The Army is reorganizing its Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program to focus on collegiate units in the southern and southwestern United States, Army Times reported Tuesday.
The Army Cadet Command plans to establish at least 13 ROTC units by 2030 in Texas, Florida and California, where enrollment in higher education institutions is statistically increasing. Army Times reported. reportThis is based on a source from the Cadet Command. Also cut, but not completely eliminated, are 18 programs at universities in the Northeast and Midwest that have struggled to meet referral requirements over the past decade.
The effort, dubbed “ROTC Reset,” “keeps pace with long-term trends in higher education and changes in the college-age population and demographics,” spokesman Maj. Dan Lessard told Army Times. Ta. (Related article: Army uses chainsaws to fill 24,000 jobs in response to talent shortage)
The ROTC program recruits more than 50 percent of the Army’s new officer corps each year. according to Check out the Army’s 2021 History Overview, the latest information available.
States hosting new ROTC programs are among the top suppliers of non-commissioned officers. according to According to the findings of a 2018 study by the Institute for Defense Analyses, which was funded by the Department of Defense.
According to Army Times, the planned reorganization will give more than 200,000 undergraduate students access to ROTC programs, primarily in Los Angeles, central California, San Diego, Dallas-Fort Worth, and the greater Miami area. It is said that it will become.
The 18 existing units will be downgraded to “expansion units” and will be allowed to maintain their identities, on-campus classes and resources, but will no longer be independent programs, according to planning documents seen by Army Times.
Cadet Corps planners say the programs undergoing cuts have “not met” officer appointment quotas “for most, if not all, of the past 10 years” and will discuss future changes. He spoke to the media on condition of anonymity. These programs are primarily implemented in schools in the Midwest and Northeast, where four-year college enrollment rates are declining, the official added.
“The senior ROTC program will not be closed and senior ROTC cadets will not have to transfer to a new school,” Lessard told Army Times.
The Army ROTC Ranger Challenge Team departs from the 4th Brigade Rack for its next event on Oct. 21, 2023 at Fort Barfoot. The top two teams will represent the 4th Brigade at the Sandhurst Military Skills Competition in April 2024 at West Point Military Academy.U.S. Army photo by Sarah Windmuller
The Cadet Command plans to establish ROTC units at two schools with Historically Black College and University (HBCU) status: Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee, and Delaware State University in Dover, Delaware. , appears to be making an exception for geographic refocus. According to Army Times, these schools have a growing student population, and planners say establishing an ROTC program would help build an officer corps with racial diversity measures similar to those of the enlisted corps. Stated.
As part of broader reforms to the Army’s recruiting process announced in the fall and aimed at pulling the Army out of its worst recruiting crisis in history, Cadet Command now reports to the U.S. Army Recruiting Command. The Army also wants to target future recruits with some college education to fill its pool of enlisted candidates.
Army Cadet Command did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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