On Tuesday, Sept. 20, Colonel Twala Mathis, commander of the 2^nd ROTC Brigade, along with her senior non-commissioned officer, Sergeant Major Kevin Goetz, visited the Royal Warrior Battalion and The University of Scranton. Colonel Mathis assumed command of the 2^nd ROTC Brigade headquartered at Fort Dix, New Jersey, in mid-July this year. This was her first visit to the University, one of 41 host institutions to Army ROTC she commands across Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and throughout New England.

During her time with the Military Science Department, Colonel Mathis received briefings from both cadre and cadets on various training and recruiting programs, as well as operations the department conducts throughout the year. Two of the briefers included senior Cadet Jenna Caserta, the Cadet Battalion Commander, and senior Cadet Evan Dimakas, the Cadet Battalion Operations Officer. Cadet Caserta shared with Colonel Mathis the details of the battalion’s Cadet Mentorship Program, while Cadet Dimakas briefed her and SGM Goetz on the battalion’s Fall Field Training Exercise. Following the presentations, SGM Goetz presented both cadets with a Brigade Coin for their hard work and superb presentations. 

Colonel Mathis was also provided a guided tour of the campus by senior Cadet Sidney Jaques, providing the colonel with a look inside the new Loyola Science Center, which she noted was very impressive. Additionally, Colonel Mathis had the opportunity to meet with Vice President for Student Affairs Vincent Carilli, Ph.D., and the director of the University’s Multicultural Affairs Officer, Tashika Griffith.

The visit to the Royal Warrior Battalion concluded with COL Mathis and SGM Goetz conducting a sensing session with 16 cadets from across all military science levels. Overall, Colonel Mathis was extremely pleased with the quality of the program in terms of the unit’s ability to exceed commission mission of a regular basis, the quality of the leadership provided by the assigned cadre and the overall performance of the cadets at the Leaders Development and Assessment Course held each summer at Fort Lewis, Washington.

Colonel Mathis is a recent graduate of the National War College in Washington, D.C., and has held a number of billets in the Military Intelligence community, as well as U.S. Army Recruiting Command.