December 17, 2025
St. John’s University’s Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program experienced a changing of the guard earlier this year when 19-year United States Army officer Lt. Col. Matthew Pride and retired Maj. Marvin Turner assumed leadership of the 57-year-old Red Storm Battalion.
The symbolic “passing of the guidon”—or transfer of leadership—took place in late summer when Lt. Col. Pride and Maj. Turner were introduced to the 60-member battalion. Lt. Col. Pride and Maj. Turner replace Lt. Col. William Brown, who was transferred as part of the Army’s regular leadership rotation.
“St. John’s is a homecoming for me in a way, being a native New Yorker,” Lt. Col. Pride, a graduate of the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY, said at a student veterans event in September. “Wearing the uniform has given me perspective, an ability to see the world and educate myself in other cultures, and social mobility. That is what I hope it offers members of this battalion.”
The Red Storm Battalion was established in 1968 and has emerged as one of the Army’s most distinguished ROTC units. It is also one of its most diverse. Cadets come from nearby, such as senior Bethany Tsang of Flushing, NY, and from greater distances, including senior Yechao Li, whose family escaped religious persecution in Hangzhou, China.
The program prepares students to become Army officers while earning a bachelor’s or master’s degree at St. John’s. Students learn through military science courses, leadership labs, and regular field training. Cadets must maintain a 2.5 minimum grade point average (3.0 for those on an ROTC scholarship); participate in organized physical training sessions three times each week; and pass a fitness test every semester.
Upon graduation, ROTC cadets are commissioned as Second Lieutenants into the active-duty Army, Army Reserve, or Army National Guard. Upon commissioning, contracted cadets must fulfill a service commitment—generally a minimum of four years of active duty followed by time in Reserve, or an eight-year commitment as a Reservist.
Students without military experience and those with experience who were honorably discharged and who are of commissioning age (usually 30) are eligible to join the Red Storm Battalion. “That is what makes this battalion unique,” Bethany said. “There are several cadets who have prior service experience who come into the battalion and eventually become leaders and help shape the future of the Army.”
Yechao is among those cadets with service experience. As China intensified its crackdown on Christian communities more than a decade ago, Yechao and his family sought asylum in the United States. The family settled in Greenville, SC, where Yechao attended Bob Jones Academy, a Christian school offering prekindergarten through grade 12 education, known for its academic excellence. The family moved to Queens, NY, in 2019.
Following graduation from Francis Lewis High School, he applied to St. John’s and was accepted, but delayed enrollment for a year to receive training as an Army medic.
As a new St. John’s student, he enrolled in the Red Storm Battalion. He and Bethany will be commissioned into the Army as Second Lieutenants in May, ahead of the University’s commencement.
Initially granted temporary asylum status in 2018, Yechao, a legal studies major, and his family were granted permanent resident—or green card—status a year later. He has since become an American citizen.
“The United States granted us a safe haven,” Yechao said. “Serving in the Army is a way for me to return that and help the country. My parents have always taught me that I should not take things for granted.”
In addition to the Red Storm Battalion, Yechao serves St. John’s as a member of the President’s Society—the University’s highest honor for undergraduates. He also leads a young-adults Bible study group at the nondenominational Queens Christian Alliance Church in Flushing, NY, and maintains a part-time job with the Army’s 340th Military Police Company at Fort Totten in Bayside, NY.
Yechao sees many of the values found across the wider University community in the Red Storm Battalion.
“Cadets in this battalion—they are a unique group of people whose values tie into the Catholic and Vincentian values of St. John’s,” Yechao explained. “They are committed to service and sacrifice. I believe that has been valuable to the growth of the battalion.”
Bethany traveled a more conventional path to the Red Storm Battalion. Also a graduate of Francis Lewis High School, she enlisted in the Army Reserve after graduation and enrolled in St. John’s to study homeland security.
She serves as the battalion’s public affairs representative, working closely with leadership and all 60 cadets to promote awareness about St. John’s, the Army, and the benefits of a ROTC commitment. She is on the executive board of the Homeland Security Association and is a member of the St. John’s chapter of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.
After graduating from St. John’s, Bethany hopes to serve in the Army in an intelligence capacity and then work at either the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or the National Security Agency.
“I am so glad St. John’s offers a homeland security major and that I might one day be able to use it in an intelligence analyst job,” Bethany said. “I love the service opportunities St. John’s offers as well.”