Temple University Army ROTC

The Temple University Army Reserve Officer's Training Corps is an officer commissioning program for the United States Army for students attending Temple University and neighboring colleges. The program commissions officers through Army ROTC. Temple University's ROTC Battalion is one of the many schools part of the 2nd Reserve Officers' Training Corps Brigade, which is headquartered at Fort Dix. Temple University students who wish to commission as officers into the United States Navy or the United States Marine Corps participate in the Navy ROTC program at the University of Pennsylvania. Those wishing to earn an officer's commission in the United States Air Force participate in the Air Force ROTC program at Saint Joseph's University.

History

The Reserve Officer's Training Program was born in 1862 with the approval of the Morrill Act. A part of this law required colleges and universities to provide military training to their students. This program eventually became known as ROTC. Up until the 1960s, participation in the ROTC program was mandatory for all males. This requirement was discontinued due to the protests against the Vietnam War.

Army ROTC was introduced to Temple University in 1947, and originally served the Medical Corps of the U.S. Army. The program trained Cadets to be officers while providing them with the medical training to serve as officers in the U.S. Army's Medical Corps. The Battalion was located at Temple University's Health Services Campus. In 1948, a separate ROTC program was started at Temple University's main campus, and focused on commissioning officers into the U.S. Army's Transportation Corps. A total of 83 Cadets had commissioned from the program by 1953, and had gone on to serve in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force as well as the U.S. Army. In 1954, the ROTC program changed from branch focused training to a general military science program.

As of 2012, Temple University's Army ROTC program has commissioned 2,018 officers.