In early October, the U.S. Army announced it would close 13 ROTC programs nationwide, including UTM’s, in 2015.
Following the announcement, the university created a task force to look for ways to keep the ROTC program open. The task force, chaired by Dr. Todd Winters, dean of the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, is currently weighing several proposals to determine the best fit for UTM students.
“What we’ve been doing is trying to come up with a plan, and we’ve kind of gone through a couple of different scenarios. It’s very obvious that we need to propose an alternative to the Army, so we have been working on what that alternative will look like,” Winters said.
“We still haven’t worked out all the details, but I’m working on a proposal right now that we are all going to look at and share with the (UT) system to see if it would be something they would be interested in doing. We will also be doing some preliminaries and run it past some high-ups in the Army; we’ve been told by some of those people if it wouldn’t cost them any more money that they would look at it.”
Winters said each scenario presents challenges, but he believes the task force will be able to develop a working plan. Along with UTM employees, the task force includes a couple of generals who are alumni of the ROTC program, and a few people from the UT system who are helping the group work through the political side of things, he said.
“It’s still going to be an uphill battle, but I’m staying optimistic. I think we can come up with a plan [the Army] will be interested in,” Winters said.
One scenario is for the program to be taken over by the Tennessee National Guard, Winters said, adding that a number of schools already operate under the guidance of the National Guard. UTM ROTC has provided a large number of officers to the West Tennessee National Guard since the program was established in 1952.
“The National Guard is also interested. UT Martin ROTC, or Skyhawk Battalion, is very important to the National Guard in West Tennessee. They actually looked at the number of officers that have come out of our program, and there have been 137 officers since 1970 that have gone through. We’ve only commissioned 651, so that’s a big percentage,” Winters said.
The likelihood of working something out with the National Guard is definitely high, he added.
“Several officers from the National Guard approached us; Murray State and Western Kentucky University have a similar program. Actually, Murray State’s [ROTC program] had been shut down for about five years, and they were in the same situation. A lot of their graduates coming out of Murray had gone into the National Guard. The agreement there was that the National Guard would supply the officers, but they would be commissioned under Western Kentucky. So, that is one of the things we are looking at proposing. The idea is that the National Guard would come in and supply the instructors, and the other part of that is we would maybe combine as a University of Tennessee system. UT Chattanooga is already combined under Knoxville, so it wouldn’t be that much of a difference to combine UT Martin. Students could still go to school here and get their degrees, but they would be commissioned under Knoxville,” Winters said.
If UTM is unable to keep the program open, students currently on scholarship with the Army may have to choose other schools to attend in order to keep their scholarships. Currently, the only other school in West Tennessee with a program is the University of Memphis.Winters said completely dissolving the UTM program could negatively affect students who may be uncomfortable in a larger city like Memphis.
“Once Martin leaves, Memphis will be the only one, which doesn’t give an opportunity to students who are from Northwest Tennessee that are more rural than you would find in Memphis,” Winters said.
Currently, about 85 students are enrolled in the ROTC program, which serves Jackson State Community College, Lane College, Freed-Hardeman University, Bethel University and Union University. The 25 students enrolled in the advanced courses should be able to complete the program at UTM before the Army shuts it down. However, the 60 students enrolled in the beginning courses may be forced to transfer to other schools.
“The cadets that are in the advanced course that are within the two years will be able to graduate and be commissioned here,” Winters said. “A lot of the students are now looking at other schools to transfer to, especially the ones on scholarship. … I don’t know the exact number, but I know a number of them are applying to other schools and will transfer probably by next fall if we can’t work something out. They will have to make a decision whether they will stay or go, but if they are on scholarship, they will most likely leave.”
UTM isn’t the only Tennessee school facing a program cut. Tennessee Technological University and East Tennessee State University also are slated to lose their programs. The number of programs being cut in Tennessee is higher than any other state.
“Tennessee alone will lose ROTC offerings at three of its public universities, the most of any state,” read a New York Times article published on Oct. 21.
Winters said he believes Tennessee, a.k.a. the “Volunteer State,” saw a greater hit than other states because it is a patriotic state with many ROTC programs.
“I think the reason the military is doing this is because it is very clear there is a downsize in the military,” he said. With so many programs still left in Tennessee, “the army was able to pick and choose, and they chose more here because of that.”
Winters said that he and the rest of the task force understand that if they want to see results, they must remain professional. They are trying to ensure they approach the situation in the proper way, which is something several other schools have not done, he said.
“We are taking a very diplomatic and professional stance. A lot of the schools that have been shut down have taken a very aggressive stance, and it has actually made things worse for them. So, we are trying not to do that,” Winters said.
The university understands that while ultimately they don’t have the final choice, they will have to do some extra things to keep the program.
“Dr. Rakes and I have talked about maybe providing a few extra scholarships. Another thing we’ve been talking about is maybe doing an Interdisciplinary Studies major, an area study in Military Science and Leadership. That would be attractive and another thing to get students into the program. This would allow students to get through in the 120 (required) hours. Some majors take longer, up to a semester or year longer, to get through, so that could be attractive to students. Right now, about half of the students are going that way anyway, so it would just formalize that,” Winters said.
“We think if we formalize it, it will make it attractive to the Army as well,” he said. “We are doing a little extra to make it a win-win for everybody.”
