More than anything, Pershing Rifles Candidate Term at B-12 was a challenge – a physical, mental, and emotional challenge which pushed me further than I thought I could go, and which produced some incredibly strong friendships that I know will last for the rest of my life.
In addition to technical knowledge and skills, my experience in Candidate Term taught me discipline, physical fitness, and how to endure hardship. These abilities have followed me into the Army where I have relied upon them in order to accomplish my training objectives. The time management and studying skills I learned in Candidate Term were key to my successful completion of the Army’s Air Assault School, particularly during the mentally taxing slingload phase. I was one of only four students to max the slingload examination, and the endurance training I encountered in Candidate term prepared me well enough for the physical rigors of the school that I was able to finish in the top third of the class on the twelve mile graduation roadmarch.
Pershing Rifles also helped to prepare me for the difficult SERE-C School. The leadership, technical, tactical, and survival skills that I learned during Candidate Term and as a B-12 cadre member and Operations Officer (particularly during Operation STEADFAST LIGHTNING), were directly applicable to some of the training and experiences I encountered at SERE, and helped me lead the top performing team in the field as a team leader during Survival Phase. I also found that the pressure and problem-solving aspects of Candidate Term served me well at SERE, because students are constantly being placed in mentally taxing situations, usually while at their physical and emotional breaking point.
Since its inception, the goal of Pershing Rifles has not only been to produce superior cadets for the Army, Air Force, and Navy ROTC units within which it operates, but to produce first-class officers for the United States Military. I cannot endorse the organization strongly enough, and I urge you to begin the same journey that has already helped me so much during the early stages of my military career.
-1LT John Schiavi, USA
After serving as the Operations Officer of B-12 Pershing Rifles, CPT Schiavi graduated from Boston University in 2007 and was commissioned as a Medical Service Corps Officer in the US Army. He initially worked as cadre at the Leader’s Training Course at Fort Knox, before attending and graduating Air Assault School at Fort Knox, BOLC II at Fort Benning, and the Medical Service Corps Officer Basic Course at Fort Sam Houston. He then underwent SERE-C School at Fort Rucker, where he was awarded the Commander’s coin for outstanding performance. After completing Flight School at Fort Rucker, he deployed as a Medical Evacuation Pilot to Honduras and Afghanistan and was stationed in Germany.