{"id":45762,"date":"2022-09-25T20:24:27","date_gmt":"2022-09-26T00:24:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=45762"},"modified":"2022-10-06T08:55:33","modified_gmt":"2022-10-06T12:55:33","slug":"goal-of-new-utc-rotc-commander-recruit-train-and-inspire-future-leaders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2022\/09\/goal-of-new-utc-rotc-commander-recruit-train-and-inspire-future-leaders\/","title":{"rendered":"Goal of new UTC ROTC commander: Recruit, train and inspire future leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Capt.

Capt. Stuart Allgood is head of the Department of Military Science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

You\u2019re never late if you\u2019re early, and\u2014thanks to Capt. Stuart Allgood\u2019s military background\u2014his arrival 10 minutes before the start of the scheduled meeting time didn\u2019t come as a surprise to the interviewer.<\/p>\n

Allgood recently began a two-year stint as head of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Department of Military Science, a program housed within the College of Arts and Sciences. As part of his position, he oversees the UTC Reserve Officers\u2019 Training Corps program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I want to be able to do is build the trust with the community here, whether that\u2019s the University academically or the civilian population,\u201d Allgood said. \u201cTrust comes from civilians knowing that I\u2019m here 10 minutes early because military needs to be punctual.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are those positive notions you want to reinforce and that\u2019s what I\u2019m teaching the cadets. They know they\u2019re representatives of the U.S. Army and they need to act accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allgood took over a UTC ROTC program of around 55 students, referring to them as \u201cstudents slash cadets because they\u2019re students first and they need to get a degree to be able to commission.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am going to commission 13 soldiers this summer and then my next class has 20, assuming they all make it through the rigors,\u201d he continued, \u201cso I want it to be a program that can continue to grow, be successful and give good leaders to the Army.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some students are taking ROTC as a minor, which means they will not commission. He cited future contractors, government employees and people working with veterans as those who can benefit from the program.<\/p>\n

Allgood\u2019s arrival in Chattanooga coincided with the departure of Capt. A.J. Herink as head of the department. Herink is now in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, for Intermediate Level Education, a preparation program for future Army field grade officers.<\/p>\n

The Army rotates personnel into university ROTC leadership roles every two years \u201cto diversify you in your knowledge and capability,\u201d Allgood said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile I\u2019ve been on what we would call \u2018the line,\u2019 out doing the training to go fight, the Army sends people after their command time to get broadened. This is broadening me to understand the generating force: How do we generate soldiers to the Army?\u201d<\/p>\n

Although this is Allgood\u2019s initial voyage into the world of teaching at the higher education level, he\u2019s no stranger to leading.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve done eight years in the Army and I know how to lead people, how people receive information, how people are taught, because we have to teach people inside the Army on how to execute a certain task,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came here more limited academically, but the Army does give you a lot of traits and training to set you up to be successful in this type of environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allgood received a bachelor\u2019s degree in political science, anthropology and history from the University in Arkansas in 2014, where\u2014as a member of the ROTC\u2014he was commissioned as a second lieutenant.<\/p>\n

Following graduation, he attended the Armor Basic Officer Leader Course, Army Reconnaissance Course and Stryker Leaders Course. As a second lieutenant, he served as a scout platoon leader with 6th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment and as a mobile gun system platoon leader, assistant operations officer and executive officer with 4th Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment in 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division in Fort Bliss, Texas.<\/p>\n

After being deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Freedom\u2019s Sentinel in 2017, he attended the Maneuver Captain\u2019s Career Course, Cavalry Leader Course and Maintenance Leader Course. When he arrived at Fort Hood, Texas, he served as a brigade assistant operations officer in the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Calvary Division. He then commanded Mad Dog Company, 4th Squadron, 9th Calvary Regiment from April 2020-April 2021 and Headquarters and Headquarters Troop for 4th Squadron, 9th Calvary Regiment from May 2021-June 2022.<\/p>\n

If all the military jargon seems dizzying, consider how Allgood must have felt during his first College of Arts and Sciences department head meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still have a lot of learning to do; there\u2019s a lot of higher educational vernacular that I\u2019m not used to yet,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m still learning the difference between an adjunct professor compared to an associate professor, or the vernacular being used, or the task org the deans and the department heads have.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut when it comes to solving problems and everyone being part of the team to get something solved, they\u2019re the same. Whether that\u2019s a department head meeting or an Army staff meeting, that\u2019s what we want to achieve.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that the military and higher education might have different mission sets, and it\u2019s part of his broadening process.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome things that I can pick up here I can bring back to the Army and say, \u2018Hey, I\u2019ve seen it done this way inside of this educational organization,\u201d he said. \u201cMaybe we could implement this in the Army to solve this problem.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

After his two-year stint at UTC, he hopes to be promoted to major\u2014the next rank for an Army officer.<\/p>\n

It all starts with keeping the ROTC momentum going.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is what the end result should be: That I am able to protect my cadets, to be able to get their degrees and produce leaders who can be given to the Army, officers that are successful in their career,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey will be asked to lead America\u2019s sons and daughters, and it is my job to prepare them for that as much as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0 *<\/p>\n

Under Allgood\u2019s direction, exercises the UTC ROTC is conducting this semester include:<\/p>\n