Blue Hen Army ROTC Battalion ranked fifth in the country

Capt. Chad Luebbert, military science instructor and recruiting officer, meets with Jessica Patsolic, a freshman biology major and UD ROTC scholarship recipient, who last fall earned a 4.0 grade point average during her first semester at UD.

The University of Delaware Army ROTC Battalion has been ranked fifth in the nation out of 270 programs. According to Lt. Col. Paul Pusecker, military science, this places UD among the top 2 percent nationally, up from its 10th place ranking last year and 117th place in 1998.

"This high ranking is a reflection of the quality of our students and the quality of our instructors," Pusecker said. "But, the third component, which is a critical contributor to the program's success, is the support we receive from the University."

Pusecker explained that the University has been supportive of the program both morally and financially, providing teaching space, technological support and scholarship assistance. In addition to training future military officers at UD, the program is responsible for cadets located at several other campuses, including Delaware State, Lincoln and Salisbury State universities, Wesley and Wilmington colleges and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Using a combination of techniques–including instructors that visit these various sites, joint training exercises and web streaming technology–UD's ROTC program provides both classroom instruction and field training to 151 active cadets, 104 of which are students on the Newark campus.

The UD Army ROTC program's success at Delaware State University's campus also has played a key role in helping the Blue Hen Battalion meet its recruitment and retention goals.

UD is one of 22 programs within a brigade that includes institutions in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Pusecker added that UD has a strong tradition of military training that goes beyond ROTC's formal 112-year history at the Newark campus, which started in 1889.

Referring to the quality of UD's military science instructors, Pusecker noted that last spring Major John H. Casper received the Leo A. Codd Memorial Award, given by the National Defense Industrial Association to the most outstanding commissioned officer in the United States in the rank of major or below who is serving as an ROTC instructor on active duty.

The latest U.S. Army Cadet Command National Viability and Performance Ranking, Pusecker said, reviewed every educational institution in the country. Results are based on such factors as the number of officers an institution commissions and its ability to reach enrollment (recruitment and retention) goals, performance of its cadets at advance and basic training camps, scholarship utilization rates and the educational institution's support of ROTC. In nearly all of these areas, Pusecker said, UD has met or exceeded its objectives, and the coming year's figures also look positive.

"I'm extremely proud of what we've been able to accomplish," Pusecker said. "Our students, cadre and the University should be proud that our program has been recognized and that is ranked so highly. It's a credit to everyone associated with Army ROTC at the University of Delaware."

–Ed Okonowicz

Photo by KATHY FLICKINGER