Unit Profile (ending fiscal year 2007)
Name: University of Oklahoma Army Reserve Officer Training Corps - "Sooner Battalion"
Website: www.ou.edu/rotc/army
Professor of Military Science: Lieutenant Colonel Kennan D. Horn, Air Defense, U.S. Army
Assistant Professor of Military Science: Major Steve Sams, Field Artillery, U.S. Army
Established: 1919
Total Enrollment: 89 cadets
Mix of in-state and out-of-state students - many different states are represented.
24 first-year cadets, 25 second-year cadets, 23 third-year cadets, 17 fourth or fifth-year cadets.
The average age of an OU Army ROTC cadet is 23. Most cadets have prior military service, prior education, or both. Some are graduate students.
Highest overall enrollment in ten years.
90% of all senior cadets ultimately receive an Army commission.
Demographics:
Gender
Male: 79.7%
Female: 20.3%
(This is similar to the gender demographic of the Army officer corps as a whole.)
Ethnicity
Caucasian: 85.5%
African American: 8.7%
Hispanic American: 3.0%
Native American: 1.4%
Other: 1.4%
About OU Army ROTC:
The University of Oklahoma Army ROTC is an officer training and commissioning program that annually produces between 15 and 20 new Lieutenants for the United States Army.
It was established at the University of Oklahoma in 1919 as a successor to the short-lived Student Army Training Corps, which was formed to provide military training to students in response to the outbreak of the First World War.
The training goals of the OU Army ROTC are to develop cadets mentally, physically, and scholastically. The course focuses on developing basic soldier skills, leadership qualities, physical fitness, and officership. The intent of the program is to prepare college-age men and women to lead American Soldiers in armed conflict.
Nationwide, the Army ROTC program is the single largest source of scholarship money, and the program at the University of Oklahoma is no exception. 84% of OU Army ROTC cadets receive some form of financial assistance, which usually pays for all tuition and fees associated with higher education.
Recent graduates have participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, or have otherwise contributed in some way to the Global War on Terror.
The OU Army ROTC is seeking highly-motivated, quality men and women who are scholars, athletes, and leaders willing to commit to the profession of arms.
Recent Achievements
Cadet enrollment at an all-time high.
Despite ongoing overseas commitments and active wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the OU Army ROTC program experienced record enrollment during the first quarter of the 2008 fiscal year, surpassing enrollment figures not since achieved following the 1998 closure of the extension program at East Central University. The increased enrollment bodes well for the future of the Army ROTC program at OU, which has been expected to provide an increasing number of Officer commissionees to both the Regular Army and the Reserve Component.
LDAC 2007 performance the best in recent years.
The Army ROTC's Leadership Development and Assessment Course, known as LDAC, is a five week course held every summer at Fort Lewis, Washington. Cadets between their third and fourth year must attend the course, where they receive further training and leadership development. Throughout their time at Fort Lewis, cadets are tested in basic soldier skills, professional aptitude, and leadership qualities, amongst other things. The performance of cadets at LDAC is considered along with other factors such as college academics and physical fitness to place them in their first Army assignments.
This past year, thanks in large part to the diligent efforts of Sergeant First Class Michael Ader, the third-year cadet class performed far better than in the preceding years. As a whole, the class met or exceeded training standards when compared with other schools in the region, and 36% of the cadets in the class received the highest possible rating at the course, with many placing at the top of the national rankings.
Bob Kalsu Memorialized
The late First Lieutenant Bob Kalsu, a graduate of the OU Army ROTC program, holds the distinction of being the only active professional athlete killed during the Vietnam War. As a star OU football player, Kalsu was drafted by the Buffalo Bills and named the team's 1968 rookie of the year. Even though Kalsu may have declined active service, he elected to accept his commission as a Lieutenant of Artillery. Months later, in July of 1970, Kalsu was killed during an attack on his firebase.
