Page 1 - Eta Survey - Spring 2014

ETA SURVEY Eta Chapter Of Kappa Delta Rho Fraternity | The University Of Illinois | Spring 2014 | P.O. Box 80828 | Atlanta, Georgia 30366 A Letter from the Alumni Lt. Jonathan Whitney ’09 Alumni President Spotlight: Editor’s Notes: For this issue of the Eta Survey we welcome or the spring 2014 home Lt. Jon Whitney ’09. Having been stationed in Japan, Fedition of the Eta our spring Spotlight member is currently serving as a Survey, I thought I would take a moment to discuss Naval Offcer Recruiter in Baltimore, Maryland. From the hometown of Alton, IL, Jon went on to earn his Mechanical the chapter’s Annual Fund. I want to begin by Engineering degree at Illinois and was part of the NROTC extending a big thank you program and soccer team. Our Senior Tribune for two years, to all those alumni who and past Pontifex, Jon continues to exercise his leadership have contributed to the skills and maintain a relationship with his Eta brothers. fund last year and those who have given so far Outside of work, Jon plays classical violin in the Symphony of this year. It is wonderful that the contributions the Potomac, Greater DC Community Symphony orchestra. to the Annual Fund have seen considerable Read on to fnd out what our brother has been up to! growth since we emerged from the capital campaign for the renovation of the chapter house. To give you an idea, 2012 saw 44 Jon aboard the USS MCCAIN pulling in to Okinawa, Japan, Summer 2012. brothers contributed a total of $4,050. In 2013, 70 brothers contributed a total of $7,698. This Back in school, how were you introduced Once stationed in Japan, what type of all could not have been without the generosity to KDR? work did you do? of frst time and recurring donors! I met a bunch of the KDR gentlemen (Chris I served as the Fire Control Offcer (FCO) This newsletter mailing kicks off the 2014 Potsch ’06, Jon Sander ’07, Keith Larson within the ship’s Combat Systems Department. Annual Fund! We’ve set a goal of reaching ’05 to name a few) on a spring afternoon in I oversaw the maintenance and operation of the $10,000 this year and, together, I think we can 2005 playing soccer on the 6-pack felds. ship’s primary weapons sensor and fre control succeed! But frst, I want to emphasize WHY After graduation, how did you make your suite, the Aegis Combat System manned by the Annual Fund is important. way to the USS JOHN S. MCCAIN? approximately 20 enlisted sailors. Each of As I have mentioned briefy in prior them had specialized training to perform newsletters, the Annual Fund helps fnance After graduation in May 2009, I reported to various functions within the system, whether the communication program, website, and my frst ship, USS GREEN BAY (LPD-20), it was performing diagnostics on the SPY- homecoming. What you may not know is that out of San Diego, CA. I rode her during her 1D radar itself to maintaining the ship’s $10 it helps in other areas, like scholarships and maiden deployment in early 2011 when I million dollar Signal Processing computer, sharing the cost to send undergraduates to the attained my professional military ship driving display consoles and watch stations for William’s Leadership Academy through our qualifcations. I then transferred to the Navy’s human-machine interface or the Fire Control national fraternity. In 2013, we were able to Nuclear Power Training Center in Charleston, System satellite-like dishes that provided offer more than $4,000 in scholarships to Eta SC in the summer of 2011. After a year of the terminal guidance (illumination) for our undergraduates. soul-searching in the South, I reported aboard various standard missiles. As we continue to grow the Annual Fund, we the MCCAIN in June 2012 and served until While at sea, and depending on our mission, will focus more resources on the types of things this most recent holiday season. I would either stand watch in the pilot house that strengthen the chapter and help change as the Offcer of the Deck driving the ten individual lives. We can start looking to offer thousand ton capital warship or as the Ballistic more scholarships to active brothers, increase Missile Defense Offcer in the Combat their individual amounts, or a combination Information Center (CIC) monitoring the of the two. With more fnancial assistance, it Aegis suite, and in particular the SPY radar, in will be possible to boost Eta’s participation in the event of a launch from N. Korea. Lastly, the leadership academy. As long as the fund I had a collateral duty as a religious lay leader continues to grow, I foresee us looking for conducting evening prayers and Sunday other ways we can make a positive impact on services while at sea because Chaplains are the chapter. I welcome your thoughts on this. currently in short supply within the service. We are a brotherhood. If we each do a little, together we can accomplish a lot. With your What was it like aboard a South Korean help we can achieve the goal for 2014. Please destroyer? join me in making a contribution this year. I was fortunate to be selected as a Liaison Naval Offcer (LNO) to both the Republic of Korea, Navy (ROK-N) and to the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) during Mike Kolberg ’03 Jon in front of the Kyoto Golden Temple. Whitney (Continued on Page 4)