U.S. Army Lt. Col. Carrick McCarthy recently administered the Army Oath to five graduating MTSU senior cadets, who were commissioned as second lieutenants and soon begin new careers in various branches of the Army and National Guard.

“So, as you leave this program and this campus, please remember my final words,” said McCarthy, the Military Science Department chair. “We trust you. We trust you to win our nation’s wars, to be leaders of character and competence and consequence. We trust you to leave our profession better than you found it.”

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Carrick McCarthy, left, administers the Army Oath as these former cadets are being commissioned as second lieutenants during a recent outdoor ceremony at the Veterans Memorial outside the Tom H. Jackson Building on campus. The newly commissioned officers include James Wright, left, of Old Fort, Tenn., Daniel Diaz-McFarland of Lynchburg, Tenn., Kylee Harrison of Rockvale, Tenn., Nathan Jones of Acworth, Ga., Fabrice Uwimana and Tanner Campbell of Smyrna, Tenn. They graduated Aug. 7 from MTSU. (MTSU photo by Cat Curtis Murphy)

McCarthy spoke during the outdoor ceremony at the MTSU Veterans Memorial outside the Tom H. Jackson Building. The commissioning ceremony is a tradition for the ROTC program, which has seen the student cadets prepare for service to their country.

Those commissioned Tuesday, Aug. 17, as second lieutenants included:

• Tanner Campbell of Smyrna, Tennessee. He earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and will be reserve duty with the Tennessee Army National Guard’s armor branch.

• Daniel Diaz-McFarland of Lynchburg, Tennessee. He earned a bachelor’s in business administration (commerce) and will be active duty with the engineer branch.

• Kylee Harrison of Rockvale, Tennessee. She earned a bachelor’s in fine arts (graphic design) and will be reserve duty with the military police branch of the Tennessee Army National Guard.

• Nathan Jones of Acworth, Georgia. He earned a bachelor’s in aerospace (professional pilot) and will be reserve duty with the military police branch of the Tennessee Army National Guard.

• James Wright of Old Fort, Tennessee. He earned a bachelor’s in aerospace and will be reserve duty with the U.S. Army Reserves.

Joined by family and friends, MTSU ROTC cadets stand at attention for the playing of the national anthem during the recent commissioning ceremony at the Veterans Memorial outside the Tom H. Jackson Building on campus. The cadets were commissioned as U.S. Army second lieutenants, and graduated Aug. 7 from the university. (MTSU photo by Cat Curtis Murphy)

In addition to the oath of office, the ceremonies included a welcome from McCarthy, invocation, national anthem, pinning of rank by parents, first salute and remarks from McCarthy.

To learn more about the Military Science program, call 615-898-2470 or visit https://www.mtsu.edu/arotc1/.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)

U.S. Army second lieutenant bars that later would be pinned on newly commissioned officers by family members sit on a table inside the Tom H. Jackson Building. MTSU’s military science department recently held a its summer commissioning ceremony at the MTSU Veterans Memorial. (MTSU photo by Cat Curtis Murphy)