Tulane University Reserve Officers’ Training Corps Joint Commissioning Ceremony was held in the Myra Clare Rogers Memorial Chapel on the campus of Tulane University on Saturday, May 20, 2023; appropriately Armed Forces Day.

The commissioning officer and guest of honor was Major General George (Ned) Appenzeller.  He is the Deputy Surgeon General and Deputy Commanding General (Operations) U.S. Army Medical Command.  MG Appenzeller, a Tulane alumni and AROTC graduate, spoke to the new Second Lieutenants and advised them to remember to always thank the families, both their own and those of the men and women they lead.  He also told the new officers to be balanced to be leaders and lifelong learners, always looking to the future and willing to work with others in all branches of the military.

Provost Robin Forman, Chief Academic Officer, represented Tulane University and lauded the new officers and the over 2000 prior ROTC graduates as excellent representatives of Tulane and humanity.  They serve “not for one’s self but for one’s own”.

The commanding officers of the each ROTC Unit were there to support the men and women who were commissioned:  Captain Paul Bowdich, USN, Professor of Naval Science; Lieutenant Colonel Mia K Bluford, USSF Detachment 320, Professor of Aerospace Studies; and Major Amber M. Clay, USA, Professor of Military Science.

Ten men and women were commissioned Second Lieutenants for service in United States Military; seven for the U. S. Army, one for the U.S. Marine Corps, and two for the U.S. Air Force.  2nd Lieutenant Jackson Swinkle, USMC, also had an individual Commissioning the day before where his father, a former Marine Corps officer, administered his oath of office.  His family and friends, including his younger brother who is also in the NROTC unit, attended the ceremony in the Navy Building.  2nd Lt Swinkle thanked all for supporting him these past four years and into the future.  2nd Lt Swinkle is a Tulane graduate, has completed OCS,  and will be attending TBS.