Named in honor of the endowment that funds our cadet battlefield staff ride program, The Esper Award recognizes one outstanding ROTC cadet at the MS III or MS IV from each battalion who masterfully bridges the lessons of military history with practical, modern leadership.
This award recognizes the cadet leader who treats history not as a ledger of dates, but as a living laboratory for decision-making, ethical courage, and tactical innovation.
The core qualities that define a cadet leader who successfully bridges military history and leadership can be grouped into four distinct pillars:
- Strategic Empathy – Demonstrates an exceptional understanding of human nature under stress. Motivates peers and subordinates through respect, active listening, and cohesive team-building rather than relying solely on position or rank.
- Tactical Adaptability – Exhibits high cognitive flexibility during Field Training Exercises (FTX) or dynamic unit challenges. Rejects rigid dogmatism, adapts rapidly when initial operations fail, and exercises disciplined initiative.
- Moral Courage – Prioritizes unit welfare over personal ambition. Demonstrates the ethical discernment and courage to provide honest, respectful, and candid feedback up the chain of command when situations demand it.
- Analytical Vision – Leverages an active interest in the Profession of Arms and military history to anticipate friction, read terrain (physical and organizational), and secure the “high ground” before a crisis occurs.
- Integrity – Unwaveringly aligns actions, values, methods, and principles with what is morally and ethically right regardless of risk.
Parameters for the Esper Award for Cadet Leadership
Eligibility
- ROTC cadets at MS III or MS IV level (junior or senior year).
- Must belong to a ROTC battalion that participates in or plans to participate in the Army Heritage Center Foundation’s ROTC Staff Ride program.
- One nomination per battalion per cycle.
- Open to all branches (not pre-branch specific) since the award is about historical leadership study, not tactical specialty.
Timing
- The nomination window opens in February and closes March 15.
- Recipients selected by April 1.
- Presentations made in April–May during the final ROTC training cycle, ideally timed to a battalion formation, awards ceremony, or lab before commissioning season.
Additional Details
- Recipients will be selected by their battalion cadre or a Professor of Military Science.
- Recipients will receive a custom coin and certificate.
- Award may be presented at battalion events. Board members or senior staff of the Foundation may travel to present the award in person for battalions within the Central Pennsylvania area.
About the Colonel Donald Esper Endowment
The Colonel Donald Esper ROTC Staff Ride Endowment, a gift from daughter Nancy and her husband Robert Gessner, has allowed us to expand our program nationwide.
Colonel Donald Esper enlisted in the Navy at the age of 17 and served in combat in the Pacific during World War II. He received his Army commission as an Armor Second Lieutenant in April 1951. He served with the 11th Armored Cavalry at Ft. Carson, Colorado, the 66th Tank Battalion in post-War West Germany, the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, the 7th Infantry Division in South Korea, the 25th Infantry Division in South Vietnam, and as Battalion Commander of the 1st of the 33rd Armored Battalion in Gelnhausen, West Germany. While in command, the Battalion won the U.S. Army Europe Tank Gunnery Championship.
He also attended service schools at Fort Knox, Fort Leavenworth, and the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks. His final tour of duty was as Garrison Commander at Carlisle Barracks. He and his wife Zetta Ann raised three children and were stationed all over the world until their retirement in 1980.
ROTC was an important part of Colonel Esper’s legacy. After World War II, he earned a degree in Business Administration at Xavier University, where he was an ROTC cadet. Later in his career, Colonel Esper earned a Master’s Degree while teaching ROTC at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York.