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98-678: Students who elect to join the Corps must participate in mandatory Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) courses and training for the first three semesters, but they are optional after that. All cadets are required to attend leadership classes in the School of Military Science coordinated by the Commandant's Office. Approximately 45 percent of the members of the Cadet Corps continue with the ROTC curriculum, contract with

196-689: A cadet in D-2 could be a member of the Ross Volunteers, but not the Band). The Ross Volunteer Company is the official Honor Guard for the Governor of the state of Texas , and, aside from the Cadet Corps itself, is the oldest student organization in the state of Texas. Started in 1887 during the tenure of President H. H. Dinwiddie , the organization was originally named the Scott Volunteers after Col. Thomas M. Scott,

294-499: A college or university with three (or two) academic years remaining. An applicant for a campus-based scholarship must meet all AROTC administrative and academic requirements as well as have a minimum SAT score of 1000 or ACT score of 19. Once a prospect has shown interest in the AROTC program they can compete in a scholarship board. If the prospect boards well the AROTC program's Professor of Military Science may submit them for selection of

392-676: A combined Air Force and Cavalry regiment, a combined Engineer and Composite regiment, and the "Training Regiment" consisting of nine companies of freshmen), the Headquarters Group and the Band were composed of a total of 35 individual military units. The 1951–52 academic year saw the organization of the Cadet Corps at is largest in number of individual units. Sixty-six units (companies, batteries and squadrons) were divided among 8 regiments (Infantry, Artillery, Armor/Engineers, First Air Force Wing, 2nd Air Force Wing, Composite Regiment, Seventh Regiment and

490-578: A heavy African-American man from Mississippi to be the first principal of the college. The institution was constructed upon the ruins of the old slave plantation known as Alta Vista, owned by Jared Ellison Kirby, a colonel in the Confederate States Army . The school later changed names to the Prairie View State Normal School, before settling on its current name in 1973. The school was closed on February 22, 1879, for some time, and

588-707: A letter to the governor of Mississippi, Charles Clark , requesting an exemption from Confederate military service. He operated the Summerville Institute in Gholson, Mississippi, from 1854 to 1876. He was appointed the Superintendent of Public Instruction of Mississippi on April 3, 1876. He was the Grand Master of Masons of the Grand Lodge of Mississippi in 1868 and 1869. As Grand Master, Gathright presided over

686-455: A potent factor in the formation of true character. In 1883, out of frustration, James resigned, and James Reid Cole was named 3rd president of the university. Cole served as president for only a few months when the board made a surprise move removing Cole from the office of president naming Hardaway Hunt Dinwiddie in the new position of Chairman of the Faculty. Dinwiddie was also VMI alumnus and

784-433: A quote from John Garland James regarding his beliefs about military training in an academic setting. The military system of school government... tends to develop in the student a high sense of personal honor and moral responsibility, and to give him those habits of regularity, promptness, self-reliance, and respect for proper authority, which go far to make the good citizen and the successful man of business. It thus becomes

882-560: A scholarship. Numerous factors will influence this decision. Typically the summer between the academic junior and senior years of school, Cadets attend Advance Camp at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Here, each cadet would be evaluated on leadership skills. The course was set up for a month of training with other peers and evaluated by Army Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers. Advance Camp is the United States Army's largest training event. The Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) program

980-803: A silk red sash around the waist of the white uniform. The RV Company performs a 3-volley, 21-gun salute at the traditional Silver Taps ceremony and at the annual campus Muster event. In addition, the RV Company marches in several parades each year including the Rex Parade on Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana. The RVs serve as the honor guard of Rex, the king of Mardi Gras. Other duties include Texas Gubernatorial events, funerals, weddings, and campus events. This all-freshman precision rifle drill team represents Texas A&M and its Corps of Cadets in competition with other colleges at military drill meets around

1078-472: A special unit, known as W-1. Harassment from their male counterparts was commonplace. Women were initially prohibited from serving in leadership positions or in the more elite Corps units such as the Band and the Ross Volunteers. These groups were opened to female participation in fall of 1985, following a federal court decision in a class-action lawsuit filed by a female cadet; five years later, female-only units were eliminated. In 1977, Freshman Orientation Week

