during the 1920s
Concept The concept of training reserve military officers in civilian colleges and universities in United States was created by the founder of
Norwich University,
Alden Partridge, who was a former
United States Military Academy instructor. Partridge, who founded Norwich in
Vermont in 1819 as the "American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy," promoted the idea of "citizen soldiers," men trained to act in a military capacity when their nation required but capable of fulfilling standard civilian functions in peacetime. The
Morrill Act of 1862 established
land-grant colleges. Part of the federal government's requirement for these schools was that they include military tactics as part of their curriculum. Another root of the modern ROTC program comes from the "Plattsburg Idea". In 1915, Major General
Leonard Wood instituted the Citizen's Military Training Camps (not to be confused with the later
CMTC of the
interwar period), the first series of training camps to make officers out of civilians. For the first time in history, an attempt was made to provide a condensed course of training and commissioning competent reserve line officers after only a summer of military training.
Formal establishment and World War I In 1916, the provision to formally establish ROTC was advocated to
Congress by a delegation from
Ohio including
William Oxley Thompson, President of the
Ohio State University. On February 7, 1916,
Ralph D. Mershon, a graduate of Ohio State, testified before the committee as a professional
engineer. Present to testify as an advocate of a Reserve Engineers Corps, he expanded his remarks to argue in favor of the "Ohio Plan". Mershon noted: : "... the transformation that will take place in one term of drill in a man just off the farm and very clumsy when he enters college, and who at the end of a term is 'set up', carries himself well, looks neat in his uniform, and has acquired a measure of self-respect, and the respect of his colleagues, to an extent he would not have had without the military training." Congress agreed, and the ROTC provision was included in the final version of the
National Defense Act of 1916. The first ROTC unit was at
Harvard in 1916. Over 5,000 men arrived at
Plattsburgh, New York, in May 1917 for the first of the officer training camps. By the end of 1917, over 17,000 men had been trained. By the eve of its entry into
World War I, the U.S. had a prepared corps of officers including one of the earliest Plattsburgh graduates,
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. Interwar period Senior division and the Organized Reserve Beginning in 1919, many of the ROTC programs established during World War I resumed enrollments, and many new programs were organized. The
National Defense Act of 1920 continued ROTC, and by the end of 1921, about 180 senior division programs were active at civilian and military colleges and universities. The branches of ROTC units offered at each college or university was based upon the kind of Organized Reserve units organized in the vicinity by the
War Department; the actual organization of each type of ROTC unit attempted to conform to standard tables of organization of each branch unit. Most schools offered only one program, usually
infantry, although some of the larger institutions or military colleges offered multiple branches that a cadet could consider. Only six
Air Corps programs were ever established; they produced few graduates, and all were eliminated in 1936 and replaced with less expensive units, mostly infantry, at other schools. By 1928, ROTC units were commissioning 6,000 Organized Reserve second lieutenants per year.
Junior division During the 1930s, there were junior ROTC programs in some larger city high schools, such as in
Memphis, Tennessee,
Charlotte, North Carolina,
Kansas City, Missouri, and
New Orleans, Louisiana.
