With the smack of leather boots and silk flags sailing, Angela Nelson was named Incoming Cadet Battalion Commander of the Cyclone Battalion and took her place as the first female to hold the position.”Today is a historic first for the ISU ROTC,” said Lt. Tom Johnson, professor and chairman of military science and tactics, at the ceremony in State Gym Wednesday afternoon.Nelson, senior in Russian, is the first female Cyclone Battalion Commander in the history of the ROTC program at Iowa State, Johnson said. The program started in 1920.”I think it’s a very rewarding position,” said Jason Cowden, last semester’s Cadet Battalion Commander. “You get the ability to lead your peers and underclassmen.”Cowden, senior in transportation and logistics, said he felt Nelson was a self-starter and will be a good role model cadet for the rest of the battalion.He advised Nelson to always make the right decision, even if it’s not the popular one, and said her new role is “a leader among equals for the rest of us.””This shows trust and confidence in leadership abilities allowing her to lead the Cyclone Battalion,” said Cadet Capt. Kim Klaver, as the title of Cadet Battalion Commander was passed to Nelson.Nelson said she didn’t feel being a female mattered at all in her new leadership role.”I just try to do my job,” she said. “I don’t think gender is an issue.”For the spring semester, Nelson will serve as a liaison between the Cadre and the Cadets. She will help them to reach their goals and develop their leadership abilities.Nelson said she has been involved in ROTC at Iowa State since the fall of 1999 and plans to attend a military intelligence school after she is commissioned in May. She also plans to go into the Army for a few years.”Then I have my goal set on doing analytical-research work,” she said.ROTC seniors rotate throughout the year to get a feel for the different positions, said Klaver, senior in journalism and mass communication.”It’s based on grades, cadet evaluation and advanced camp scores,” she said.Nelson said she has received a lot of support from her roommates, family, friends and all her friends in ROTC.The ceremony was performed during a scheduled lab within the ROTC program and is informally executed once a semester. Johnson said it is a tradition the ROTC has carried on for years.