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1176-403: A strong believer in military training. By the time of Dinwiddie's unfortunate passing in 1887, Texas A&M's military tradition was strongly instituted. Through the first four administrations there were overtures to reduce the military aspect of Texas A&M. The first president, Thomas S. Gathright , was not a strong advocate and often had differences with Morris. James faced criticisms of

1274-516: A summer of military training. 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

1372-536: A total of 5 regiments, encompassing thirty-two individual units (companies, batteries and troops). That same year, a Chemical Warfare Service Company was added to the Composite Regiment, and the following year a second company warranted the formation of a Chemical Warfare Service Battalion. A sixth regiment, the Coast Artillery Regiment, was added in 1937. In 1939, the Band had grown to the point that it

1470-419: A white braid on their garrison caps and white cotton belts, run the daily operations of the Corps. They hold the rank of cadet sergeant through cadet sergeant major, depending on the position attained. Senior cadets are often referred to as " zips " (short for " zipperheads "), referring to the black and gold "zipper" braid on the garrison cap. A senior may also be referred to as an "elephant," which derives from

1568-653: Is analogous to the experiences of the Rooks at Norwich University , Knobs at The Citadel , Rats of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets and the Virginia Military Institute , Frogs at University of North Georgia , Doolies at the United States Air Force Academy , or Plebes at any of the other U.S. Federal Service Academies . Both freshmen and sophomore cadets are required to wear metal taps on

1666-467: 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 with the approval of the school's professor of military science. The Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (AROTC) program is the largest branch of ROTC, as

1764-441: Is required to know the answers to a wide number of questions including, "What's for chow?", "How many days until Final Review?", and a long list of university history questions. Upon meeting an upperclassman fish must introduce themselves and learn the upperclassman's name. As the academic year progresses, some upperclassmen will begin to grant the fish permission to use his or her first name and speak more informally. Sophomores in

1862-706: Is the largest. The Corps of Cadets was founded in 1876 with the creation of the all-male, military-focused Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas under the Morrill Act of 1862 . The Morrill Act did not specify the extent of military training, leading many land-grant schools to provide only minimal training, Texas A&M was an exception. The only mention of military training is in Section 4: ...the leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies, and including military tactics , to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and

1960-599: Is unique among military schools, bearing a close resemblance to the US Army uniforms from after World War I to World War II known as Pinks and greens . There are slight differences in the uniform worn by each class year, noted below, including the Senior Boots, calf-skin riding boots harkening back to the US Army cavalry officer's uniform of World War I. All cadets wear the same basic Corps uniform regardless of service affiliation. Freshman cadets are called fish. The first year,

2058-621: The Armistice of November 11, 1918 ended the war, the Army's need for more soldiers and officers ended. The SATC was disbanded in December 1918, and its members were honorably discharged from the military. Individuals who served in the Student Army Training Corps included: Thomas S. Gathright Thomas Sanford Gathright (January 5, 1829 – May 24, 1880) was an American educator and

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2156-651: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Texas A&M University . After World War II , the Air Force established ROTC units at 77 colleges and universities throughout the United States. Other national armed forces in countries with strong historical ties to the United States have ROTC programs. Other countries have also institutionalized reservist training programs. Reserve Officer Training in Russia began in

2254-557: The State Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas . On July 15, 1876, Gathright was elected president of the newly founded State Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. The new school was located four miles from Bryan, Texas , immediately on the Houston and Texas Central Railway . His initial salary was $ 3,000. On October 4, 1876, on the recommendation of former Confederate president Jefferson Davis after he had declined

2352-545: The United States Armed Forces . While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches of the U.S. military, the U.S. Marine Corps , the U.S. Space Force , and the U.S. Coast Guard do not have their own respective ROTC programs; rather, graduates of Naval ROTC programs have the option to serve as officers in the Marine Corps contingent on meeting Marine Corps requirements. Graduates of Air Force ROTC also have

2450-447: 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

2548-511: The "Ohio Plan". Mershon noted: 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 ,

