Reserve Officers' Training Corps

For the Doctor Who science fiction episode, see Rise of the Cybermen.

The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) is a training program of the United States armed forces present on college campuses to recruit and educate commissioned officers. It is designed as a college elective, and studies focus on leadership development, problem solving, strategic planning, and professional ethics.

ROTC produces 60 percent of all officers in the U.S. armed forces, and 75 percent of U.S. Army officers.

Each of the services offer competitive, merit-based scholarships to ROTC students, often covering full tuition for college.

U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force ROTC students are referred to as cadets, while U.S. Navy ROTC students are known as midshipmen. US Marine Corps officer candidates commission through the Naval ROTC program.

Army units are organized as Brigades and Battalions. Air Force units are "Detachments" with the students organized into Wings, Groups, Squadrons, and Flights, like the active Air Force. Navy units are called NROTCU with an abbreviation of the host University or College. For example, the University of Minnesota unit is "NROTCU UNIV OF MN." The students are organized as a battalion. If the Marine students are integrated with the Navy students, there are companies, but having the Navy students in Departments and Divisions like a ship, and the Marines in a separate company is not unknown.

Also, the Philippine Military has an ROTC program, descended from the American program from its rule in the islands.

General history

The concept of ROTC began with the Morrill Act of 1862 which established the land-grant colleges. Part of the federal government's requirement for these schools was that they include military tactics as part of their curriculum, forming what became known as Army ROTC.

Until the 1960s, many major universities required compulsory ROTC for all of their male students. However, because of the protests that culminated in the opposition to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, compulsory ROTC was dropped in favor of voluntary programs ^*. In some places ROTC was expelled from campus altogether, although it was always possible to participate in off-campus ROTC.

In recent years, concerted efforts are being made at some Ivy League universities that have previously banned ROTC, including Harvard and Columbia, to return ROTC to campus. In the 21st century, the debate often focuses around the law signed in 1993 by President Bill Clinton (see don't ask, don't tell) which protects the rights of homosexuals by preventing the military from inquiring as to the sexual orientation of its members, but also prevents a homosexual from making an issue of his or her sexual orientation. Some schools believe this legal mandate would require them to waive or amend their non-discrimination policies. The Supreme Court ruled in March of 2006 that they are entitled to hold this opinion, but at the expense of federal funding (aka the Solomon Amendment).

U.S. Army ROTC history

The Army ROTC as we know it today was created by the National Defense Act of 1916 and commissioned its first class of lieutenants in 1920. In 1960 General George H. Decker, ROTC commissionee at Lafayette College, became the first ROTC graduate named Chief of Staff of the Army. (Although General of the Army George C. Marshall, chief of staff of the Army during WWII, was a product of the Virginia Military Institute, he technically commissioned OCS, since the modern-day ROTC program had not officially been established when he graduated.) Other Army Chiefs of Staff to come out of ROTC include General Fred C. Weyand (University of California, Berkeley) and General Gordon R. Sullivan (Norwich University). General Colin Powell, ROTC commissionee at the City University of New York, served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during Operation Desert Storm and later as Secretary of State from 2001 - 2005. General Hugh Shelton, commissioned out of North Carolina State University, was also a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The college ROTC program to produce the most 4-star Army generals is North Carolina State University, second only to the United States Military Academy in the number of 4-star generals produced. The University of Oregon has produced the highest number of general officers out of the nonmilitary ROTC schools, with a total of 44 flag officers. The Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M University also boast the largest enrollment of cadets outside of the Service Academies, largely because of the university's history as a military college.

Under current law, there are three types of ROTC programs administered, each with a different element.

