The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) is a college-based, officer commissioning program, predominantly in the United States. It is designed as a college elective that focuses on leadership development, problem solving, strategic planning, and professional ethics.
The U.S. Armed Forces and a number of other national militaries, particularly those countries with strong historical ties to the United States, have ROTC programs. The Republic of the Philippines established its program in 1912, with the creation of the first unit at the University of the Philippines during American colonial rule. ROTC in the Republic of Korea started in 1963.
ROTC produces officers in all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. ROTC graduates constitute 56 percent of U.S. Army, 11 percent of U.S. Marine Corps, 20 percent of U.S. Navy, and 41 percent of U.S. Air Force officers, for a combined 39 percent of all active duty officers in the Department of Defense.[1] The Philippine-based National ROTC Alumni Association (NRAA) estimates that 75 percent of the officer corps of the Armed Forces of the Philippines come from ROTC.[2]
Each of the U.S. Armed Forces offer competitive, merit-based scholarships to students, often covering full tuition for college in exchange for extended periods of active military service. The U.S. Coast Guard offers a similar program to ROTC under a different name: CSPI [3]. For example, in the U.S. Army ROTC, students who receive an Army ROTC scholarship must agree to complete a four year period of service with the Army after college.[4] U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force ROTC students are referred to as cadets, while U.S. Naval ROTC students are known as midshipmen; these terms coincide with their service academy counterparts. The Naval ROTC program commissions both U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps officers. Army ROTC units are organized as brigades, battalions, and companies. Air Force ROTC units are detachments with the students organized into wings, groups, squadrons, and flights, like the active Air Force. Naval ROTC 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 only done when an ROTC unit has sufficient members to warrant an extra division.
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The concept of ROTC in the United States 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 ROTC. The college from which ROTC originated is Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont. Norwich was founded in 1819 at Norwich, Vermont, as the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy.[5]
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.[6] In some places ROTC was expelled from campus altogether, although it was always possible to participate in off-campus ROTC.[7]
In recent years, concerted efforts are being made at some Ivy League universities that have previously banned ROTC, including Columbia, to return ROTC to campus.[8] The Harvard ROTC Program was reinstated effective 03/04/2011. In the 21st century, the debate often focuses around the Congressional don't ask, don't tell law, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1993, and in force until 2011, which forbade homosexuals serving in the United States military from disclosing their sexual orientation at the risk of expulsion. Some schools believed this legal mandate would require them to waive or amend their non-discrimination policies. The Supreme Court ruled in March 2006 that they were entitled to hold this opinion, but at the expense of federal funding (see Solomon Amendment).
Under current law, there are three types of ROTC programs administered, each with a different element.[9]
One difference between civilian colleges and the senior or 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 both Army regulations and federal law), it is required of students attending the senior and junior military colleges. Another major difference between the senior military colleges and civilian colleges is that under federal law, graduates of the SMCs are guaranteed active duty assignments if requested.[10]
The Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (AROTC) program is the largest branch of ROTC, as the Army is the largest branch of the military. Army ROTC provides the majority of the Army's officer corps; the remainder comes from West Point, Officer Candidate School (OCS), or direct commissions. ROTC 2 and 2.5 - Year SCHOLARSHIPS
The two-year scholarship is available for those who have two academic years of college remaining.
Be a U.S. citizen Be between ages 17 and 27 Have a College GPA of at least 2.5 Have a high school diploma or equivalent Meet physical standards Agree to accept a commision and serve in the Army on Active Duty or in a Reserve Component (U.S. Army Reserve or Army National Guard) The two and one half year scholarship is available for students already enrolled in a college or university with three academic years remaining.
Be a U.S. citizen Be between ages 17 and 27 Have a College GPA of at least 2.5 Have a high school diploma or equivalent Score minimum 920 on the SAT or 19 on the ACT Meet physical standards Agree to accept a commission and serve in the Army on Active Duty or in a Reserve Component (U.S. Army Reserve or Army National Guard)
The Naval Reserve Officers' Training Corps (NROTC) program was founded in 1926; in 1932, the U.S. Marine Corps joined the program. The naval NROTC program is offered at over 150 colleges nation wide.
The first Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps (then Air ROTC) units were established between 1920 and 1923 at the University of California, Berkeley, the Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Illinois, the University of Washington, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Texas A&M University. After World War II, General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower established Air Force ROTC units at 77 colleges and universities throughout the United States.
ROTC programs have from time to time been at the center of controversy on college campuses. Contrary to popular belief, public universities have not banned ROTC programs, and are in fact prohibited from doing so by The Solomon Amendment. This act states that any university with a “policy or practice” that prevents the military from “maintaining, establishing or operating” ROTC on its campus will have its federal financing withdrawn. But public universities are allowed to require ROTC to adhere to the university policies that all academic programs in the university are held to, and rather than adhering to these policies or being relegated to extracurricular status, ROTC has chosen to leave many universities.[11]
ROTC, being part of the military, implemented the Don't ask don't tell policy. LGBT students often protested at not being allowed in ROTC.[12][13][14] An Act to repeal the policy was signed by President Barack Obama on December 22, 2010, and implementation took effect September 20, 2011.
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