2646-559: The 1920s. Brazil has had the CPOR and the NPOR since 1928, the difference being that officers trained by the CPOR choose their area of specialization, while officers trained by the NPOR learn from their local army base. During World War I, the United States created the Student Army Training Corps in an effort to encourage young men to simultaneously receive a college education and train for the military. Students were authorized to participate beginning in

2744-500: The 57 Corps units, a total of 21, consisted of Freshmen. The following year, freshmen were incorporated back into the other Corps units. The 1954–55 school year, saw the Cadet Corps begin to take on the organization (two Army regiments and two Air Force wings, and the Band) that is familiar to most former cadets today. The Band, which in 1939 had divided itself into an Infantry company and an Artillery Battery (Field Artillery Band in 1940), dropped those branch designations in 1947 in favor of

2842-559: The Army Branch designations, the units in the two Army Brigades began to adopt unit nicknames and mascots, or "outfit logos," in earnest. During the Vietnam War era, the Cadet Corps was composed of two to three Army Brigades, two to three Air Force Wings, and the Band. Each brigade was composed of two or three battalions of three to five companies each, and each Wing was composed of two groups of three to six squadrons each. During this period

2940-531: The Army is the largest branch of the military. There are over 20,000 ROTC cadets in 273 ROTC programs at major universities throughout the United States . These schools are categorized as Military Colleges (MC), Military Junior Colleges (MJC) and Civilian Colleges (CC). Army ROTC provides the majority of the Army's officer corps; the remainder comes from West Point , Officer Candidate School (OCS) , or direct commissions . AROTC offers scholarships based on

3038-518: The Bryan community, who felt that he was opposed to the "agricultural and mechanical features of the institution" and "preferred to make of it a military training school and a purely literary institution", especially Alexander O. Hogg, the professor of pure mathematics . One particular disagreement between professor Hogg and president Gathright was the nomination of John C. Crisp to the position of commandant of cadets , which Gathright had supported and Hogg

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3136-403: The Cadet Corps and is composed of an Air Force/Space Force Wing, an Army Brigade, a Navy/Marine Regiment, as well as The Fightin' Texas Aggie Band whose members may be affiliated with any military branch. In December 2018, the Corps of Cadets had the honor, and distinction, of saying their final farewell and salute to George H. W. Bush , the 41st President of the United States of America, as he

3234-437: The Commandant ensured that Artillery training was included in the military instruction. The Aggie Band was organized in 1894 as a permanent institution within the Corps. In 1908, with enrollment over 570, a second battalion was added. As enrollment climbed, the Cadet Corps continued to grow to multiple battalions, each with two to four companies, and the Corps became divided into multiple regiments. The academic year 1916–17 saw

3332-477: The Corps are known as pissheads, often bowdlerized as " head ". A sophomore's duty in the Corps is to train and drill the freshmen through all their necessary duties and responsibilities through Final Review in May. They are graded by the performance of their freshmen. Much like drill sergeants, the pissheads are responsible for seeing that the fish adapt and excel in Corps life through rigorous, diligent, and sometimes intense instruction. Sophomores are expected to be

3430-422: The Corps was composed of as many as 40 individual companies and squadrons, including the Band. Texas A&M remained a primarily all-male military institution with mandatory membership in the Cadet Corps until 1964, when the school began admitting women. In 1965 Corps membership became voluntary for students. The Corps first incorporated female members in the fall of 1974. At the time, the women were placed into

3528-460: The Corps, and, although this is only a small percentage of the overall student population, the Corps remains a highly visible presence on campus, a reminder of the school's origins as an all-male military college. Cadets are active in many campus organizations and are renowned for their school spirit and have the moniker "Keepers of the Spirit". All military branches are represented in the organization of

3626-457: The Corps. Organizationally, the ROTC units are organized under the Commandant led by a representative of each of the military branches: the Professor of Military Science ( Army ROTC ), the Professor of Naval Science ( Navy and Marine Corps ROTC ), and the Professor of Aerospace Studies ( Air Force and Space Force ROTC ). Reference The Corps of Cadets has its own cadet commander, a Cadet Colonel ,

3724-533: The Department of Defense commissioned that year. Under ROTC, a student may receive a competitive, merit-based scholarship covering all or part of college tuition, textbooks and lab fees, in return for an active-duty service obligation after graduation (or completion of a graduate degree under an approved education delay). ROTC students attend college like other students, but also receive basic military training and officer training for their chosen branch of service through

