News
NICK SWAYNE RECEIVES LEGION OF MERIT FOR ARMY CAREER
From: Media Relations
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| Swayne (center) receives award from Col. Frank Ippolito |
HARRISONBURG — Lt. Col. Dominic (Nick) D. Swayne, former head of James Madison University's military science department, will receive the Legion of Merit Wednesday, Nov. 15, to honor his nearly 24 years of U.S. Army service.
The Legion of Merit was established by Congress in 1942 to recognize Allied military and civilian personnel contributions during World War II. Today the award is given to long-serving senior officers and very senior noncommissioned officers to acknowledge outstanding careers.
Swayne, who led JMU's Duke Battalion for six years before relinquishing authority of the ROTC unit in October, will receive the award from Col. Frank Ippolito of Fort Belvoir at approximately 4:30 p.m. in front of the ROTC cadet formation at JMU's Memorial Hall.
During Swayne's tenure, the Duke Battalion earned the prestigious MacArthur Award in 2005 as the best large battalion east of the Mississippi River. The award is based on the overall performance of cadets in ROTC programs in academic performance, leadership demonstrations, physical conditioning and the collective scores of cadets in various training programs.
The Legion of Merit acknowledges Swayne's exceptionally meritorious service throughout his Army career. Part of the citation reads: "Lieutenant Colonel Swayne's impeccable leadership and uncompromising values inspired countless superiors, subordinates, Soldiers, and Cadets with whom he served."
About 150 JMU students were commissioned as Army second lieutenants during Swayne's six years at the university. When he joined JMU in 2001, 60 students were participating in ROTC. Currently, 120 students are preparing for commissioning and another 300 students are participating in ROTC training.
Swayne's own preparedness came into play shortly after he joined JMU in 2001. Swayne and his wife, Nicky, witnessed a single-car accident near Front Royal involving then-JMU student Jason Kopp. Kopp's vehicle went off the highway, over a steep embankment and overturned in a creek. Swayne, with two truckers who had also stopped to help, turned the car upright, allowing Swayne to pull Kopp through the car's sunroof and to resuscitate the injured man. Swayne received a U.S. Army Commendation Medal in recognition of the rescue.
"My friends are far more impressed with it than I am," Swayne said of the Legion of Merit award. "I like giving acknowledgement to others, but I'm not very comfortable getting it myself. It's nice to have somebody pat you on the back, but I think the reason why I was able to accomplish a lot was I had a great faculty working for me and great students at JMU. I feel awkward getting the citation because I figure they did most of the work."
Swayne officially retires from the Army Jan. 1, 2007. He currently teaches two courses for JMU's department of learning, technology and leadership education while using a backlog of leave time. Swayne, who holds a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Idaho and a master's in public administration from Northeastern University, is finishing a master's degree in computer science at JMU.
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