Army ROTC fosters pride

WSU’s Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) has operated on the Pullman campus since the establishment of the university.

Todd Plotner, lieutenant colonel and professor of military science, said the program has continued since its foundation, and WSU was one of the first universities in the nation to establish a formal Army ROTC program.

The program began in 1892 as part of a charter within the land grant that founded then Washington State College. The agreement included the responsibility of the university to produce officers for the United States military.

This long-running history is a source of pride for WSU’s battalion, which is known as the Coug Battalion, Plotner said.

“It gives us a sense of privilege and responsibility,” he said. “It’s great for the cadets to experience – it helps them attain humility and pride in the organization and the history of the organization.”

Robert Baca, master sergeant and senior military instructor, said the goal of the Army ROTC program is to ultimately produce a quota of officers for the U.S. military each year, which the Coug Battalion continues to do successfully.

While the quota for officers each year is 14, the battalion has commissioned approximately 20 officers annually, he said.

While teaching officers is necessary for the continuation of the program, Baca said the goal of Army ROTC at WSU is much broader.

“The ROTC program provides students the opportunity to think critically,” he said. “They’re developing themselves in being both a student and a leader.”

Baca emphasized that these skills follow the cadets into the military and future careers of each student.

Senior Connor Martin is a fourth year cadet in the Coug Battalion. He said leadership and relationship-building skills are central to the program.

“There is a lot of interaction both vertically and horizontally,” he said. “There is a mentoring program within ROTC, so older students mentor younger students, and you also interact with lots of people that you normally wouldn’t.”

ROTC offers a four-year curriculum, and students who complete the program earn a minor in military science. Upon completion, cadets may commission into the military as Second Lieutenants in either the Reserves or as Active Duty.

Students in the program also have access to a variety of summer programs such as parachute training, helicopter training, internships with military units worldwide, and study abroad options.

Many of these programs are offered nationwide and allow cadets from WSU to work with other ROTC students across the country.

WSU also offers Navy ROTC and Air Force ROTC programs. While the units operate independently of each other, they participate together in large events on campus such as Commencement, Plotner said.

“This brings us a lot of pride,” he said. “There are not many universities who bring everyone together.”