3822-507: The Depression waned and the U.S. involvement in the war became imminent, enrollment climbed back to a pre-War total of over 6,500 in the fall of 1941. In 1935, swelling enrollment forced the formation of an Engineer Regiment and a Cavalry Regiment. With these two new regiments, added to the Infantry, Field Artillery and Composite regiments, the Cadet Corps, for the first time in its history, now had

3920-578: The Deputy Corps Commander, the Chief of Staff, the Corps Sergeant Major and 21 other cadet officers and sergeants. The Corps of Cadets is organized and modeled after an army corps including Continental Staff positions in both the Corps leadership and the individual units. Key: * male-only unit, # historically STEM unit, ** Pre-professional unit. Note that "Company A-1" or "Squadron 2" are

4018-524: The Eighth Freshman Training Regiment) consisting of 21 battalions and the Band. During this post-war era and into the 1950s, the various units of the Corps continued to be identified by their military branch. The traditional branches (Infantry, Field Artillery, Cavalry, Engineers, Coast Artillery, Quartermaster, Ordinance, Signal Corps, Armor, Chemical Corps, Transportation, Army Security, and Army Air Force) continued to be represented. But

Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets - Misplaced Pages Continue

4116-489: The Freshman Regiment added a Band Company and four Air Force flights for a total of 12 units. The Eighth Freshman Training Regiment was moved to the main campus in the fall of 1950, and by 1951, it consisted of a total of 15 freshman companies, batteries and squadrons, each with a branch designation, attached to which was a Senior Battalion of four companies of cadet Seniors. During the 1953–54 school year, over one-third of

4214-646: The Marine Corps. Marine NROTC students may be formed in a separate company when the program includes sufficient numbers. All Naval ROTC students are referred to as midshipmen. Some of the summer training that is offered to cadets in the Army ROTC program are: Airborne, Air Assault, Mountain Warfare, WHINSEC and other related schools. In addition to their mandatory 20 day Field Training (FT) at Maxwell AFB , Alabama, typically between their sophomore and junior year. Air Force ROTC cadets are also eligible for Airborne training under

4312-557: The ROTC unit at or nearby the college. The students participate in regular drills during the school year and off-campus training opportunities during the summer. 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. Army and Air Force ROTC students are referred to as cadets. Naval ROTC units are organized as battalions and also include NROTC students under "Marine Option" who will eventually be commissioned as officers in

4410-800: The Superintendent of Public Instruction in Mississippi of the Democratic party in 1876 and wrote to the Hinds County Superintendent of Education in a letter described by the Grange as "admirable". Early in July, Gathright wrote a letter to county superintendents of education to explain why the Mississippi Legislature had proceeded with the reduction of salaries for public teachers and county superintendents, which construed "the teachers engaged in

4508-770: The U.S. had a prepared corps of officers including one of the earliest Plattsburgh graduates, Theodore Roosevelt Jr. The National Defense Act of 1920 ramped up ROTC, and by 1928, units had been established at 225 colleges and universities, including all of the Morrill Act land-grant colleges. They were commissioning 6,000 reserve second lieutenants per year. 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 . The ROTC produced over 100,000 officers during World War II, and tens of thousands more after

4606-401: 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

4704-404: The best example of cadets for their fish. It is generally considered bad form for a junior or senior to correct a sophomore in view of freshmen. As a junior , the cadet is called a " sergebutt " or more commonly just butt . The nickname is a result of a junior privilege to purchase tailor made the serge uniforms which were easier to maintain and required less ironing. The Corps juniors, wearing

4802-425: The college's board of directors conducted an investigation and passed a resolution that determined "there exists... such a want of harmony and co-operation as to prevent its proper and successful management." The board asked the entire faculty to resign and Gathright tendered his notice of resignation on November 21, 1879. Gathright was reportedly at odds with some members of the faculty, and a few prominent members of

