Instructor's Lifesaving Skills Saved
Woman
18 November 2008
Traumatic events transpired today at a
New Jersey
grocery store as our very own Major E.
Bobowicz was called to attend to one of his
shoppers needs, above and beyond his normal
call of duty.
MAJ Bobowicz’s customer, a 91 year old
woman, was shopping in the store he is a
manager of, while she turned a corner to
turn an aisle and severely lacerated her
ankle on the ledge of a nearby shelf causing
her to lose over four pints of blood.
MAJ Bobowicz, utilizing quick thinking,
swift action, and years of education with
CMA, quickly applied a makeshift tourniquet
using a tie, and applied pressure to the
wound while 911 was called and EMT/Paramedics
were en route.
Some minutes later, emergency personnel were
on scene and assumed control of medical
attention being administered. MAJ Bobowicz
was questioned and released by the stores
local police department, and the
hair-raising scene was finally wrapped up
with waste management services cleaning up a
bio-hazardous public scene.
Next time you see MAJ Bobowicz, congratulate
and thank him for his service to his
community, and applaud him on his nomination
as a recipient for the CMA Lifesaving Medal.
New Vehicle Hits CMA Arsenal
02 August 2008
Upon return from CMA's camp purchasing trip,
the senior staff stopped by a well known
military surplus dealer in Mechanicsburg,
PA. This beauty was sitting out front
after recently being overhauled.
The GM CUCV's were produced in the 1984-86
time period (mostly 1984) and were powered
by 6.2L
Detroit Diesel V8 engine. The GM CUCVs
were assembled mostly from the heaviest duty
bits and pieces from the light commercial
truck lines. The CUCVs came in three basic
body styles, a pickup, a utility and an
ambulance body. A chassis cab fitted with a
service body could be called a fourth. They
were given “M” numbers and the trucks were
all rated as 1-1/4 ton (commonly called a
“five-quarter”), even though some of them
had payloads in excess of that. The M1008
was the basic 5/4 cargo truck, the M1010 was
the ambulance and the M1009 3/4 ton utility
rig, which was a stripped Blazer uprated to
3/4-ton capacity. In the truck lines there
were some heavy duty variants, to include
the M1028, M1028A1, M1028A2 and M1028A3
shelter carriers, the shelter being a mobile
command or communications enclosure. The
M1031 was the chassis cab which was most
commonly found in the two door version.
These latter trucks were all rated for
heavier 3,600 or 3,900 pound loads, vs. the
M1008s 2,900 pound load capacity. The
M1028A2 and A3 models had dual rear wheel
axles (Dana 70 axle) and are uncommon.
All the CUCVs were powered
by GM’s 6.2L J-series
Detroit Diesel V8 engine non-emissions
diesel. These were rated at 135 hp (101 kW)
and 240 lb·ft (325 N·m), which was 5 hp
(3.7 kW) more than the emissions gasoline
engine of the time. They were all equipped
with the TH-400 automatic. All but the
M1028A1 and M1031 used a heavy duty version
of the NP-208 chain drive transfer case. The
M1028A1 and M1031 units had a slip-yoke rear
output version of the NP-205, which was
specified mainly for its PTO capacity.
The M1009 Blazer used a standard 10-bolt
front axle, but had a 10-bolt in back with
an Eaton Locker (“Gov-Lok”) and 3.08:1
gears. The trucks all used open Dana 60
front axles, with the M1028 and M1031 series
rigs having a Trac-Lok limited slip. In the
rear, the M1008s used the beefy GM 10.5-inch
(270 mm) “14-bolt” rear axle with No-Spin
lockers (the commercial trade name for the
Detroit Locker). Axle ratios were 4.56:1,
though the duallies are reputed to have had
4.88:1.
As with other military vehicles, the CUCVs
used a 24-volt electrical system. It was
actually a hybrid 12/24-volt system that
used 24-volts under the hood, complete with
dual 100 amp alternators, the mandatory NATO
slave receptacle for jump starting any NATO
vehicle, and hookups for military radios.
The rest of the truck was 12-volt. It was a
bastardized setup, but it worked.
GM produced some 70,000 from 1983 to 1986
most for the military. For the past several
years, GM Defense has been working over the
newest GM trucks as CUCV-II and CUCV-III
units for a new generation. The older Dodge
M880s were used on the battlefield in some
of the brush wars of the early 1980s and the
results were reported to be “disastrous.”
Likewise, the GM CUCVs saw combat time in
Desert Storm and as one unit commander said,
the results were “less than desirable.” As a
result most CUCV's were replaced by the same
HMMWV's they were to augment.
The GM CUCV may not have made the grade as a
battlefield vehicle, but it served well in
its original role as a dollar-saving bridge
between out-and-out tactical vehicles and
dedicated civilian vehicles. Like the rear
echelon human troops, they provided support
for the major goals of the military, namely
to project a mighty frontline tactical fist
wherever needed. There are still many CUCVs
wearing green and tan, both on and off the
battlefield, but there are also many that
have passed through the surplus gates into
civilian life; ours has left the Army, and
come on board as CMA's newest vehicle.
After a test drive,
our mechanic gave the okay and the title was
handed to us. Congratulations CMA!
4th Annual Birthday Ball
19 January 2008
This month's Warrior Weekend was a
time-honored military tradition known as a
dining-out, Cedar Bridge Military Academy's
annual Birthday Ball, which consists of a
formal seated dinner, awards ceremony, guest
speaker, and dance.
