ROTC as an Indicator of Civil-Military Relations
Abstract
ROTC is a key indicator of American civil-military relations, both between the military service and host college, and the American military and people writ large. The historic relationship between the US Army and elite American colleges and universities is indicative of their shared history dating to before the Declaration of Independence. ROTC is as much a product of its host colleges as the Army or other military services. Prior to 1969, Ivy League host colleges boasted some of the largest and most active ROTC programs in the nation. While the student protests of the late 1960s exiled ROTC from most elite campuses, the military had consistently operated ROTC as a secondary effort to produce large quantities of adequate, but unremarkable, junior officers to lead a nationally mobilized army (as in the World Wars), or later to maintain the massive Cold War conscription-based Army. However, improved standards of education and training and converging social policies of the military have enabled a return of ROTC to elite campuses. The Army, in particular, must take advantage of this period of historic convergence to leverage the unique educational and cultural capabilities of the Ivy League.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 25, 2017
- Accession Number
- AD1039926
Entities
People
- Matthew B. Schade
Organizations
- School of Advanced Military Studies