4900-458: The college's business manager. In 1898, the company was renamed for Texas A&M President Lawrence Sullivan Ross . The company is composed of junior and senior cadets. Cadets are chosen on a basis of honor, humility, and character. Each fall, approximately 72 junior cadets are selected into the company by the RV seniors. A critical voting process, undisclosed to outside sources, is conducted to select

4998-731: The combined total of the United States Naval Academy and the United States Military Academy during the same timeframe. Over 250 Aggies have served as generals or flag officers , and eight alumni have been awarded the highest United States military award, the Medal of Honor : *Sasser was not in the Corps and joined A&M after receiving his Medal of Honor Today, the Cadet Corps is a coeducational institution, and all but eight of its units are gender-integrated. Over 2,500 students, including over 300 women are members of

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5096-413: The combined totals of both military academies. By February 1943 enrollment dropped to less than 4,000 as Cadets left school to serve in the U.S. military. The 1944–45 school year saw enrollment drop to as low as 1,600 and the depletion of cadets forced the reorganization of the Corps down to only two regiments (Infantry and Composite) consisting of a total of only 17 companies, batteries and troops, including

5194-483: The division of the Corps into two regiments. The following year, the two regiments had a total of six battalions composed of eighteen companies and a battery of field artillery. In 1918, enrollment surged to 1,284, almost a fifty percent increase over the previous year. In the 1919–20 school year, a Signal Corps battalion and a Mounted Cavalry battalion (later called a "cavalry squadron") with one cavalry troop were added. An Air Service squadron with one company-sized "flight"

5292-536: The expulsion of William Wallace Chisolm in 1868, later the victim of the Chisolm Massacre , for "his connection with forged papers" and "unmasonic conduct". Gathright would later write a letter defending the brother of murder victim John William Gully , who was charged with instigating the massacre of Chisolm and his family. He was appointed by Governor Stone and confirmed by the Mississippi Senate as

5390-528: The faculty, largely with members from the Texas Military Institute . John Garland James , then president of TMI, was named as the 2nd president of the university. One of James' first hires was John Waller Clark, a recent VMI graduate, to serve as the Assistant Commandant. During his tenure, James strongly advocated for the military training aspect of A&M's curriculum. The following is

5488-557: The fall of 1928, with enrollment at 2,770 cadets, an Engineer Battalion was added, and the following year a third regiment was formed out of the expanded Field Artillery Battalion. A fourth battalion, the Coast Artillery, was added to the Composite Regiment in the fall of 1933. The Cadet Corps enrollment hit a peak of 2,770 in 1928, but the Great Depression took its toll, and by the fall of 1932 enrollment had fallen to 2,001. But as

5586-654: The first president of the State Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas , now known as Texas A&M University , and the second president of Henderson Male and Female College. He founded what would later become the only functioning secondary school in Mississippi during the American Civil War and was the state Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1876. Thomas Sanford Gathright was born in Monroe County, Georgia , on January 5, 1829. His father died when he

5684-588: The following requirements: The applicant must 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 four-year scholarship is for students who receive it out of high school or before entering college. The four-year scholarship can be extended with the same conditions to a 5-year scholarship if the major is in Engineering. Campus-based three-year, two-and-a-half-year, and two-year scholarships are available for students already enrolled in

5782-481: The foundation he laid for Texas A&M's interpretation of the Morrill Act of 1862 . P. L. Downs, Class of 1879 and private secretary to Texas A&M's 1st president, Thomas S. Gathright , was quoted on the president's stance regarding military discipline at the university. Gathright was wholly opposed to any military discipline. He believed in putting the boys on their honor and trusting them implicitly, and yet Major Morris, as Commandant, insisted upon carrying out

5880-494: The governmental requirements as to military training and that did not altogether suit the president. In November 1879 the first administration was dismissed, including Morris. The board was not happy with the direction of the college and a great rift had developed in the faculty due to an event known as the "Crisp Affair." The four-day proceedings are well documented in the Galveston Daily News. The board quickly restaffed

5978-479: The gun was the runaway that tumbled over a ridge in the film We've Never Been Licked , there is no conclusive evidence. There are many special units under the different ROTC programs and their cadet-led units: The Warrior Training Battalion, the Midshipmen Battalion and Air Force Detachment 805. As a member of the Corps, a cadet climbs through four classes of seniority. The current Corps of Cadets uniform

