National Guard
Soldiers Add
Different
Element to
Spring FROG
Week
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Army National Guard Capt. Elijah Carroll said having
National Guard soldiers as part of the FROG class is helpful to
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is the commander of the National Guard detachment on UNG’s
Dahlonega Campus, National Guard liaison to UNG, Georgia
Military Scholarship committee member, faculty adviser for the
Corps of Cadets’ Hotel Company, and an assistant professor of
military science.
“It’s always comforting to go through something like FROG
Week with someone who’s already been through the basics,”
Carroll said, adding that about 70% of the 70 cadets who
completed FROG Week from January 3-6, came from basic
training.
The state of Georgia offers 42 UNG Military Scholarships
each year to Georgia high school seniors who attend UNG and
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graduating with bachelor’s degrees. The scholarships pay for
room, meals, tuition, books, uniforms, and fees.
Scholarship recipients also receive National Guard weekend
drill pay, GI Bill, pay for attending Army basic and advanced
training, and Army ROTC contract pay (beginning of sophomore
or junior year, if offered a contract to commission as a lieutenant).
Retired Army Maj. Richard Neikirk, assistant commandant
of cadets, said the Corps had to adjust training due to 2 ½ days
of steady rain, adding “we were lucky—this FROG Week was
warm.” Further, the timetable condenses all the major training to
3 ½ days, about half the time dedicated to FROG Week each fall.
28 | January 2019 | Real Hero Report
Current cadets help train incoming cadets during FROG Week each
spring and fall at the University of North Georgia. ��������������������������������
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UNG welcomed 70 new cadets during spring FROG Week, which was
held from January 3-6. (Photo by Peggy Cozart, University of North
Georgia)
“With spring FROG Week being shorter, there’s no room for
slacking off,” Neikirk said. “We have to make the best use of time
and resources available.”
Terrance Dorsey, a FROG from Riverdale, Georgia, was one
of those who came from basic training and advanced individual
training (AIT). He was grateful to be back in a military
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Dorsey said.
Having so many cadets coming from the National Guard
changes the tenor of FROG Week.
“It gives us more time to focus on the little things and the
details of the university,” Cadet Megan Collins said. Collins,
a junior from Thomaston, Georgia, is a soldier in the National
Guard. She said the National Guard soldiers are used to the
military lifestyle, but it can be quite a change for FROGs who
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school. “You have people telling you what to do all the time,”
Collins said. “They have to get used to it.”