Reserve Officer Training Corps

Cadets of the ROTC of the OSU receive promotion to lieutenant

The Reserve Officer Training Corps ( ROTC German about Reserve Officer Training Corps ) is a training program of the US armed forces at colleges and universities for the recruitment and training of officers . The program is administratively led by the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness of the US Department of Defense . The armed forces are responsible for the content . All branches of the armed forces except the US Coast Guard maintain a ROTC program. It is designed as a college elective and includes leadership, problem solving, strategic thinking, and ethics. In addition to the Military Academies and the Armed Forces Officer Candidate School , it is the third possible training path for an officer candidate for the active forces in the United States . Setup and operation is governed by Title 10 of the United States Code .

In 2017 go out of ROTC 36% of all officers of the US armed forces, 59% of all officers of the US Army the officers, 29% US Air Force , 22% of the officers of the US Navy and 3% of the officers of the US Marines out . Each branch of the armed forces offers its own ROTC program, in which scholarships are awarded on the basis of performance and the entire course of study is sometimes financed. A military scholarship is a chance for students from low-income families to finance their studies. In return, scholarship holders usually undertake eight years of military service , including at least four years in active service; There are different regulations, especially for cost-intensive training courses, for example for pilots . U.S. Army ROTC graduates who are not eligible for a scholarship have the shortest active service commitment at three years. In special cases, the armed forces may waive active duty. Graduates must then serve as reserve officers in the reserve or in the national guard of the armed forces for at least eight years .

history

University of Michigan ROTC in the 1920s

The forerunner of the ROTC was established in 1862 by the Morril Act , which created the first land-grant universities . The US government made sure that the subject military tactics was included in the curriculum.

The U.S. Forces ROTC as it exists today was created by the National Defense Act of 1916. In 1920 the first class of officer candidates was awarded their patent . It was modeled on the British Officer Training Corps , through which most British officers were trained for the First World War . The first college to have a US Army ROTC unit was Norwich University in Northfield , Vermont .

Until the 1960s, many large universities made the ROTC a compulsory part of the curriculum for male students. In the course of the protests against the Vietnam War , the mandatory ROTC participation was converted into a voluntary offer, which is still in place at many state and private universities today. At some universities, the official ROTC offer was completely discontinued at the time, even if the students there still have the option of an off-campus ROTC . Curiously, a peace movement stronghold in the 1960s, the University of California, Berkeley, never closed its ROTC, while it has not been reinstated on the neighboring Stanford University campus to this day.

After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 , efforts were made, especially at some universities of the Ivy League, including Harvard University and Columbia University , to include ROTC in the official university offering again. President Georg Walker Bush explicitly sponsored the ROTC and JROTC programs. He criticized schools and universities that did not want to allow military training at their institution. The practice of US forces in dealing with homosexual (soldiers english not tell Do not ask, do ) but led by the students at these universities rejection. Only after the abolition of these rules in 2012 did the ROTC return to some of the universities.

organization

Students on the Army and Air Force ROTC programs are called cadets, while students on the Naval ROTC (NROTC) of the Navy are called midshipmen . The Naval ROTC also covers officer training for the Marine Corps . Army training units are divided into brigades and battalions , US Air Force units are divided into detachments , which are divided into squadrons, groups, squadrons and wings, as in the normal Air Force structure. The Navy's training units are divided into battalions. Each NROTC unit is given an official name after its college, e.g. B. is the unit "NROTCU UNIV OF MN." At the University of Minnesota.

Status of the participants

The status of participants in the ROTC is set out in the regulation of the US Department of Defense:

Guest auditors and students at the university who want to study individual subjects of the ROTC program as electives otherwise do not seek further military training. They are not members of the corps and have no obligations to the armed forces.

Students who have applied to become officer candidates for the armed forces are allowed to wear the uniform of their chosen armed forces and take part in practical training on campus or in the armed forces during the semester break. They are members of the corps and are divided into the following three groups:

Officer cadets who are not subject to any compulsory military service, English Non-Contract Cadets and Midshipmen . Usually participants in the first two years (basic training) without a military scholarship.

