Hi, Cocchini here.

I’m confused by your blog Ma’am; however, I think my confusion herein stems from your confusion of the original D&C article. To clarify, the “poor leadership” was not substantiated against me, as you seem to assert. Instead, I alleged that I was the victim of “poor leadership” and the Army substantiated my claim against LTC Lubiak, awarding me a $20,000 waiver because of the negative command climate and “poor leadership” that I suffered. You may want to watch my video, and reread the article before you potentially defame my character Ma’am.

Background: I am: (1) a Ranger in the BSA (a title superior to Eagle Scout) with a Bronze Award, (2) a former Lifeguard, (3) an EMT (in NY and TN) and (4) a Firefighter with 3rd degree burns on my arms from a house fire that reached 1130 degrees F (according to a thermal imaging camera). I have been on over 100 emergency responses and have over 2500 hours of distinguished community service. One of my brothers is a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army (commissioned through the ROTC program at RIT, pre-Lubiak) and my other brother is dead (killed in Iraq September 20, 2004, which is why I joined up). My Great Grandfather won the Silver Star at 17 years old as a Marine in WWI; his son, my Grandfather, flew 64 combat missions in WWII, was shot down twice and was taken POW by the Nazi’s for 9 months in Stalag Luft 1 and 4. My other Grandfather helped blow up a Nazi V2 Rocket factory in Italy during WWII before immigrating to the US to raise my Father, who subsequently raised me.

I’m not asserting that ROTC is bad, nor do I claim that the Cadets at RIT are substandard; who do you think is feeding me information to write complaints about the Command at RIT? RIT Cadets are world class, which is why we are working so hard together to force the Army and RIT to acknowledge the problem with LTC Lubiak. I may be the poster child who signs the complaints but where do you think I get my information from, considering that RIT has banned me from ROTC premises and restricted me from taking any ROTC courses? I am saying that the leadership at RIT is lacking, and that the administration at RIT is sweeping it all under the rug, which almost any Cadet at RIT would openly admit. As a matter of fact, several RIT Cadets spoke with the D&C and agreed to go on the record against LTC Lubiak, but the D&C did not publish their comments.

I am a kind hearted individual Ma’am; however, I must say that after what I have been through already, I do not take kindly to being called a wash out from someone who hasn’t even spared 9 minutes to watch my life story before erecting a defamatory blog about me. To insinuate that I do not value American nationalism and our way of life would be a slap in the face to myself and my brothers (alive and fallen). Your blog essentially spits on my service record and the countless number of times I have risked my life to protect US citizens. I may not have been shot at in Iraq yet, but I have been pinned under enough burning piles of rubble and have fallen through enough burning floors to know where I stand.

For the record and for your clarification: as a result of my IG complaint, the Army substantiated the following about LTC Lubiak and the Army ROTC program at RIT following a full formal investigation:

“It appeared that an average Cadet at RIT would be above average in many other programs. This resulted in an elitist attitude; essentially the cadre could afford to lose or not contract a fully qualified Cadet. It was also apparent that the cadre to Cadet Ratio was close to overwhelming the staff and as a result the Cadets absorbed additional responsibility. Though this is good from a developmental perspective there is evidence that overburdening MS III and MS IV students adversely affected their GPAs and overall academic performance. In fact 46% or all administrative suspensions in the last two calendar years have been due to MSIII and MSIV Cadets not meeting minimum academic requirements.”

The Inspector General’s Freedom of Information Act release continues:

“Substantiated Allegation: (Name is digitally blocked out) demonstrated poor leadership and fostered a negative command climate in violation of paragraph 2-1, Chapter 2, AR 600-100, Army Leadership. Synopsis: A Physical limitation and an aloof manner of personal interaction combined to create a perception that (Name is digitally blocked out) did not set an example of leading from the front. Her staff became polarized, and Cadets did not trust her. Negative perceptions of her leadership were adversely impacting retention and the functionality of her staff. Though recruiting was also suffering, there were mitigating circumstances with regards to recruiting that were beyond (Name is digitally blocked out) control.”

You might also note that I was prior Dean’s List and was disenrolled for one quarter of bad grades, which was induced by the fact that I did not have enough money to eat or keep heat in the house during the winter of 08-09. Other Cadets, my brother included (who is now a 2nd Lieutenant), had multiple quarters of bad grades but were allowed to stay. I was also the first Cadet not to be granted a retest. The only difference between myself and these other Cadets was that I put my name on the IG complaint and they didn’t. From your blog, you seem to know more about what happened to me than I do. You tell me why I was so special Ma’am, why I was kicked out for signing a complaint that the majority of my fellow Cadets urged me to send. Do you think the IG substantiated my allegations based on my sole testimony, or is it more likely that everyone spoke out against LTC Lubiak, which led to the Army being forced to admit fault? You tell me why the Army (a) substantiated my allegations, (b)
rewrote a regulation in my defense and (3) released me from paying back $20,000.

You may also note that I was training to join Special Forces before joining ROTC and that I am heavily considering that option once this mess is behind me, before applying to law school. Please do not mistake my intense desire to fix the system for the next guy as unpatriotic intentions. Frankly, you would be hard pressed to find a more sentimental and patriotic individual Ma’am.

In conclusion, I have documented every second of what happened to me so no one would have to take my word for it. If you would like to hear LTC Lubiak testifying on tape and under oath at my Board Review or would like to hear the recordings I have of the President, Deans, and Provost of RIT, or if you would like to see the original policy memo I signed and the retroactive policy memo that LTC Lubiak created, please let me know. I have over 400 audio recordings, over 6 gigs of PDF’s and over 50 gigs worth of video to back my claims, in addition to witness testimonies, bank records, RG&E statements and email threads. If you would like any of this information for your blog, feel free to email me at: mac1083@gmail.com

Thank you for your time.

Respectfully,
Michael Cocchini

P.S. I like your profile pic Ma’am; 2012 can’t come soon enough for my tastes.

Additional Videos of interest:

Video: Lance Corporal Tyler Cates Memorial:

Video: LTC Lubiak stating Under Oath at my Board Review that she takes points off of Cadet’s grades for attendance in a non-credit, non-required “wellness” class. This would be similar to your physics professor skimming points off of your physics grade for attendance in your non-credit, non-required golf lessons:

Video: Jane Deese, the Director of Military Reprisal Allegations for the Department of Defense Inspector General (DoD-IG), refusing to address whether Cadets are “in the military” (as the US Courts believe) or “not in the military” (as the Office of General Counsel and DoD-IG told me). Essentially, the DoD’s official position is that for the purposes of being protected under Federal Law (Title 10 USC 1034) Cadets are NOT in the military and therefore are NOT protected from reprisal for sending an IG complaint against a commanding officer; however, for the purposes of suing the Army for a situation like mine, Cadets ARE in fact military members and cannot sue the Army because of the Feres Doctrine:
(Follow up: Jane Deese never responded to my question.)

These are just a few examples of the 50+ gigs of videos I have. I want nothing more than to move on with my life and put this behind me but I will not do so if I think what happened to me will just happen to the next guy after I leave. If that means posting all of the videos and fighting this for the next 20 years, that is what I will do. I believe Mr. Edmund Burke summed it up nicely: All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing.

I hope you will find the time to view these videos before making another blog about them.