2013
My name is 1LT Ryan Howe, born in Minneapolis, current resident of Chaska, MN. I began my college career spring of 2013 at St. Cloud State University where I was accepted into the Graphic Design Program and additionally sought after the ROTC program. I had always known I wanted to be a part of the Military, to be a member of a team and make a difference where I can and to share the freedom we all are so grateful to have. That choice directly related to my decision in attending SCSU to become a Cadet.
2015
I officially joined the program back in 2015, my second year attending SCSU. I was a member of ROTC for my remaining four and half years in school. My time as a freshman and sophomore Cadet in ROTC were memorable days. Lots of early morning Physical Training, classes in leadership & critical thinking, and plenty of exciting outdoor labs and exercises deep in the woods of the St. Johns University Arboretum. I temporarily paused my course in the program in fall 2016 for the Simultaneous Membership Program where a Cadet has the option attend Army Basic Training, or in other words, enlist in the Army, where I joined as an 11B Infantryman, enlisting the Minnesota Army National Guard. This was an opportunity in the ROTC program allowing students to simultaneously join the Army and attend the National Guard’s Drill weekends with a local unit as a junior leader. Upon returning from 3 months of Basic Training I rejoined my classmates for the second semester of my sophomore year and proceeded through ROTC balancing a schedule with my Computer Art classes and my new military career as a Private.
2019
Fast forward to spring of 2019 when I commissioned as an Armor Officer. After graduating from St. Cloud State University I had several months before I was to attend Armor Basic Officer Leaders Course. In that time I found opportunities for my civilian job in Graphic Design internships and small business jobs while waiting for the course to begin. Once February 2020 came around I was off to Ft Benning, GA for a 6 month course in Tank tactics and maneuver. There I learned an immense wealth of knowledge in the career I had accepted, further developing the foundational skills my ROTC experience had taught me. I met mentors and peers and developed friendships that will last forever. The 6 months I spent ABOLC have been the single most fun and enlightening time of my life.
2021
Moving along to spring 2021, news of my mobilization to Kuwait with the 34 Infantry Division arrived. However, not as the Tank Platoon Leader I had trained to be, but as an Infantry Platoon Leader in another company. I thought back to the last time I had trained in dismounted Infantry drills. My realization was that the best previous experiences I had in training for my mission to come was during all those years in ROTC, the years of labs and field exercises, the time spent over the summer following my junior year at Cadet Advanced Camp. I reflected back on my days as a Private when I directly utilized battle drills at the lowest level. I looked back on the documents and manuals I had saved and studied the operations, movements, and techniques I had been taught.
Late August 2021 we received word of our spin up and mobilization to Afghanistan in support of Operation Allies Refuse. We knew what the mission would be once on ground however didn’t know how the situation would look like on site. Upon touchdown, my Company rolled immediately into security operations, running several missions at a time each day by Platoon, occupying key positions in guard towers located around the airfield, pulling security outside the Company Command Post, and later securing direct access areas along the outer walls. We operated out of an abandoned sector of the Airfield’s Hangars and office buildings, securing weapons and equipment left behind by Afghan defense forces. I frequently thought back to the urban tactics and fire team emplacement techniques that I had learned in ROTC, adapting the drills to meet the mission’s intent yet still utilizing the same lesson learned from previous events. Those experiences directly influenced the decisions that I have been trained to make today and I am truly thankful for the opportunity to have been taught by the leadership and excellence at St Cloud State, St Benedict’s, and St John’s University’s.
TO CADETS AND OTHERS
For those interested in becoming a part of the ROTC program and those already well on their way in their careers in leadership, think about and continue to remember those past experiences you’ve acquired in your journeys. In my case, these experiences are the tough times of Basic Training face to face with screaming Drill Sergeants, drenched head to toe in mud carrying half your weight in gear, or week long field exercises in the rain or desert heat, leading a platoon one step at a time over hundreds of meters, or reeking of motor oil writing an operation order in the dark for a mission starting at in less than an hour. Very challenging times, all making me the leader I am today. Take the extra notes or write out the additional cheat sheet that will help you remember things down the road. Run another mile or work a bit longer on your form so that you can drive on during moments of fatigue. The time you are spending in the program will sculpt you into the leaders that you will need to be. Focus on creating the foundations of your leadership, growing from mistakes made, and utilizing lessons learned, and you will be prepared to engage and destroy any task that enters your sight picture.