Officer cadets who are required to serve in the military, English Contract Cadets and Midshipmen . These are officer candidates who are receiving study assistance from the US armed forces, are in the last two years of training (advanced training) or have been transferred to the reserve as a soldier to study at the university. These officer candidates have already been sworn in and are members of the US Armed Forces Reserve , the English Individual Ready Reserve . If these students drop out of the ROTC program or study, do not meet the academic or military requirements, they cannot become officers and have to reimburse the training costs or serve several years in a team career in the armed forces.

Non- US citizens who wish to attend college officer's training. You can take part in the training, but you cannot obtain an officer license from the US Forces.

Training institutions

Virginia Tech Cadet Corps cadets

The training within the ROTC program can take place in various forms at universities:

The military colleges and universities primarily award associate or bachelor's degrees and, in parallel to their studies, also offer courses in military training for those of their students who are physically fit and US citizens. These universities organize the students, or at least a part of it, in a Corps of Cadets (dt. Cadet Corps ) with military discipline and require their cadets to move on campus in uniform. They train the students according to the standards of the military academies of the US armed forces. Military colleges in the USA come in three categories:

Six senior military colleges with special status under military legislation. There are Texas A&M University , Norwich University , Virginia Military Institute , The Citadel , Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and North Georgia College and State University . Graduates from these colleges have the right to serve as active officers in the armed forces.
Military junior colleges offer an associate's degree, often preceded by a high school degree, and a two-year Army ROTC program. As part of the Early Commission program, students can obtain an officer license after two years. If you complete your bachelor's degree at another university and serve as a reserve officer in the reserve or national guard at the same time , you have the right to serve as an active officer. There are four junior colleges with the Georgia Military College, Marion Military Institute, New Mexico Military Institute, and Valley Forge Military Academy and College.
Other private and state colleges and universities that offer a cadet corps, but have no special status. The ROTC takes place parallel to life in the cadet corps.

Most universities and colleges in the United States no longer have a cadet corps. The ROTC training takes place on campus and uniforms are only worn during training. The students are housed with the other students or do not live on campus. At universities without their own ROTC program, training takes place at a neighboring university (off-campus).

Course of training

ROTC hands-on training on the University of Michigan campus

Lecture in Naval Science at Yale University

The training within the framework of the ROTC program is geared towards a four-year undergraduate degree to become a bachelor's degree. The training is divided into two parts of two years each. The first part of the English Basic Training is open to all students who want a military training in theory and practice. During the study phase, the students attend military-theoretical subjects and receive practical training and additional physical education . Uniform is only worn during training.

After the first two years there will be a selection for the second part of the English Advanced Training of the ROTC program. In the case of study support as part of the application process earlier and an obligation to serve in the armed forces is to be entered into. Academic performance and officer potential will be assessed on the basis of behavior shown during training. This time is also the last opportunity for students to start the ROTC program and receive a scholarship.

The second part of the ROTC program focuses on training to become a manager . Officer candidates of these years take on management tasks within the ROTC at your university and carry out parts of the training for the new years. In addition, the officer cadets of the US Army, US Air Force and the US Marine Corps visit in the semester break a multi-week officer training course in the respective branches of the armed force. These courses are compulsory and must be passed. Upon successful completion of their studies and endorsement by the head of the ROTC program at the university, the officer candidates receive the officer license, the promotion to lieutenant or lieutenant at sea and begin their service as officers. Successful completion of the ROTC is often certified in the university's diploma as a minor in Military Science , Naval Science or Aerospace Studies .

Armed forces

Army ROTC

US Army ROTC coat of arms

Regions of the Army ROTC Brigades

The Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (AROTC) was the US Forces' first ROTC and was introduced immediately after the National Defense Act 1916 was passed. George H. Decker , a graduate of Lafayette College , became the first ROTC graduate in 1960 to be named Chief of Staff of the Army (CSA), the highest officer in the US Army. Other ROTC graduates who later became CSAs include Fred C. Weyand ( University of California, Berkeley ) and Gordon R. Sullivan ( Norwich University ). General Colin Powell , also a ROTC graduate from the City University of New York , was appointed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and was appointed Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005 . Another chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was Henry H. Shelton , who was a ROTC graduate from North Carolina State University .