The Bob Kalsu Memorial Project was a cadet-initiated effort to memorialize an outstanding program alumnus. Second Lieutenant Paul Jackson, an OU Army ROTC graduate, organized the fundraising effort during his final year in the ROTC program. Jackson, along with the class of 2007, raised more than $20,000 from private contributors, including $13,000 from the Football Letterman's Association, which included many of Kalsu's former teammates. Fellow Sooner and OU Army ROTC graduate Steve Owens, a 1969 Heisman Trophy winner, made a significant personal contribution to the effort.
The resultant funds were used to commission a portrait of Kalsu, which was unveiled by his surviving family at the annual Alumni Banquet. It is now hung in a place of honor inside the Armory.
Cadet Lounge Renovated
The cadet lounge, which for years has undergone extreme neglect and had fallen into a state of disrepair, was recently renovated. The project, costing many thousands of dollars, featured new paint, new carpeting, new doors, new lighting, and the procurement of all-new furniture. The lounge now features several microfiber sofas, a pool table, a large-screen television, an air hockey table, and a foosball table. It also hosts the newly-created OU Army ROTC Wall of Fame, which features plaques detailing the lives of several outstanding alumni. In addition, a portrait of each general officer to have ever graduated the program now hangs in the lounge.
OU Army ROTC goes wireless.
The Sooner Battalion recently signed an agreement with the University's Information Technology department that provided wireless Internet access and wireless networking to a portion of the Armory and the 89 cadets who work and study there daily. Recognizing the need to provide its cadets with appropriate facilities and educational resources, the training cadre sought the agreement in order to provide cadets with the same opportunities as other students. Cadets now enjoy wireless Internet inside the Armory, which is an environment that fosters high morale, esprit de corps, and interaction with subordinates and superiors alike. One wireless Internet device has been installed, which provides wireless service to the cadet offices and classrooms.
Upcoming Events
Team preparing for Bataan Memorial Death March.
Once again, a group of cadets are regularly running distances of between 10 and 25 miles in order to prepare for the grueling Bataan Memorial Death March, a 26.2-mile marathon through the high desert of New Mexico held annually every spring. Participants walk, jog, or run with loads up to 35 pounds in order to remember the Soldiers who gave their lives during the real Bataan Death March, a Japanese atrocity committed during the Second World War in which thousands of surrendered American servicemen were forced to march nearly one hundred miles in five days while enduring brutal treatment at the hands of their captors.
Last year, Cadet Jason Pannell finished 31 out of 393 in the individual male military light division, while the OU Army ROTC team finished 8 out of 20 in the ROTC light division despite having sustained an injured team member at the outset of the event. Team members look forward to even greater successes this year.
OU Army ROTC to send largest LDAC class in decade.
Reflecting an overall increase in program enrollment, the Sooner Battalion is poised to send more cadets to LDAC during 2008 than any other year in the previous decade. This year, the third-year class swelled to more than 25 students, many of whom entered the program with previous military experience, including overseas deployments. If all of the cadets successfully pass their training, they will also earn the distinction of being the largest commissioning class in ten years.
Alumni Information
Publications:
The official website of the OU Army ROTC, located online at www.ou.edu/rotc/army, is the program's primary outlet of information. Updated regularly, the website features information about the ROTC program, scholarship opportunities, photographs of training events and local happenings, and contact information for program staff. Soon, the website will expand to include information for current cadets as well as alumni.
Newsletters are released sporadically by the cadet chain of command, which aims to publish one newsletter per semester. These are usually posted on the website.
Periodic mailings and phone calls serve to inform alumni of upcoming events and important happenings within the Sooner Battalion.
Alumni event:
The Army ROTC Alumni & Friends Reunion Banquet, held annually during the month of November, is a major formal dinner that allows program alumni to converse with current cadets and staff members. It is typically held in the reception area of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art and includes a buffet-style dinner, a keynote address, discussion of current alumni affairs, remarks by the Professor of Military Science, presentations of scholarships for cadets, and presentations of awards for alumni. However, the highlight of this event is the interaction that takes place between members of the Sooner Battalion past and present.
