Alumni News

Tulane Lauds Campus ROTCs in New Article

Read theTulane News article here:

As America turns 250, Tulane sees ‘resurgence’ in ROTC participation

Congratulations!! to the Tulane NROTC Alumni Association Award winners.

MIDN 1/C Oliver Yeomans was presented with the Barrow Award.

MIDN 1/C George Cattan was presented with the Wintle Award.

Spring Awards Ceremony

The Spring Awards Ceremony for the Battalion was held in Dixon Hall followed by the Spring Battalion Change of Command on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. MIDN 2/C Jesse Thompson relieved MIDN 1/C Oliver Yeomans and was posted as the Battalion CO. Captain Heely addressed the Battalion saying the the Awards Ceremony was a fitting end to the hard work of the Midshipmen this semester, especially the graduating seniors. It was indeed a successful year. In addition to the above mentioned Alumni Association Awards, many other midshipmen were presented with honors.

1. The Marine Raider Award

Presented to: MIDN 1/C Naulls

2. The Hard Charger Award

Presented to: MIDN 4/C Karman

3. The Leonard S. Isacks Jr. Memorial Award

Presented to: MIDN 4/C Sharpe

4. New Orleans Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution National Defense Award

Presented to: MIDN 4/C Kirwin

5. The USAA Spirit Award

Presented to: MIDN 3/C Cummins

6. The Spirit of ’76 Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, Flag of the United States of America Award

Presented to: MIDN 3/C Johanson

7. VFW Post 8973 Outstanding New Midshipman Award

Presented to: MIDN 4/C Hensley

8. VFW Post 8973 Emerging Leader Award

Presented to: MIDN 3/C Martin

9. VFW Post 8973 Leadership Excellence Award

Presented to: MIDN 2/C Thompson

10. The Knights of Columbus, 4th Degree Louisiana District Award

Presented to: MIDN 2/C Lindung

11. George Washington Chapter, Louisiana Society of the Sons of the American Revolution Award

Presented to: MIDN 1/C Spangler

12. The Chalmette Chapter, National Society United States Daughters of 1812 Award

Presented to: MIDN 1/C Wright

13. National Defense Chairman, National Society of Daughters of the Founders and Patriots of America Award

Presented to: MIDN 1/C Hambrick

14. The Military Order of the World Wars, Reserve Officer Training Corps Bronze Medal of Medal

Presented to: MIDN 4/C Larkin

15. The Military Order of the World Wars, Reserve Officer Training Corps Silver Medal of Medal

Presented to: MIDN 3/C Wood

16. The Military Order of the World Wars, Reserve Officer Training Corps Gold Medal of Medal

Presented to: MIDN 2/C Wallace

17. Chalfant Aviation Award

Presented to: MIDN 1/C Mounts

18. The Rear Admiral Frederick B. Warder Award

Presented to: MIDN 1/C Cattan

19. Greater New Orleans Council of the Navy League Captain Joseph T. Katz Award

Presented to: MIDN 1/C Johnson

20. Tulane University NROTC Alumni Association LCDR Jack Wintle Award

Presented to: MIDN 1/C Cattan

21. Tulane University NROTC Alumni Association General Robert H. Barrow Award

Presented to: MIDN 1/C Yeomans

22. Culverius Cup

Presented to: MIDN 1/C Yeomans

23. Tulane President’s Cup

Presented to: MIDN 1/C Cattan

24. The Chief of Naval Operations Midshipman Award

Presented to: MIDN 1/C Cattan

Wave Weekend 2026

Tulane Website

Wave ’26 Weekend will be held November 5-8, 2026. Check back to the website for information on Homecoming events. The classes of 1976, 1991 and 1996 are excited to celebrate this year.

Your Alumni Association supports the Unit and you in numerous ways and needs your support. Alumni directly fund the Barrow and Wintle Awards, midshipmen attendance at conferences like the Notre Dame or Yale Leadership Conferences, midshipmen field trips like the recent one to Pensacola, plaques on the Drill Deck like the Latin Honors Plaque or Fallen Alumni, supporting Archives including the Historical Brochures, Homecoming Activities, keeping the website and communication functional, and much more. Please consider joining with your membership dues or make a donation to keep your Association active and vibrant.

Join

Give

Two midshipmen from the Battalion attended the Notre Dame NROTC Leadership Conference February 6, 2026 – February 7, 2026. Several Alums and your Alumni Association sponsored the midshipmen to receive this valuable training. If you would like to help keep the next generation of Navy and Marine Corps officers participating in such events please consider donating.