Most of the US Army generals emerged from North Carolina State University's ROTC program, followed by the US Military Academy at West Point .

organization

All Army ROTC cadets report to the US Army Cadet Command at Fort Knox , Kentucky as part of the Training and Doctrine Command . The Cadet Command is divided into eight brigades , seven of which each command the cadet battalions of the colleges of a specific region in the United States. The 1st Brigade in Fort Knox has the special feature that it commands all battalions of the Senior Military Colleges and Military Junior Colleges .

education

The training is divided into the Basic Course in the first two years and the Advanced Course in the last two years of the degree. Officer candidates who only go through the program, which has been shortened to two years, whether master students or members of the Military Junior Colleges, must complete the four-week Cadet Initial Entry Training in Fort Knox before joining the corps . A requirement for the US Army officer license is the completion of the Cadet Leadership Course at Fort Knox. This five-week course assesses the ability as a future officer and is usually attended in the lecture-free period before the last year at the university.

Air Force ROTC

US Air Force ROTC coat of arms

The U.S. Army Air Service's first ROTC units were deployed between 1920 and 1923 at the University of California, Berkeley , Georgia Institute of Technology , University of Illinois , University of Washington , MIT, and Texas A&M University .

After the Second World War , General Eisenhower, as Chief of Staff of the Army - the US Air Force had only become an independent armed forces in 1947 - had Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) set up at 77 colleges and universities .

The Air Force ROTC Vitalization Act of 1964 created a two-year senior program, fellowships, and a junior program. An experimental program was operated between 1956 and 1960, in which women were also to receive their officers' license from the US Air Force ROTC. Women were given the opportunity to complete their training here in 1969 with a new senior program and four years later with a junior program. In 1973, all non-commissioned officers, whether men or women, who were interested in a degree and an officer career, were given the opportunity to do so through the US Air Force ROTC Airman Scholarship. In 1978, the Air Training Command , based at Randolph Air Force Base , Texas, was created, which oversaw the entire ROTC program of the US Air Force.

organization

On July 1, 1993, the Air Training Command was merged with Air University to create the Air Education and Training Command . The Air University was directly subordinate to the command, with the ROTC units in turn subordinate to the Air University . In February 1997 this structure was reformed again in order to streamline it. In the course of this, the Air Force Officer Accession and Training Schools (AFOATS) command was created. Three quarters of the US Air Force officer training positions were combined, namely under the commander of AFOATS, a brigadier general .

education

The first two years of training for US Air Force officer candidates are called the General Military Course . In order to be accepted into the second phase of training, the English Professional Officer Course (POC) is a selection process and the four-week summer field training program at Maxwell Air Force Base , Montgomery , Alabama .

Naval ROTC

Officer cadets in the Navy training in fire-fighting

Officer training course at the officers' school of the US Marines

ROTC officers in the US Navy

The Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) was established in 1926. From 1932 the US Marine Corps participated in this program. In 1990 the first scholarship for the US Navy Nurse Corps was awarded. All applicants Müsen since 2018 inclusion in the NROTC a three-week basic training ( English NROTC Indoctrination Program ) as Candidate midshipman at the Naval Station Great Lakes , in North Chicago , Lake County , Illinois through. Upon passing the course, you will be promoted to midshipman. The NROTC has the following branches of education:

Navy option, for aspiring naval officers
Navy Nurse Option, for budding officer-level medical nurses
Marine option, for US Marines candidate officers

Midshipman of the NROTC can complete internships within the US Navy or Marine Corps every summer during the semester break. These internships are compulsory for students with a military scholarship. In the summer after the first year, an orientation internship (used by all three branches of training English Career Orientation and Training for Midshipmen ) visited. This is used to select the later specialization of the officer such as surface ships, submarines , naval aviators or marine infantry . In the second and third summer, special internships for the chosen specialization are offered.

Navy option

Midshipman visit a ship or unit of the chosen specialization in the second summer and take part in the service as a crew rank. In the third summer they are instructed in the work of officers. NROTC graduates without a scholarship must serve at least three years of active service in the US Navy. For some years now, the Navy has placed great emphasis on officers with a technical or scientific degree. Applicants for such courses are given preference within the NROTC.