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6076-483: The heels of their shoes. In addition, male fish must maintain an extremely short hairstyle known colloquially as a "fish cut". Corps freshmen are not addressed by their first name; a freshman named John Smith would become fish Smith his freshman year in the Corps. A freshman whose last name is not known to the speaker is referred to by the generic name "fish Jones." Cadets who started in the same class year are known as buddies. In addition to standardized answers, every fish

6174-592: The mechanic arts... In 1876, Robert Page Waller Morris , a 1872 graduate of Virginia Military Institute , joined the university staff and was assigned as the first Commandant of the Corps. In this role, he drafted the first set of Corps regulations and designed the first cadet uniform. Prior to joining Texas A&M, Morris served as a professor at the Texas Military Institute alongside John Garland James and Hardaway Hunt Dinwiddie , who were also VMI cadets. James and Dinwiddie both became future presidents of Texas A&M . Morris' experience at VMI and TMI influenced

6272-410: The military, and receive commissions as officers in the United States armed forces upon graduation. Juniors and seniors who do not have military contracts to receive commissions but wish to remain members of the Cadet Corps are classified as "Drill & Ceremonies" (D&C) cadets. As established under federal law, Texas A&M is one of six U.S. colleges classified as senior military colleges and

6370-462: 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 ), 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

6468-533: The nation. The team began when the freshmen were moved from the main campus to deal with the overcrowding and hazing issues that followed World War II and the return of war veterans to the A&;M campus. The freshmen were moved to the Riverside Campus Annex and lived in the dorms of the retired Bryan Air Force Base twelve miles from campus. They were bussed to class each day, but primarily lived in isolation from

6566-510: The new junior inductees. Once the juniors are inducted into the company, it is composed of those newly selected juniors and 35 seniors holding leadership positions. Seniors not selected for leadership positions retain their membership. Today, the RV uniform is a distinctive white uniform, with yellow trim. Officers in the RV Company (Commanding Officer, Executive Officer, Administrative Officer, Operations Officer, and three Platoon Leaders) as well as one Non-Commissioned Officer (1st Sergeant) wear

6664-414: The official designations of the outfits in the Corps. The nicknames of the outfits are included as they are an integral part of the tradition and heritage of the Corps. Squadron 18, K-1, and D-1 are the (transfer) outfits for out-of-cycle cadets who will be completing their freshman year in one semester. The following are special units within the Corps of which cadets can additionally be members (for example

6762-469: The only active-duty Commandant at Texas A&M. Within this special unit, Half Section (responsible for Field Artillery and Mule Team elements) maintains the "Spirit of '02", a field gun found in the fall of 1974 at a Aggie Bonfire cut site near Easterwood Airport . The cannon is driven by a 4 horse team and a restored caisson to Kyle Field and fired during all home football games, midnight yell practice, and other special events. While Aggie lore states

6860-457: The only mounted ROTC cavalry unit in the country. They were formed in the spring of 1973 to preserve the traditions of the Texas A&;M cavalry through the 1930s. The unit represents the university at football games, parades, agricultural, and equestrian events throughout Texas. It is named after Colonel Thomas R. Parsons who oversaw the creation of the unit, former Commandant from 1972 to 1978 and

6958-521: The opening segment of the 1992 film A Few Good Men and served as army soldiers in training in Courage Under Fire . Despite a successful record in drill competitions nationwide, in 1997 the Fish Drill Team was put on hiatus for four years due to leadership concerns and issues, most notably hazing of students. The team was reinstated in the spring of 2002. Parsons Mounted Cavalry serves as

7056-490: The option to be commissioned in the Space Force as a Space Operations Officer. In 2020, ROTC graduates constituted 70 percent of newly commissioned active-duty U.S. Army officers, 83 percent of newly commissioned U.S. Marine Corps officers (through NROTC), 61 percent of newly commissioned U.S. Navy officers and 63 percent of newly commissioned U.S. Air Force officers, for a combined 56 percent of all active-duty officers in