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The annual Notre Dame Naval Leadership Weekend in South Bend was attended this year by MIDN 1/C Phillip BurkeOliver Yeomans and MIDN 1/C George Cattan. Both midshipmen received important lessons on leadership and the character traits required to be an officer. Spanning February 5-8, both students made great use of their time. The Conference has been attended by Tulane mids for the several years, and they always make sure to bring the lessons they learn back to the unit. The students give a presentation with highlights of their experience. The midshipmen are greatly appreciative of the support that the Alumni Association has made which allowed them to attend this great event and hope the support continues. The Leadership Weekend consisted of speaker panels covering a wide variety of aspects concerning leadership, community breakout groups, a keynote address by BGen Roger R. Machut, USMC (Ret.), and other interactive and informative activities.

The speakers for the event included BGen Roger R. Machut, USMC (Ret.); Col Brett L. Larson, USMC; Capt Kelly J. Mahaffey, USN; Capt Michael Jelinek, USN; SgtMaj Ernest R. Twigg, USMC; CMC Jonathan Ricks, USN; and 1st Sgt Randall Parkes, USMC (Ret.).

Mardi Drill Meet

The Tulane University Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps held the annual Mardi Drill Meet on Friday, February 13, 2026. The teams came from across the nation with representatives from the Service Academies, Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, North Carolina, and more. The Commandant of Texas A&M attended the event. The judges were Drill Instructors from the Marine Forces Reserve and Assistant MOIs from George Washington, SUNY Maritime, UPenn, Oklahoma, and Jacksonville.

The Uptown Campus of Tulane University, specifically the Brown Quadrangle, the University Center (LBC) Quadrangle, and Yulman Stadium, was the site of the competition. The units participating in the drill meet were judged in the events of Platoon Inspection, Platoon Armed Basic Drill, Squad Armed Basic Drill, Color Guard, Platoon Armed Exhibition, and Individual Exhibition. The overall winner of the Drill Meet was Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University. West Point cadets came in second place. The United States Naval Academy placed third. In addition, the winners of each event were:

Platoon Inspection

First- Texas A&M

Second- Norwich AROTC

Third- West Point

Platoon Basic

First- Norwich AROTC

Second- University of North Georgia ROTC

Third- USNA

Platoon Exhibition

First- West Point

Second- USNA

Third- Norwich AROTC

Color Guard

First- Jacksonville NROTC

Second- Mississippi State AFROTC

Third- Texas A&M Fish

Squad Basic

First- Southern University NROTC

Second- USMMA

Third- North Carolina Piedmont NROTC A

Individual Exhibition

First- UT NROTC

Second- West Point

Third- Norwich AROTC

Overall

First- Texas A&M Fish

Second- West Point

Third- USNA

https://nrotc.tulane.edu/content/mardi-gras-drill-meet

On 07 March 2026, the Tulane NROTC Battalion conducted a road trip to Pascagoula, MS, to tour three U.S. Navy warships currently in construction at Huntington Ingalls Industry (HII) shipyard. Our Midshipmen received in-depth tours, discussions, and mentorship from the leadership and crews of the USS ZUMWALT (DDG 1000), USS BOUGAINVILLE (LHA 8), and USS TED STEVENS (DDG 128). Visiting the newest generation of warships gave our Midshipmen unique and valuable insights into Surface Warfare and Aviation disciplines and provided the opportunity for small-group discussions vital to Junior Officer development. A special thanks to SUPSHIP Gulf Coast for providing access and logistic support for the day’s events.

Midshipmen Trip to Pascagoula

Tulane University Hosts Book Festival

Tulane hosted the well renowned New Orleans Book Festival from March 12 through March 15, 2026. The Navy Building was one of the host locations. Author panels, book signings, and a special Family Day occurred on the Drill Deck. The venue was well trafficked and attendees were impressed with the fest and the building site. Many authors and hosts of discussions came out to the Building and included Tulane President Fitts, Carol Graham, Tom Piazza, and Stephen Spotswood. Other nationally known authors like Ken Burns, Walter Isaacson, Sanjay Gupta, Gen. David Patraeus and Gen. Stanley McChrystal headlined the event. General McChrystal even took some extra time to speak to all of the ROTC Units on campus.

Several Association Alumni are published authors including Ronald Drez (1959), Earl Higgins (1963), and William F. Morgan (1985) and Mike Flynn (1990).

