Hartze commissioned from the Army ROTC program as an Ordnance Corps officer in 1990, and her father commissioned from the same Army ROTC program in 1965, serving as an Air Defense Artillery and Aviation officer. Her sons, Sean and Kyle, are currently in the Army ROTC program at South Dakota State University, and her mother and sister were nurses in the Army.
When the West Point of the Plains Battalion asked her to give the oath at their recent commissioning ceremony she of course said yes. Having her son Sean as part of the class was an added bonus.
Sean Hartze, having been commissioned as a second lieutenant on May 8, 2020, is now the third generation to commission from this program.
“I support the programs at SDSU when I can. I was the Veterans Vigil speaker for Air Force ROTC, presented the military nurse experience for the Student Nurses Association and have been a ‘mentor’ for student nurses in both the AF and Army ROTC programs,” said Hartze.
The ceremony was led by LTC Stephen Sewell III, the 53rd professor of Military Science at South Dakota State University. In lieu of an in-person ceremony, all proceedings were conducted via Zoom between Hartze at WPAFB, several program administrators from SDSU, and cadets and their families in South Dakota and Iowa. Retired Col. Orville Smidt, former Senior Army National Guard advisor to the South Dakota Army National Guard at Camp Rapid, was the guest speaker.
The 88th Medical Group congratulates these lieutenants and wishes them all the best as they begin their service in the United States Army.
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