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The History of the Program
Xavier University first offered military instruction
in 1877. The students took classes after school hours at the
Newport Kentucky Arms Barracks. These students held regular
drill exhibitions in the quadrangle of the old college at
Seventh and Sycamore Streets in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio.
After several years, this instruction was discontinued.
Xavier University had a unit of the Student's
Army Training Corps during World War I. They had 232 students
at their high point. This unit was disbanded shortly after
the Armistice was signed.
The War Department authorized the formation
of the Field Artillery Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC)
unit on 27 December 1935. The detachment began operations
on 16 September 1936. Instruction began with 195 students
enrolled in the basic course. ROTC was mandatory for all physically
fit freshmen and sophomores.
The Army replaced the ROTC detachment with a
unit of the Specialized Training Program during World War
II. During that time, 1808 Army Air Corps pilots participated
in training at Xavier.
The Army reactivated the ROTC detachment in
1946. Saint Barbara Hall was donated to the university and
became the offices of the detachment. Work on the Armory began
in 1947. The Honorable Kenneth C. Royall, the first Secretary
of the Army, officially opened the Armory on 12 February 1948.
The university chose to remove ROTC instruction
from its list of required courses in 1971. The first women
entered ROTC in 1974. In 1976, Xavier became the host for
all ROTC instruction in the Greater Cincinnati Area. This
consortium was disbanded in 1982, but Northern Kentucky remained
as an Extension Center of Xavier University until 1994. Cross
enrolled agreements currently exist with Miami University,
Thomas More College, the College of Mount Saint Joseph, as
well as Northern Kentucky University.
Xavier University ROTC has a number of distinguished
alumni, including five general officers. Twelve Xavier alumni
served in Operation Desert Storm.
Since 1991, Xavier's ROTC program has received
the General MacArthur award six times. This award identifies
the top ROTC units among the 272 programs across the United
States, and is based on an assessment of each program, including
cadet training, performance, and GPA. Xavier ROTC received
this national award in 1996 and 2001. Additionally, Xavier
ROTC won in 1991, 1994, 1995 and, 1996 at the regional level
against numerous schools in several states.
Xavier ROTC's Adventure Training Team, the Rangers,
competes annually against approximately 30 other Ranger teams
across the Ohio Valley. They placed second overall in 2002,
third in 2004, and first in 2004. |