Cadets, staff, friends, and family came together to
celebrate the Academy's birthday in style at
the Emerald Room of The Old Time Tavern in
Toms River, on the 19th of January.
This formal dinner is a centuries old military
tradition that every military unit practices
today. Its purpose is celebration,
remembrance, and camaraderie. As such, the
night was punctuated with moments of
laughter and tears, humorous skits and
poignant ceremonies.
One such ceremony took place early in the evening - the
toast to our nation's prisoners of war and
those missing in action. The military is a
society filled with symbolism, and at every
dining-out there is an empty table, set for
one, in honor of the Soldiers, Sailors,
Marines, and Airmen who cannot be present.
Items on the table include such things as a
lemon and a bread plate with salt, symbolic
of the servicemen's bitter fate and their
families' tears as they wait for the return
of their loved ones. The toast is very
solemn and never fails to bring a tear to
the eyes of each person in the audience.
At the opposite end of the spectrum is the
grog bowl ceremony, another centuries-old
tradition that is still employed by military
units today. The grog bowl is a mixture of
various liquids - and solids - that serves
as a punishment to all attendees who fail to
follow the "Rules of the Mess", which
include things like using proper table
manners, correct uniform wear, and other
aspects of etiquette that were once taken
for granted, but are now unknown to many
teens. Cadets - and adults who fail to
follow the rules must fill a cup from the
grog bowl and drink the mixture, which looks
disgusting but often tastes quite good.
This year, attendees were treated to a skit by Sergeant
First Class James Fearn, who prepared the
grog before their own eyes. Of course, the
items were all perfectly edible, but another
tradition of the grog is to misrepresent
each ingredients actual identity in order to
make certain that everyone will do their
best to follow the Rules of the Mess.
Even though it is a very complex event, the Birthday
Ball is run almost entirely by cadets, with
two cadets, the President of the Mess and
Mr. Vice, running the show throughout the
night. This year, Cadet First Sergeant
Anthony Solivan and Cadet Private First
Class Travis Smith filled the roles of Mr.
President and Mr. Vice. The two made an
outstanding pair, demonstrating public
speaking skills and mental agility that even
most business professionals could not match.
The awards ceremony took place after the main course
was over, with cadets receiving many awards
for notable achievements. Most notable was
the commissioning and promotion of Cadet
Travis Smith to Cadet Captain.
Another ceremony that took place was the
change of command for the position of cadet
commander. Cadet Paul Polakoff relinquished
command to Cadet Travis Smith. Cadet
Polakoff now sits as Chief of Staff for the
Corps of Cadets. Congratulations - The Corps
looks forward to what the future holds under
the new administration.
As the ceremonies ended, the Colors were retired by the
Lightening Lancer's Honor Guard from Old
Bridge High School Air Force JROTC and the
cadets enjoyed several hours of dancing,
with music provided by "DJ Erinn", from
Puttin' On The Hits Entertainment.
The Birthday Ball is an unusual change of pace for the
cadets, who get together once a month for
what they call a Warrior Weekend. These
weekends usually consist of outdoor training
or trips to military installations. However,
the December weekend is always held as close
to the Academy's birthday as possible, early
in December, and it replaces the Warrior
Weekend with one jam packed night of
ceremony, tradition, and excitement. As Ms.
Linda Smith, parent, said early in the
evening, we hope that it made a lasting
impression and good memories for all who
attended.
New Registration Goes Online
1 September 2007
Cedar Bridge Military Academy launched a new online
registration process this week.
Registrants will now go through an online service
provided (not free to the academy!) by
Thriva, and Ecamp services. This service
will eliminate the need for sending
applications through the mail. The only
items that will still need to be mailed are
the medical exam, and the personal document
copies.
If you have not done so already, register for Annual
Training 2008 online today!
The Forums - The Place To Be
14 August 2007
First Sergeant Baryla has done the impossible -
gotten the forums back up!
The link in the header still doesn't bring you anywhere
but to the homepage, but they're there. Past
registrations are no longer in the system,
and everyone needs to re-register. Go to:
www.cma-usmcc.org/forums
Registration is critical to keeping informed within the
Corps of Cadets. To register go to the above
link, your username is your first initial,
middle initial, and last name. For example,
if your name is John T. Doe, your username
would be JTDoe. All information about
warrior weekends, upcoming events, summer
camp, etc., is all posted there - join the
club today!
If you have not done so already, register for Annual
Training 2008 online today!
Recruit Class of 2007 Commencement
28 July 2007
Cedar Bridge Military Academy's Recruit
Class of 2007 graduated their summer
training on July 28th - and it was the
largest class of recruits to date.
Over 500 parents, friends, and family were in
attendance, to support the graduates. All
who graduated were given the opportunity to
attend next summer as Cadre.
"This summer was the most successful summer that Cedar
Bridge has ever had", said Captain Barbara
J. Settanni, Executive Officer and parent.
Lieutenant Governor of PA Grants
Proclamations
28 July 2008
The Honorable Catherine Baker-Knoll
presented the Corps with a proclamation on
behalf of completion of their training.
"Whereas, completion of said training has prepared
these young individuals to become leaders
and fulfill their obligations as citizens,
to do what is right legally and morally, to
uphold the American creed and support and
defend the Constitution of the United
States."
Our cadets are proud of their accomplishments, but it
is nice to know someone else noticed!
In addition to the cadets receiving a proclamation, the
LT Governor also presented 1SG Baryla,
Founder, COL Finan, Commandant, and CPT
Settanni, Executive Officer with
proclamations for their service to America's
youth. We are so proud of you all!