The first is "Civilian colleges." As defined under Army regulation, "These are schools that grant baccalaureate or graduate degrees and are not operated on a military basis."
The second is "Military colleges" or SMC's. These are defined by the following criteria:
- (1) Grant baccalaureate degrees.
- (2) Require a course in military training during the undergraduate course for all undergraduate students who are physically fit, except those listed below.
  - (a) Foreign nationals
  - (b) Students who are not liable for induction because they have completed active training and service honorably.
  - (c) Students who are excused by the proper institutional authority and approved by the Professor of Military Science (PMS).
  - (d) Females who elect not to participate in ROTC.
- (3) Organize cadets into a corps of cadets under military discipline.
- (4) Require all members of the corps (including members enrolled in the ROTC) to be in uniform when on campus.
- (5) Have as objectives the development of the student’s character through military training and the regulation of conduct according to principles of military discipline.
- (6) Meet military standards similar to those maintained at the service academies.
Currently there are six senior military colleges:
- (1) Texas A&M University.
- (2) Norwich University.
- (3) The Virginia Military Institute.
- (4) The Citadel.
- (5) Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
- (6) North Georgia College and State University.
The third is "Military junior colleges" or MJC's. These are military schools that provide high school and junior college education. These schools do not grant baccalaureate degrees but meet all other requirements of military colleges. They administer both the Junior and Senior ROTC programs.

One difference between civilian colleges and the senior and junior military colleges is enrollment option in ROTC. ROTC is voluntary for students attending civilian colleges and universities; however, with few exceptions (as outlined in army regulation), it is required of students attending the senior military colleges and military junior colleges.

Another major difference between the senior military colleges and civilian colleges is that under federal law, graduates of the SMC's are guaranteed active duty if requested: "The Secretary of the Army shall ensure that a graduate of a senior military college who desires to serve as a commissioned officer on active duty upon graduation from the college, who is medically and physically qualified for active duty, and who is recommended for such duty by the PMS at the college, shall be assigned to active duty" 10 USC 2111a.

U.S. Air Force ROTC history

(As quoted from Air Force ROTC's Official Website) The first Air Force ROTC units were established between 1920 and 1923 at the University of California at Berkeley, Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Illinois, the University of Washington, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College(aka Texas A&M University). After World War II Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, chief of staff of the War Department, signed General Order No. 124, establishing Air ROTC units at 77 colleges and universities throughout the nation.

The Air Force ROTC Vitalization Act of 1964 authorized a new two-year Senior Program, scholarships and a Junior Program. An experimental program to commission women through Air Force ROTC was first conducted from 1956 to 1960. Women were again enrolled in the Senior Program, starting in 1969, and in the Junior Program four years later. Eligible Air Force enlisted men and women pursuing a college degree who are interested in becoming commissioned officers are given that opportunity through competition in the Air Force ROTC Airman Scholarship and Commissioning Program, established in 1973. In 1978, Air Training Command, with headquarters at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, assumed responsibility for the Air Force ROTC programs.

On July 1, 1993, Air Training Command merged with Air University to form Air Education and Training Command. Air University became a direct reporting unit under Air Education and Training Command, and Air Force ROTC realigned under Air University. In February 1997, in an effort to reduce duplication of effort and streamline administrative and reporting procedures within Air University, Air Force ROTC and Officer Training School realigned under the newly created umbrella organization, Air Force Officer Accession and Training Schools (AFOATS). This restructuring placed oversight for three-quarters of Air Force officer production under one command, the AFOATS commander—a brigadier general.

U.S. Naval ROTC history

The U.S. Naval ROTC program was founded in 1926. In 1932 the Marine Corps joined the program, and in 1990, the first Navy Nurse Corps scholarships were awarded.

Criticisms

Although ROTC programs provide a high percentage of US officers, and thus represent an important part of the recruitment system, they have been criticised as a means of inducting young people from underprivileged backgrounds into the military by stealth. If a high school graduate cannot afford to attend college on his or her own resources, a military scholarship may represent his or her only hope of a higher education. While it seems a reasonable bargain, critics have argued that many students look at ROTC just as a free education, and seriously underestimate the probability of being deployed to a combat zone. Critics further argue that someone who joins up simply to pay for college, and does not seriously expect to have to fight, will be totally mentally unprepared for the rigours of combat, should he or she actually end up in a war zone, and that his or her presence may well have a debilitating effect on the effectiveness of an operation.

The underlying question is whether an army wishes to maintain a smaller force consisting exclusively of career soldiers, or a larger force that contains a substantial proportion unwilling to make a lifetime commitment.

External links

Military education and training in the United States | Military of the United States

ROTC