Back to the ‘West Point of the West’ Army ROTC returns to USU
It’s not every day three U.S. Army helicopters land on the Quad at Utah State University, but Thursday was not just any day for the Army at USU.
The day marked the return of the Reserve Officer Training Corps to USU after a four-year hiatus. The ROTC was canceled at USU in 1997 as a result of military downsizing.
On Thursday morning, USU President Kermit Hall signed a proclamation officially reinstating the program. He was joined at a makeshift podium by Maj. Gen. Brian Tarbet, commanding officer of the Utah National Guard, Provost Stan Albrecht, Vice Provost Ann Leffler and a number of top military officials. In addition to Hall’s proclamation, there was a presentation of the ROTC unit’s colors.
Tarbet, who is a 1973 USU graduate of the ROTC program, said it was great to be back in Cache Valley.
“I’m thrilled to see this program reinstated on this campus,” Tarbet said. “The caliber of students trained here in the past has been exceptional.”
In a brief speech to the crowd gathered on the Quad, Tarbet said the Army is in need of new recruits.
“We’re not here for entirely altruistic reasons. We’re here to recruit bright, intelligent young people. We are critically short of active and reserve Army officers. We need to be awake and alert at all times,” he said.
USU has a long history with the ROTC. Military science was included in the first charter of the university in 1888, and USU was known as the “West Point of the West” for the number of officers it commissioned. In 1949, there were 2,200 cadets on campus.
Until 1957, the basic course in military and air science was mandatory for all male students.
Maj. Rand Curtis, who will head the new program at USU, said he hopes to have 40 to 60 cadets next year.
He said he isn’t worried about competing with the Air Force ROTC for recruits.
The Air Force has maintained its program at USU uninterrupted.
“The Air Force guys tend to be more technical,” Curtis said. “We’re more hands-on. I really don’t see any obstacles to success. We have such a rich tradition here. We’re going to tie the program to alumni. I’m way excited.”
Hall said the reinstated ROTC will offer “opportunities to students that would not otherwise be available” in terms of leadership training and scholarships.
He said it was “too bad it left in the first place, but it’s wonderful to see it return.”
Captain Kyle Bodily, a pilot on the Apache combat helicopter, said it was hard to describe his experiences in the Army, which included service in the Gulf War.
“When I first started flying the Apache, it was probably the most awesome thing I’ve ever felt. But after a while it’s like driving your car to the store, except you’re always looking around for places to land in case there’s a problem. When I was first in combat, I was sort of in shock. I was thinking, ‘My mom used to have to hold my hand and walk me to school, and now I’m here.’ It’s hard to explain.”
Starting soon, he may not need to explain anything to ROTC students at USU. They’ll experience Army life for themselves.