Corps to welcome back four alumni as part of 21st Gunfighter Panel
For the 21st consecutive semester, the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets is bringing back Corps of Cadets graduates who have recently deployed to speak to the regiment.
The Spring 2014 Gunfighter Panel will be held on Thursday, April 10, at 3:30 p.m., in the Commonwealth Ballroom in Squires Student Center located at 290 College Ave. All are welcome to attend and no tickets are required.
Each semester, three or four alumni are welcomed back to campus to sit on the Gunfighter Panel, which is one of the four programs in the Leaders in Action lecture series hosted each term by the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets and the Maj. Gen. W. Thomas Rice Center for Leader Development. They will share their combat deployment experiences, their lessons learned and leadership challenges, while also sharing how the corps experience prepared them for life after college.
The Gunfighter Panel series started in 2004, shortly after the United States entered combat in Iraq. With the war came the increased potential for our cadets to be in combat shortly after graduation, and this series evolved to help prepare them for their future in an uncertain world. Each semester's panel allows the corps to teach future leaders and to honor those who are already serving the nation in harm’s way.
This semester, the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets will welcome back four Army officers.
- Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets alumnus Col. Frank Huber, U.S. Army, who earned a degree in electrical engineering from the College of Engineering in 1985 is returning to campus from his current assignment at Fort Meade, Md. where he serves as the Deputy to the Principal Director for Operations at the Defense Information Systems Agency. While a cadet he served as the commander of the Conrad Cavalry as well as the Honor Court defense attorney his senior year. His wife Ursel graduated from the Corps of Cadets in 1986 and earned a degree in animal science from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Both were members of Charlie Corps. Huber was recognized as a Hokie Hero during the 2012 football season while he was deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan.
- Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets alumnus Col. Barry “Chip” Daniels, U.S. Army, who earned a degree in management from the Pamplin College of Business in 1993 is currently a student at the U.S. Army War College and will take command of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division in June. While commanding the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, his unit deployed back to Northern Iraq as part of Operation New Dawn. This unit was one of the last battalions to leave Iraq at the end of the war. Daniels, a member of F-Troop, was on Skipper Crew, served as the commander of the Gregory Guard, and also served as the Second Battalion Commander during his senior year in the corps.
- Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets alumnus 1st Lt. Tracy Porter, U.S. Army, who earned a degree in geography from the College of Natural Resources and Environment as well as minors in leadership studies from the Maj. Gen. W. Thomas Rice Center for Leader Development and geosciences from the College of Science in 2010 is stationed at Fort Stewart, Ga., with the 766th Ordnance Company. He was a member of the regimental band the Highty-Tighties and served as the regimental operations officer his senior year. Porter was recognized as a Hokie Hero this fall during his nine-month deployment to Forward Operating Base Pasab Kandahar, Afghanistan. His wife Lindsey is also a 2010 graduate of the Corps of Cadets and the Highty-Tighties, who earned a degree in sociology and a minor in American Indian studies from the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, as well as a minor in leadership studies from the Maj. Gen. W. Thomas Rice Center for Leader Development and is currently serving in the U.S. Air Force.
- Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets alumnus 1st Lt. James Tenney, U.S. Army, who earned a degree in aerospace engineering from the College of Engineering and a minor in leadership studies from the Maj. Gen. W. Thomas Rice Center for Leader Development in 2010 is returning from Fort Campbell, Ky. He is assigned to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and is currently serving as a Heavy Weapons Company executive officer. Tenney was deployed to Khowst Province, Afghanistan, in 2012 where he worked with the Afghanistan Border Police. Tenney is a member of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Class of 2009 and served as a platoon leader his senior year in the Highty-Tighties and in Delta Company.
With a visitor’s pass, parking is available in the Squires Lot, located at the corner of College Avenue and Otey Street or the Architecture Annex Lot also on Otey Street. Parking meters within the Squires Lot will need to be paid. A visitor’s pass may be obtained Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Visitor Information Center, located at 965 Prices Fork Road, near the intersection of Prices Fork and University City Boulevard next to the Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center. A visitor’s pass may also be obtained from the Virginia Tech Police Station, located on Sterrett Drive, outside of the Visitor Information Center hours. Find more parking information online or call 540-231-3200.
