Naval ROTC

[Loftonbranch]

Hookdown, reading your background, I would be curious to know your take on starting a Naval ROTC (NROTC) chapter at Louisiana Tech. There was some discussion on this board last year about this subject. There is no other NROTC program in north Louisiana, Arkansas, or the Dallas Metroplex. If the Tech administration was in favor of such a move, would it cost the school anything or would the Navy fund such a program? I know with the budget shortfalls that exist right now in Louisiana, start-up costs for a new academic program would be a challenge if the school had to foot the bill.

[Cool Hand Clyde]

Do any colleges/universities have multiple ROTC branches on campus?

[JuBru]

Do any colleges/universities have multiple ROTC branches on campus?

Yes.

[Loftonbranch]

Yes, Tulane has all three including Army, Air Force, and Navy ROTC. LSU has Army and Air Force, and then has a crosstown agreement with Southern's Naval ROTC program. Tech has Air Force, and then a crosstown agreement with Grambling's Army ROTC program. However, there is no Naval ROTC program anywhere in north Louisiana, Dallas Metroplex, or the state of Arkansas. It is a huge void that will eventually be filled by some school, and Tech would be a logical choice with its Engineering emphasis.

[hookdown]

The Navy is hard pressed to do much of anything right now, other than the bare minimum, given the current budget climate. If Congress gets their act together and finally passes a budget and deals with sequestration, then maybe we can get back to normal, whatever that may be these days. For the Navy's sequestration plan, see this:


http://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/20...estration.html


Not a pretty sight.


As far as NROTC goes, I think that would be a great idea. Since DR is a lame duck, I would contact Dr. Guice about it. Also, contact area Representatives and Senators. I suspect they would have some say and perhaps pull, in getting a unit started. Also contacting Naval Service Training Command Officer Development, NAS Pensacola, would probably be useful too. They could at least give you the process on how a unit is started.

Please understand that I am not an expert on NROTC (although I do excel at cluelessness...). I am trying to encourage closer ties between the Navy and Tech, through some research efforts that are very small right now, but could lead to bigger things. Having a NROTC unit at Tech would help strengthen those ties.

[Brian96]

As long as the Navy is meeting their quotas for officers, I don't think they would prioritize adding another ROTC program.

[Loftonbranch]

As long as the Navy is meeting their quotas for officers, I don't think they would prioritize adding another ROTC program.


NROTC covers Marine Corps also, not just Navy. I know the Navy added at least one NROTC chapter very recently because it made national news (Harvard). Also, the Univ. of Hawaii recently passed a resolution seeking to add a chapter. If Tulane and Southern can do it, why not Tech? The Navy covets engineers. No one would contest that Tech is stronger than these schools in this field. In addition to north LA, you would draw a lot of talented kids from Dallas and Arkansas where there are currently no NROTC programs. It would be another excellent source of scholarships for Tech.