New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University

Tulane Website Information

https://bookfest.tulane.edu/

Times-Picayune Story

https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/festivals/tulane-book-fest-2026/article_c5b45ce7-f173-474a-9271-2cf6a05bede5.html

General Stanley McChrystal

Alumni in Action

2026 Tulane Engineering Forum

The 26th annual Tulane Engineering Forum was held this year on April 24th at the New Orleans convention center with well over 400 participants. John McGaha (‘70) and Don Vinci (‘79), both NROTC alumni, once again played major roles in the planning of the event. Don also participated as a panelist for the Forum’s leadership session on the topic of Mentorship. Also, of note, the Dean of the School of Science and Engineering, Hridesh Rajan, provided the following update on key milestones achieved in the school’s initiative to bring back engineering degree programs that had been eliminated following hurricane Katrina:

Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering with a focus on water began in the fall of 2025
Masters in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering will be offered in the fall of 2026
Bachelor’s degree curriculums in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering have been developed and approved by Tulane’s faculty. Additional faculty recruiting, and lab and other resource development to support these programs will begin soon.

The Forum features speakers and information from engineering industry leaders and experts, and provides Professional Development Hours for the engineering community, of which several more of our alumni are found in attendance. As President Michael A. Fitts commented, “From infrastructure, to energy, to space, today’s forum gathers some of the leading voices in academia and industry to discuss some of the most critical issues we face as a society. This is what we do best at Tulane.”

For more information about the event, see this link: https://tef.tulane.edu/home/

The Tulane Engineering Forum is a natural outreach of the School of Engineering and its far reaching effects. The Tulane School of Engineering is going strong and more energy and resources are being put into the program. The Dean is very supportive of all engineering activities and this is straight from the dean:

With strong demand from students and enthusiastic support across the Tulane community, engineering at Tulane is roaring back to life. Continuing on the success of our existing programs in Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Engineering Physics, we’ve introduced a distinctive Civil Engineering – Water and Environment major that leverages our strengths in river and coastal science and prepares graduates to lead on some of the most urgent water-related challenges facing communities like ours. We also added a standalone major in Computer Science, and a minor in Artificial Intelligence. In parallel, we’re expanding advanced training through new M.S. programs in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering. Work is continuing on adding the remaining majors, and we’ll share more as pieces come online. The practical needs now are hiring and supporting excellent faculty, building and modernizing laboratories, providing strong teaching-assistant support, and adding the administrative capacity required to be fully prepared for ABET accreditation. These are areas where alumni engagement can make an outsized difference in helping Tulane Engineering scale with quality and ambition.

To Read More about the new happenings in Tulane Engineering please see the below link:

https://news.tulane.edu/news/civil-engineering-major-among-new-engineering-programs-offered-tulane.

Alum to Be New Unit XO

CDR Ryan McGoldrick is the new Executive Officer of the TUNROTC Unit. An alum from the class of 2007, he is an aviator who is originally from California.

Defenders’ Memorial Day Challenge Regatta

The Annual Memorial Day Defenders’ Challenge Regatta was held on Lake Pontchartrain out of the Southern Yacht Club. The event is held in honor of the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces willing to make the ultimate sacrifice so that we all may enjoy freedom. The Tulane NROTC Unit was the Navy representative team with all the new 2026 alums taking part in the activities.

Molly Marine Chapter

The Molly Marine Chapter, LA-1, Women Marines Association was featured in a recent television news story on Local Veterans First.

Watch it here.

TUNROTC Alumni Association Merchandise

TUNROTC Alumni Association merchandise is now available at

https://www.bonfire.com/store/tulanenrotcalumni-store/

The selection of items changes as time goes on.

Tulane Naval ROTC Alumni Association Inc Logo-02_large

Commissionings 2026

I, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

The Tulane University Joint ROTC Commissioning was held on May 15, 2026. The event hosted by the Army ROTC and occurred in the Glazer Family Room at Yulman Stadium. A Reception followed provided by the Tulane Alumni Association. Major General Justin M. Swanson, 377th Theater Sustainment Command, Commanding General, delivered the keynote speech and administered the Oath of Office to the cadets and midshipmen. Eight women and men were commissioned for the United States Marine Corps and the United States Navy as Second Lieutenants and Ensigns. They are graduates of Tulane University and University of New Orleans. They will be entering the service into fields of Surface Warfare, Aviation, Nuclear Power, and the Marine Corps. The Navy held a separate Commissioning Ceremony earlier in the day in the Navy Building where each new officer specially chose who to swear them in.

The graduation class of 1976 celebrated its 50th Anniversary and were feted with honors. The class of 76 had 5 members in attendance for the commissioning ceremonies this year. They were aviators, supply corps, and surface line officers. These five officers gave over 90 years of service to the Navy. They will be returning for Homecoming in November along with at least 7 more from the class of 76. The class graduated 26, lost one on active duty and one to COVID, and had one admiral in the class.