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ROTC and Urban America

ROTC and Urban America. Cheryl Miller, AEI Program on American Citizenship. Making Citizen Soldiers. The original mission of ROTC: a national program

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ROTC and Urban America

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  1. ROTC and Urban America Cheryl Miller, AEI Program on American Citizenship

  2. Making Citizen Soldiers

  3. The original mission of ROTC: a national program • The American political system strives for national majorities over simple majorities, and that goal should be reflected in our military as well. • By virtue of their different education, ROTC graduates would infuse the military with a broader set of civilian values and help ensure that the military's leadership is more reflective of the entire country. Overview: A National Program

  4. From 1968 to 1974, the Army closed 30 units at Eastern schools and opened 33 in the South, both at predominantly white universities like Old Dominion and predominantly black universities like Norfolk State. • At the start of this six-year period, there were 123 ROTC units in the East and 147 in the South. By the end, Southern units outnumbered Eastern ones 180 to 93. ROTC’s Southern Shift

  5. Source: Michael S. Neiberg. Making Citizen Soldiers: ROTC and the Ideology of American Military Service. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2000. 172. Net gain or loss of ROTC units by region, 1968-1974

  6. Combined ROTC Programs by State

  7. U.S. Army ROTC Programs by State

  8. U.S. Navy ROTC Programs by State

  9. U.S. Air Force ROTC Programs by State

  10. 18-24 Year Old U.S. Population by State

  11. Urban areas particularly hard hit… • NYC, with over 8 million people, is served by 2 Army ROTC units vs. 11 for VA and 10 for AL. • The Chicago metro area, with almost 10 million residents, has 3 ROTC programs (1 Army; 2 Navy). • Detroit has 1 Army ROTC program at Wayne State. • Los Angles, population over 12 million, has 4 programs. ROTC in Urban America

  12. Political turmoil of the Sixties, but… • University administrators, most of whom, appreciating the program's infusion of scholarship money, have largely supported ROTC. • Nor were the vast majority of students the problem: Two days after the Kent State University shootings in 1970, a poll showed that 75% of KSU students favored keeping ROTC on campus, barely below the national average of 80%. Why did this happen?

  13. Budgetary concerns… • Programs in the South and Midwest are simply more cost-effective, producing a greater number of graduates at a lower cost per cadet. • Army Cadet Command website categorizes Eastern and elite universities as “high cost” • 1991 GAO Report: “Reserve Officers' Training Corps: Less Need for Officers Provides Opportunity for Significant Savings” Why did this happen?

  14. Degrades the effectiveness of our armed forces… • Stress of repeated deployments: We can’t keep turning to the same small pool of people and asking more from them indefinitely. • Fighting a counterinsurgency that demands innovative leadership, language skills, and cultural knowledge. The diverse student body in the North and our big cities has a lot to offer in that regard. • The military has a lot to offer w/its young officers; healthy for college population & young officer corps Why does it matter?

  15. Gates: “the relationship between those in uniform and the wider society they have sworn to protect.” • Less than 1% of Americans serve either in the active duty forces or the reserves. • Fewer and fewer Americans have ties to those who have served in the military. • This is a self-inflicted wound by the military. Left unaddressed, over time, it is bound to have a less than salutary impact on the relationship of the military with the larger American society. Why does it matter?

  16. Visit our website: http://www.citizenship-aei.org

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