The Rocky Top Battalion Awarded the MacArthur Award for 2020!
“The ROTC motto is leadership excellence, and these programs exemplify that ethos through their hard work and dedication. Being named a MacArthur award winner acknowledges that these programs are going above and beyond to train the next generation of Army officers. They are the best in the nation, and it gives me great pleasure to recognize their leadership excellence!” Maj. Gen. John Evans said.
Army ROTC is one of the most demanding and successful leadership programs in the country. For years, Army ROTC has been creating leaders who go on to rewarding careers in the military and civilian worlds. Here are just a few benefits a student can gain by enrolling in Army ROTC at the University of Tennessee:
High-level leadership, management, and communications training
Problem-solving and strategic skills development
Scholarships
Monthly living allowances
Entry into the US Army as an officer, either on active duty or in the Army Reserve or Army National Guard
The military program at the University of Tennessee predates that of any other state university in the country. In 1844, Professor Albert Miller Lea, a West Point graduate, organized an Infantry Company, and a uniform for the cadets was adopted. This Dragoon uniform soon became quite famous. While Tennessee had been the Volunteer State since the War of 1812, when Andrew Jackson brought 1,500 volunteers intending to fight in the Battle of New Orleans (who never actually got to participate in the battle), it wasn’t until the Mexican-American War that the name really took hold. When Tennessee Governor Aaron Brown issued a call for 2,800 troops to fight in the war, 30,000 Tennesseans volunteered, including UT’s Dragoons. Their uniform, only slightly modified, is still worn today by the color guard at home football games.