Marine option

Officer candidates visit a naval unit in their second summer, preferably during a challenging training phase, for example at the Mountain Warfare Training Center . The third summer is a six-week officer course at the US Marines Officer School at Marine Corps Base Quantico , Virginia . Passing the course is a prerequisite for being promoted to lieutenant in the marine infantry with a degree. Candidate officers in the US Marine Corps are expected to assume a leadership position within the NROTC at their university.

As an alternative to the marine option of the NROTC, the marine infantry offers interested students an officer course of twice six weeks or once ten weeks during the summer holidays at the officers' school ( English Platoon Leaders course ). If you have passed these courses, you can obtain an officer’s license without participating in the NROTC. This is one of the reasons why only three percent of Marines officers passed the NROTC.

mobilization

The US armed forces have determined exactly what should happen to the officer candidates of the ROTC in the event of mobilization . For example, the US Army is taking the following mobilization measures:

Officer candidates in the final year of their studies are appointed officers early and immediately begin the necessary specialist training for their branch of service .
The students in the penultimate academic year receive training at the officers' school in order to complete their training as officers.
Students in the first two years of study receive basic military training and then either serve as a team or, if they are suitable, attend an officers' school.

criticism

The program has been criticized because it was often the only way for high school graduates from poorer populations to advance to higher education. That is why opponents of the system criticize the ROTC because young people usually only see it as an opportunity to study and do not take the opportunity to a sufficient extent, but that they are primarily soldiers.

Proponents see the ROTC program as an important part of the US recruiting system, which produces a large portion of the officer corps . This would anchor the basic principles of democracy in the officers' corps, since most officers are trained at civil institutions.

JROTC

JROTC stands for Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps and is a training program that was established in the United States of America in 1916 under the National Defense Act . It includes pre-military training, as well as military history and civics classes in high schools . As with the regular college-based ROTC, the JROTC is divided into the individual armed forces Army (AJROTC), Navy (NJROTC) and Air Force (AFJROTC), as well as the Marine Corps (MCJROTC). Retired members of the respective armed forces act as trainers.

At regular high schools, JROTC is an elective. The students there wear the uniform one or two days a week. In addition, there are also pure military schools or cadet schools where participation in the JROTC program is mandatory. The most famous such schools are the Marine Military Academy and the Florida Air Academy.

Other countries

Various countries also have ROTC programs, e.g. B. the Philippines , which established their program in 1912 during the US occupation. South Korea started its program in 1963, Taiwan in 1997.

Web links

Commons : Reserve Officer Training Corps - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d DoD Instruction 1215.08, Senior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) Programs. (pdf) Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, January 19, 2017, archived from the original on October 5, 2019 ; accessed on October 5, 2019 .
↑ 10 US Code CHAPTER 103— SENIOR RESERVE OFFICERS 'TRAINING CORPS. In: Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute. Retrieved October 5, 2019 .
↑ Population Representation in the Military Services: Fiscal Year 2017 Summary Report Table B-30. In: CNA. Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, accessed October 5, 2019 .
↑ What it takes. US Air Force ROTC, accessed October 1, 2019 .
^ Army ROTC - Service Commitment. goarmy, accessed October 1, 2019 .
^ Robert Johnson, Elsa Johnson, Eve Clarke: The Fight Against Compulsory ROTC Free Speech Movement Archives, accessed October 1, 2019 .
^ UC Berkeley Army ROTC. In: army.berkeley.edu. Retrieved October 12, 2019 .
^ Josh Wagner: Cadets discuss history, challenges of ROTC at Stanford. The Stanford Daily, February 8, 2017, accessed October 12, 2019 .
↑ Russell Berman: Bush Rebukes Universities On ROTC Ban. The New York Sun, May 18, 2007, accessed April 9, 2019 .
↑ Jim Michaels: ROTC welcomed back at Ivy League schools. USA Today , May 23, 2016, accessed October 12, 2019 .
↑ Mission. In: US Army Fort Knox. United States Army Cadet Command, December 20, 2018, accessed October 17, 2019 .
↑ Brigades. In: US Army Fort Knox. United States Army Cadet Command, December 20, 2018, accessed October 17, 2019 .
^ Cadet Initial Entry Training. In: www.goarmy.com. U.S. Army, September 18, 2018, accessed October 19, 2019 .
^ Cadet Leadership Course. In: www.goarmy.com. U.S. Army, September 18, 2018, accessed October 19, 2019 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Heritage. In: Air University. Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, Maxwell AFB, Jan. 8, 2017, accessed Oct. 23, 2019 .
^ Greetings from the Commander. In: Air University. Retrieved October 23, 2019 .
↑ About. In: Naval Service Training Command Officer Development. Retrieved October 7, 2019 .
↑ New Student Indoctrination. In: Naval Service Training Command Officer Development. Retrieved October 7, 2019 .
↑ Summer Cruise Training. In: Naval Service Training Command Officer Development. Retrieved October 7, 2019 .
^ Scholarship Selection Criteria. In: Naval Service Training Command Officer Development. Retrieved October 7, 2019 .
^ Marine Corps. In: Naval Service Training Command Officer Development. Retrieved October 7, 2019 .
↑ Becoming a Marine Corps Officer. In: US Marine Corps. Retrieved October 7, 2019 .
↑ Army Regulation 145-1 Senior Reserve Officers Training Corps Program: Organization, administration and training. (pdf) Headquarters Department of the Army, July 22, 1996, accessed September 29, 2019 .

