Subject: The Sergeants Club | March 2023


Hello,


We have had a busy March with 2nd Phase wrapping up, 3rd Phase starting, and Basic Training Unit 68 kicking off this week with 35 recruits. We finished out a larger than average 2nd Phase, and have 6 3rd Phase training options running this quarter, including Dive (the first class since 2021) and our newly relaunched Construction class headed up by SSgt. Claude Dean. We are really excited to be able to bring back 3rd Phase training options, and excited to have 35 guys in 3rd Phase this quarter. It is our biggest non-2nd Phase quarter in a long time.


We have a lot going on this upcoming quarter with deployments and trips. Construction is currently in Maine for two weeks of class and deployment, Dive and Aviation leave on deployment to Mississippi on Sunday, and EMT leaves for Mississippi next Sunday. Missions is heading up to Illinois and Pennsylvania for deployment and training later in April, and then they will be heading down to Mexico in May for their international trip. Pray for Sergeant Major Whitaker, Captain Vanderford, and all the battalion leadership as they try and disciple the men around all the traveling this quarter.

Next week we are filming interviews for a 30th anniversary video that we are producing. The goal is to make a 12-15 minute video telling the story of ALERT, the program's heart and vision, and celebrating our 30 years of history. We have interviews scheduled with all three former directors—Colonels Fuhrman, Tanner, and Behr—and alumni from each era of ALERT's history. Pray for the logistics of the week of interviews to work smoothly, and that the final product would be a good resource to help tell the story of ALERT and showcase our heart for the men and the Gospel. We are really excited to be able to show it next year at the reunion, and also utilize it on our new website.


Speaking of the website, we had to push back the launch date for the new site to April 14 due to the amount of admin time the start of Basic Training takes. Our current plan is to have a soft launch on April 7 and then turn the site live on the 14th. The week between April 7 and 14 it will still be only accessible via the dev site link, but we will have finished building out each of the pages and will be working on mobile responsiveness and fixing bugs. If you have time between April 7 and 14 and can give the dev site a look we would really appreciate it. If you find anything weird or broken or that needs edited, just shoot me an email and I’ll add it to our edit list. We are really looking forward to having a new site, and hope it will be a good tool. It will also have our long awaited online application form, which will make a huge difference for Basic Training.

One other update to share is a staffing update. We have hired Sgt. Dillon Whitaker from Unit 45 (SMaj. Whitaker’s older brother) to come on staff and help fill some of the gaps in our office and instructor lineup. He has started working remotely part time, and will be moving his family to campus sometime in the summer to start full time. We are very excited to have him join us on staff, and would appreciate prayer for him and us as we navigate the onboarding and transition process later this year.


As always, thank you for your prayers and input back into the ALERT program. We love having you guys come around for events or visits, and giving our alumni opportunities to speak to the Battalion. If you find yourself in the area, or would like to make a trip to visit, please let me know and I will take care of logistics.

 

Posteritatis commodis servientes,

2nd Lieutenant Samuel Winkler | Unit 42

ALERT Public and Alumni Relations

International ALERT Academy, 1 Academy Blvd, Big Sandy, TX 75755, United States

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