in the 4th Brigade for 2005.
Lash, a West Point graduate, has been professor of military science at Richmond since 2001. He also has an M.B.A (aviation) from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona, Fla. He has 22 years of military service.
Weidle has been at Richmond since 1998 and has six Commander’s Awards and five Achievement Medals for Civilian Service.