World War II The extent of the U.S. Army's mobilization before its involvement in World War II—“a state neither of war nor of peace"—disrupted the Organized Reserve. Beginning in mid-1940, large numbers of Reserve officers began to be called to active duty individually and assigned to expanding Regular Army units, and to National Guard units after the mobilization of that component was authorized in August. On 30 June 1940, 2,710 Reserve officers were on active duty, but by 15 May 1941, the number was over 46,000, and by 30 June, 57,309. The need for young, qualified company-grade officers (lieutenants and captains) was acute, and by mid-1941, 75 to 90 percent of the officers in Regular Army units and 10 percent in National Guard units were Reserve officers. By December 1941, 80,000 Reserve officers were on active duty. By the end of 1942, 140,000 officers holding Reserve commissions through various paths were on active duty, but by that date, 12,100 who had been previously commissioned "had not received such orders," mainly for reasons like being over-age in grade, found medically disqualified for active service, deferred due to academics or civilian employment, or lack of vacancies. On 6 February 1942, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9049, which ordered "into the active military service of the United States...for the duration of the present war and for six months after the termination thereof...each of the organizations and units and all of the personnel of the Organized Reserve not already in such service;" because most Reserve officers were already on active duty, this amounted to a “public relations” document. Because of the course of the mobilization of 1940–1941, "few of the Reserve officers originally assigned to...units were available for duty with them. Consequently, the units as activated bore small resemblance to those of peacetime." The advanced ROTC program was suspended in its entirety in the spring of 1943 in concert with the institution of the
Army Specialized Training Program, and no new contracts were issued for the duration of the war. The basic ROTC curriculum was kept intact as part of the military indoctrination for the Army Specialized Training Reserve Program for 17 year olds. At this time, several major categories of ROTC students existed: • Members of the normal college class of 1942, who had completed a full four-year program plus the summer camp. • Members of the normal college class of 1943 who had chosen to accelerate their studies via summer sessions offered in 1942 that gave a full semester or quarter of credit. These men graduated with a completed advanced course minus the summer camp at the end of 1942 if on the
semester calendar, or in the early spring of 1943 if on the
quarter calendar. These men, along with the members of the normal class of 1943, then went directly to
officer candidate schools. • Members of the normal college class of 1944 who had taken the 1942 summer session. These men graduated in the fall of 1943 with a partially complete (either three semesters out of four or four quarters out of six) advanced course. These men also went directly to officer-candidate schools, although some men attending institutions on the quarter calendar were allowed to remain in school through the summer quarter to ease congestion in officer-candidate schools. • Members of the normal college class of 1945 who had taken the 1942 summer session, called "ROTC juniors." If their institution was on the semester calendar, they were due to begin advanced ROTC in the spring semester of 1943. They, along with the remaining members of the normal class of 1944, were sent to basic training after the spring semester ended. After returning from basic training in the early fall of 1943, the ROTC juniors were allowed to resume their civilian curricula at the institutions they were attending or act as instructors in basic ROTC, which functioned as military indoctrination for the Army Specialized Training Reserve Program until called to officer candidate school. These men were only attached to the ASTP for administrative purposes. , 1965
Cold War Compulsory participation in ROTC for all male students at many civilian institutions was common until the 1960s. However, because of the protests connected with
opposition to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, compulsory ROTC was dropped in favor of voluntary programs. In some places, opposition was so severe that ROTC was expelled from campus altogether, although it was always possible to participate in off-campus ROTC. By the early 1980s, there was noticeably less resentment of the military on campus, as students' feelings about Vietnam became less vivid. As of 2021, more than 1,700 high schools have
Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) programs. In the 21st century, the debate often focused 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. 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. The
Harvard ROTC program was reinstated effective March 4, 2011 following enactment of the
Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010. Under current law, there are three types of ROTC programs administered, each with a different element. from a
parking garage in September 2010 • The first are the programs at the six
senior military colleges, also known as military schools. These institutions grant baccalaureate degrees (at a minimum) and organize all or some of their students into a
corps of cadets under some sort of military discipline. Those participating in the cadet program must attend at least 2 years of ROTC education. • The second are programs at "civilian colleges". As defined under Army regulations, these are schools that grant baccalaureate or graduate degrees and are not operated on a military basis. • The third category is programs at
military junior colleges (MJC). These are military schools that provide junior college education (typically A.S. or A.A. degree). These schools do not grant baccalaureate degrees but they meet all other requirements of military colleges (if participating in the
Early Commissioning Program) and cadets are required to meet the same military standards as other schools (if enrolled in ECP), as set by Army Cadet Command. Cadets can be commissioned as second lieutenants in the Army Reserve/Army National Guard as graduating sophomores. Upon commissioning, these lieutenants are required to complete their bachelor's degree at another institution (of the lieutenant's choosing) while serving in their units. Upon receiving their bachelors, ECP lieutenants can assess active duty and go onto active duty as a first lieutenant. Only the Army currently offers an
Early Commissioning Program. In time of war, MJC's have played a significant role in producing officers for the Army. During the Vietnam war, the requirement to complete one's bachelor's degree was not in effect. Therefore, upon commissioning lieutenants went straight onto active duty. 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. with the approval of the school's professor of military science. ==U.S. Army ROTC==