[dod-1] DoD Instruction 1215.08, Senior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) Programs. (pdf) Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, January 19, 2017, archived from the original on October 5, 2019 ; accessed on October 5, 2019 .

[code-2] 10 US Code CHAPTER 103— SENIOR RESERVE OFFICERS 'TRAINING CORPS. In: Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute. Retrieved October 5, 2019 .

[cna-3] Population Representation in the Military Services: Fiscal Year 2017 Summary Report Table B-30. In: CNA. Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, accessed October 5, 2019 .

[airforce-4] What it takes. US Air Force ROTC, accessed October 1, 2019 .

[army-5] Army ROTC - Service Commitment. goarmy, accessed October 1, 2019 .

[free-6] Robert Johnson, Elsa Johnson, Eve Clarke: The Fight Against Compulsory ROTC Free Speech Movement Archives, accessed October 1, 2019 .

[berkley-7] UC Berkeley Army ROTC. In: army.berkeley.edu. Retrieved October 12, 2019 .

[stanford-8] Josh Wagner: Cadets discuss history, challenges of ROTC at Stanford. The Stanford Daily, February 8, 2017, accessed October 12, 2019 .

[berman-9] Russell Berman: Bush Rebukes Universities On ROTC Ban. The New York Sun, May 18, 2007, accessed April 9, 2019 .

[ivy-10] Jim Michaels: ROTC welcomed back at Ivy League schools. USA Today , May 23, 2016, accessed October 12, 2019 .

[command-11] Mission. In: US Army Fort Knox. United States Army Cadet Command, December 20, 2018, accessed October 17, 2019 .

[brigade-12] Brigades. In: US Army Fort Knox. United States Army Cadet Command, December 20, 2018, accessed October 17, 2019 .

[cadet1-13] Cadet Initial Entry Training. In: www.goarmy.com. U.S. Army, September 18, 2018, accessed October 19, 2019 .

[cadet2-14] Cadet Leadership Course. In: www.goarmy.com. U.S. Army, September 18, 2018, accessed October 19, 2019 .

[af1-15] Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Heritage. In: Air University. Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, Maxwell AFB, Jan. 8, 2017, accessed Oct. 23, 2019 .

[af2-16] Greetings from the Commander. In: Air University. Retrieved October 23, 2019 .

[navy2-17] About. In: Naval Service Training Command Officer Development. Retrieved October 7, 2019 .

[navy1-18] New Student Indoctrination. In: Naval Service Training Command Officer Development. Retrieved October 7, 2019 .

[navy3-19] Summer Cruise Training. In: Naval Service Training Command Officer Development. Retrieved October 7, 2019 .

[navy5-20] Scholarship Selection Criteria. In: Naval Service Training Command Officer Development. Retrieved October 7, 2019 .

[navy4-21] Marine Corps. In: Naval Service Training Command Officer Development. Retrieved October 7, 2019 .

[marine-22] Becoming a Marine Corps Officer. In: US Marine Corps. Retrieved October 7, 2019 .

[army1-23] Army Regulation 145-1 Senior Reserve Officers Training Corps Program: Organization, administration and training. (pdf) Headquarters Department of the Army, July 22, 1996, accessed September 29, 2019 .