Reserve Officers' Training Corps
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- "ROTC" redirects here. For the Doctor Who episode, see Rise of the Cybermen.
The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) is a training program of the U.S. 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.[citation needed]
Each of the services offer competitive, merit-based scholarships to ROTC students, often covering full tuition for college.
U.S. Army ROTC and U.S. Air Force ROTC students are referred to as cadets, while U.S. Naval ROTC students are known as midshipmen. The Naval ROTC program commissions both U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps officers.
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. 7.5 million US citizens are curently enlisted in ROTC programs. Navy units are organized into Naval battalions. 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.
A number of other countries, particularly those with strong historical ties to the United States, also have ROTC programs. The Republic of the Philippines established its program in 1912, with the creation of the first unit in the University of the Philippines during the American occupation of the islands. ROTC in the Republic of South Korea started in 1963; while Taiwan created its own program in 1997.
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[edit] General history of the ROTC
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. The college from which the concept of ROTC derived is Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont. Norwich was founded in 1819 at Norwich, Vermont, as the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy.<ref>Images of Its Past. History of Norwich University. Norwich University (2004). Retrieved on 2006-11-20.</ref>
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.<ref>The Fight Against Compulsory R.O.T.C.. Free Speech Movement Archives. Free Speech Movement Archives (2006). Retrieved on 2006-11-20.</ref> 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.<ref>Advocates for ROTC. Advocates for ROTC. advocatesforrotc.org (2006). Retrieved on 2006-11-23.</ref> In the 21st century, the debate often focuses around the don't ask, don't tell policy begun in 1993 by President Bill Clinton which forbids homosexuals serving in the United States military from disclosing their 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 2006 that they are entitled to hold this opinion, but at the expense of federal funding (see Solomon Amendment).
[edit] 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. It was patterned after the British Officer Training Corps, which supplied most of the British officer corps in World War I.
In 1960 General George H. Decker 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 received a direct commission, since the modern-day ROTC program had not officially been established when he graduated). Chiefs of staff of the Army or chairmen of the joint chiefs of staff to come out of Army ROTC include:
- Chiefs of Staff of the Army
- Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
As of 2006, Virginia Military Institute holds the record among ROTC schools for the most general and flag officers produced at 265.<ref>Alumni. VMI Profile. VMI (2006). Retrieved on 2006-11-20.</ref> The college ROTC program to produce the most 4-star generals is North Carolina State University.[citation needed] The University of Oregon has produced the highest number of general officers out of the nonmilitary ROTC schools, with a total of 44.<ref>University of Oregon ROTC History. University of Oregon Army ROTC. University of Oregon (2006). Retrieved on 2006-11-20.</ref> The Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M University consistently produces more officers for the Armed Forces than any other ROTC program, largely because of the university's long history as a military college.<ref>ROTC Participation. About the Corps. TAMU (2006). Retrieved on 2006-11-20.</ref>
Under current law, there are three types of ROTC programs administered, each with a different element.<ref>AR 145-1 (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps). Army Regulation. United States Army (1996). Retrieved on 2006-11-16.</ref>
- The first are programs at "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 are the programs at the six "military colleges." 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.
- The third are programs at "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.<ref>10 USC 2111a. United States Code. Legal Information Institute ([[]]). Retrieved on 2006-11-16.</ref>
[edit] 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(now 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. The Air Force ROTC Detachment at Auburn University was the first to commission a woman in the program who also became the first female Lieutenant General (three star) of the Air Force. 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.
[edit] U.S. Navy ROTC programs
The U.S. Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) program was founded in 1926. In 1932, the Marine Corps joined the program and in 1990, the first Navy Nurse Corps scholarships were awarded.
[edit] See also
- Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
- Naval Reserve Officers' Training Corps
- Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps
- United States Service Academies
- Senior Military Colleges
- Military Junior Colleges
- Military Academy (General Use)
[edit] External links
- U.S. Army ROTC
- U.S. Air Force ROTC
- U.S. Naval ROTC
- Association of Military Colleges and Schools of the United States
- Advocates For ROTC
- Advocates For Columbia (University) ROTC
- The ADROTH Projectde:Reserve Officer Training Corps
