APSU’s ROTC has won the MacArthur award for the second year in a row, making them the title holder from 2013 to 2015.
This is the third time in eight years that APSU has been awarded the MacArthur Award, and the seventh time total since the MacArthur Foundation established the award in 1989.
Annually, the award recognizes eight schools that are chosen from the 275 senior Army ROTC units nationwide. APSU triumphed over 38 public and private schools to keep it.
The award is based on a combination of the achievement of the school’s commissioning mission, its Cadets’ performance and standing on the command’s National Order of Merit List and its cadet retention rate.
Greg Lane, ROTC’s administrative assistant said the cadets’ performance is what makes the program award-winning.
“It has a lot to do with how cadets perform in summer training between their junior and senior years,” Lane said. “We can also credit our success to the number of cadets that we produce. Last year we had to have at least 15, and we produced more than that.”
Lane said the close proximity of APSU to Ft. Campbell has a lot to do with the amount of successful cadets ROTC produces.
“We get a lot of very good progression cadets from the high schools due to their exposure to the military and the support that this community gives the military. Many of them have family members that are involved in the military and have possibly even been deployed,” Lane said. “We also have several experienced soldiers come in through the Green to Gold program.”
Lane said anyone with a passion for the military should join ROTC because they will not regret it.
“If you’re a young person and you want to be part of something bigger than yourself, such as serving your country, and also develop leadership skills and a sense of responsibility, the Army offers that,” Lane said. “The Army also offers opportunities for self-improvement and helps students with working towards their graduate degree. It’s worth pursuing.”
Anyone interested in learning more about ROTC can visit apsu.edu/rotc for more information.