7154-536: The people of this good state are interested, must go on and must succeed. Gathright also became the chief executive of what was founded as the Alta Vista Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas for Colored Youth, now known as Prairie View A&M University , as part of his role as president. It was general policy for there to be a supervisor over the nominal black head of the institution known as "the principal". Gathright urged for his friend, L. W. Minor,

7252-561: The position, Thomas Sanford Gathright officially assumed office as the first president of the State Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (the future Texas A&M University). At the inauguration of the college, Gathright stated to those assembled: To the full success of the college, I can promise the best efforts of my colleagues in the faculty, as I pledge my own. They may not be the proper men to work out success, and may be called to give place to others. I may not be suited to my place, and may retire; still this great work, in which all

7350-502: The position. Gathright's administration faced the burden of organizing the college, an undefined curriculum, unreliable water cisterns , a shortage of student housing, and enrollment difficulties. Gathright became the second president of the Henderson Male and Female College in 1879, serving about a year before his death. He succeeded Oscar H. Cooper , who became the first Superintendent of Public Instruction of Texas in 1879. At

7448-449: The professor was dismissed by Gathright. In the A&M College of Texas's first year he was the president, head of the commercial department, and professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy and Belles-lettres . He taught single and double entry bookkeeping and the philosophies and morals of business . In his third year his title as professor changed to professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy and Book-keeping. In November of 1879,

7546-510: The public schools of Mississippi, as a class, do not reach the plane of respectability". He was listed as the chairman of the Teacher's State Convention in Mississippi on July 16, 1876, and requested to withdraw from the position of chairman during the convention. Gathright resigned from his position as Mississippi Superintendent of Public Instruction in September to accept the position of president of

7644-417: The regimen from the state legislature, and Dinwiddie faced the pressures of strong competition from the newly formed University of Texas at Austin . For the school's first thirty-one years, through the 1907–08 academic year, the Cadet Corps was organized into one battalion consisting of two to four companies, designated companies "A", "B", "C", and "D". Early on, these were designated "Infantry" companies, but

7742-572: The rest of the Corps. In order to "promote unity and focus on military precision", the freshmen organized themselves into the Freshman Drill Team in the fall of 1947 Over the following 75 years, the team earned dozens of national championships including every national title since 2004, except 2009, when the team placed 2nd. They were selected to portrayed the United States Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon during

7840-464: The senior class Elephant Walk tradition held the week before the last regularly scheduled football game of the year. Seniors hold cadet officer rank, from Cadet 2nd Lieutenant to Cadet Colonel of the Corps. ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps ( ROTC ; / ˈ r ɒ t s iː / or / ˌ ɑːr oʊ t iː ˈ s iː / ) is a group of college - and university -based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of

7938-465: The strength of air power and the rise of the importance of the U.S. Air Force during this era was evident in the organization of the Cadet Corps as Army Air Corps units became Air Force flights (later squadrons). Veterans companies and flights were formed to separate these older veterans from younger cadets. Beginning in 1948 athletes were organized into their own batteries (later companies) to accommodate special team practice schedules. That same year, 1948,

8036-460: The summer of 1917, and training camps were held in the summer of 1918. Enrollment in the SATC was voluntary, and 525 universities enrolled 200,000 total students on October 1, 1918, the first day SATC units were authorized to formally organize on college campuses. Students who joined the SATC received the rank of private in the army, and some advanced to leadership roles including sergeant . When

8134-414: The time of enrollment in the program. Newly graduated seniors in high school can enter the program with a full four-year scholarship while college students can enroll later and earn a scholarship that would cover the remainder of their college career. The two-year scholarship is available for students with two academic years of college remaining. An applicant for a two-year or four-year scholarship must meet

8232-512: The tutelage of the Army at Fort Moore , Georgia. Naval ROTC midshipmen will participate in summer cruise programs every summer, either afloat or ashore, similar to their U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen counterparts. The concept of ROTC in the 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 Northfield, Vermont in 1819 as

8330-470: The two Band units. In 1943, the U.S. Army declared the Mounted Cavalry obsolete, although Cavalry units continued at Texas A&M as mechanized units until the end of the 1949–50 academic year. World War II and the demands of the U.S. military took their toll on enrollment. But, with the end of the war, as enrollment surged in the fall of 1946, Texas A&M gained the use of Bryan Air Force Base , which

