History

The Army ROTC program was established to produce college trained officers for the Regular Army and the Army Reserve. Its purpose is to have a ready and trained corps of Army leaders in a time of national emergency.

Beginnings

Since as early as 1870, there has been a Professor of Military Science at Delaware College. Following a suspension of military instruction between 1875 and 1885, the Army officially established a Military Department, with 1LT George Leroy Brown was the first Professor of Military Science. In 1890, the number of cadets included four seniors, six juniors, nineteen sophomores, fifty-two freshmen, seventy-six sub freshmen, and one special student. As a result, when the Spanish-American War came, the Cadet Corps was well organized and its members proved valuable in preparing the Delaware Militia for its part in the conflict. Many of the undergraduates volunteered for service, and a few who obtained commissions remained in the Regular Army and served as officers in World War I.

Delaware College entered upon its academic year 1918-1919 mainly as an adjunct to the United States Army. Officially, it was known as Number 351 Student Army Training Corps, with every physically fit undergraduate a member of the Army, clad in uniform and entitled to pay.

World War II

Army ROTC at Delaware was an Infantry unit until 1926 when it was changed to Coastal Artillery. In May 1930, the first ROTC class in Coastal Artillery was graduated commissioned. During World War II, ROTC continued with the Army's Specialized Training Program. In September of 1953, the Department of the Army authorized the conversion of the branch specific course at the University of Delaware to a general military science program. This conversion has given ROTC graduates a broad background in military science common to the Army as a whole. Upon graduation a cadet may be commissioned into almost any branch of the Army.

The Current Program

The Army ROTC program at the University of Delaware is responsible for commissioning 16 cadets as 2nd Lieutenants into the Army, annually. Graduates have gone on to serve in the Army in every field including infantry, engineering, nursing, judge advocate general, and special operations to name a few. They have served more recently in Operation Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom, in addition to successful careers in public service and private business.

The Military Science Department at the University of Delaware is a department within the College of Arts and Science and is responsible for conducting the Army ROTC Program. It is located at 314 Wyoming Road, part of the East Campus of the University. The Chairman of the Department, the Professor of Military Science (PMS), is a U.S. Army officer on active duty assigned to this position by the Department of the Army with concurrence of the President of the University. He is therefore responsible both to the President of the University and to the Department of the Army for the conduct of the ROTC program.

*Thank You to the staff of the University of Delaware Archives for providing the photos for this page.