8428-457: The two designations Maroon Band and White Band. The first unit logos, which later evolved into the now common unit names, began to appear among the Air Force units in the 1955–56 Aggieland yearbook. A few of the Army units began to follow suit in the 1957-58 Aggieland . But, in the 1959–60 academic year, with the complete reorganization of the First and Second Brigades and the official abandonment of

8526-488: The war from students studying at qualifying universities under the G.I. Bill. Until the 1960s, many major universities required compulsory participation in 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. In some places ROTC was expelled from campus altogether, although it

8624-604: Was laid to rest alongside the late First Lady Barbara Bush and their daughter Robin at the George Bush Presidential Library on the Texas A&M campus. In April 2022, the campaign "March to 3,000" was launched to grow the Corps of Cadets to 3,000 members from around 2,143 in the fall 2021. The Commandant is the Head of the School of Military Science. Along with his Chief of Staff and Assistant Commandants, they provide administrative and professional leadership for

8722-533: Was added in the 1920–21 school year. In the fall of 1923, the Cadet Corps, with a total of 2,091 cadets in twenty-three individual units, became divided between the Infantry Regiment and the Composite Regiment. The Composite Regiment included the Cavalry, Field Artillery, Air Service and Signal Corps units. The Air Corps Squadron (formerly Air Service Squadron) was phased out at the end of the 1927–28 school year. In

8820-476: Was against. Gathright himself had considered the removal of Hamilton P. Bee as the college's steward as the "moving cause of all the difficulties at Bryan" and believed some of the professors made it seem like he was strongly in favor of the removal although he had "merely took the ground that the State would gain financially by abolishing the office of steward" and expressed doubt towards the policy of removing Bee from

8918-577: 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

9016-527: Was at an early age and his family moved to Alabama in the late 1830s. He attended the Green Springs School for Boys under Henry Tutwiler near Greensboro, Alabama . Gathright first taught at Mount Hebron, Alabama , in 1850. He moved to Mississippi in 1853 and began operating a private school, the Summerville Institute in Gholson, Mississippi , in 1854. The school succeeded well in its enterprise, and

9114-561: Was being closed, and converted a number of its buildings into dormitories. In 1947, all entering freshmen, approximately 1,500, were assigned to the Bryan Air Force Base "Annex" which became essentially a freshman campus. The Cadet Corps reorganized again to accommodate these unusual conditions. The 1947–48 Cadet Corps consisted of five regiments, a Headquarters Group, and the Band during that academic year. The five regiments (a combined Infantry and Veterans regiment, an Artillery regiment,

9212-512: Was founded in 1926 and the U.S. Marine Corps joined the program in 1932. The naval NROTC program is offered at over 150 colleges nationwide. The first Air Force Reserve Officer 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 ,

9310-638: Was introduced for incoming fish, culminating in the tradition of the "Fish Review", which has occurred since 1988. In 2007, the corps consisted of 3 Brigades, 2 Regiments, 2 Wings, the Aggie Band, and a task force of special units and veterans outfits. Members of the Cadet Corps have served in every major conflict fought by the United States since the Spanish–American War . During World War II , Texas A.M.C. produced 20,229 Aggies who served in combat. Of those, 14,123 were commissioned as officers, more than

9408-501: Was now divided into two units, the Infantry and Artillery Bands. In the fall of 1942, as citizens of Texas responded to America's need for military officers, the number of individual military units in the Cadet Corps hit an all-time high with a total of seven regiments of seventeen battalions comprising sixty companies, batteries, and troops, including the Band. The Cadet Corps at Texas A&M sent over 20,229 former cadets into World War II, 14,123 of them as commissioned officers, more than

9506-540: 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. 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

9604-567: Was the only functioning secondary school in Mississippi during the civil war. It was damaged by a fire in 1869. After rebuilding and resuming his profession, Gathright continued until the school was again destroyed by fire in 1875. In 1862 he sent a letter to the governor of Mississippi, John J. Pettus , pleading for the governor to use his "influence with the Secretary of War " to have himself "exempted from military service" due to family obligations and "frail health". On August 16, 1864, he sent

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