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1 1 (January 19, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goveobh0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service nforming the IegisIative debate since 1914 0 Updated January 19, 2024 Defense Primer: Senior Reserve Officers' Training Corps Background The Senior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (SROTC)- more commonly referred to as the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC)-is an officer training and scholarship program for postsecondary students authorized under Chapter 103 of Title 10 of the United States Code. By enrolling in ROTC, students can pursue an undergraduate degree while also training to become U.S. military officers. The military departments -Army, Air Force, and Navy - manage their own ROTC programs, which are hosted at civilian universities and colleges. The Navy ROTC program includes a Marine Corps option and the Air Force program allows for commissions to the Space Force. The military departments provide scholarships and other forms of financial assistance to participating students. In return, students commit to accept an appointment as an officer in the U.S. military upon graduation The Coast Guard, part of the Department of Homeland Security, does not have an ROTC program, but offers the College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative (CSPI, 14 U.S.C. §2131) that awards scholarships to students at minority-serving institutions and subsequent placement in the Coast Guard Officer Candidate School upon graduation. The ROTC program is the largest single source of commissioned officers, producing more than 8,500 officers annually. Other major commissioning sources include military service academies; Officer Candidate/Training Schools; and direct appointment. Approximately 75% of officers commissioned through ROTC are men, and the racial and ethnic background is shown in Table 1. Table I. Officers Commissioned through ROTC by Race and Ethnicity; Academic Year 2021 Army Navy Air Force White 64.8% 73.3% 67.5% Black 11.9% 4.0% 5.5% Hispanic 12.5% 8.0% 11.3% Asian 7.0% 6.6% 6.4% Source: Government Accountability Office (GAO), GAO-23- 105857, Table 2, p. 15. Notes: Other racial/ethnic categories are omitted as they constituted less than 5% of the overall population. Legislative History During the Civil War, Congress passed the Land Grant Act of 1862 (P.L. 37-130; also called the Morrill Act) to address a shortage of trained military officers. The act provided funding and land to establish public colleges in each state. In turn, these colleges were to teach military tactics to future officers. However, the implementation and quality of military instruction across these schools lacked standardization. The National Defense Act of 1916 (P.L. 65-84) abolished the land-grant system for military education and created an ROTC structure to standardize and enhance military training for the Army. In 1925, under P.L 68-611, the Navy was allowed to participate in ROTC. Congress added a naval scholarship program in 1946 (P.L 79-729). In 1964, following a decline in ROTC enrollment, Congress passed the ROTC Vitalization Act (P.L. 88-647). The act standardized the program across the Army, Navy, and Air Force, and authorized the department secretaries to pay for participants' educational expenses. The military lifted restrictions on participation by women in ROTC programs in 1969 (Air Force) and 1972 (Army and Navy). Past Controversies Historically, ROTC programs have been seen by military and civilian stakeholders as an opportunity to augment force structure and foster civilian-military relations. At times, however, the presence of ROTC units and students on campus has been contentious. During the Vietnam War era, student antiwar protests were widespread, and several universities downgraded ROTC to an extracurricular activity, disallowed academic credit for ROTC coursework, or denied access to on-campus facilities and support. As a result, the military departments shuttered the ROTC programs at several of these universities. In the 1990s, controversy around the ROTC program arose due to the Department of Defense's (DOD) policy towards gay individuals. This policy, known as Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT), became law in 1993 as part of the FY1994 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 103-160, §571). Some faculty members and students criticized DADT for being discriminatory and some universities barred ROTC programs from their campuses. In 1996, as part of the FY1996 NDAA (P.L. 104-106, §541), Congress passed legislation that denied certain federal funding to any higher education institution that prohibited or prevented the operation of ROTC units, recruiting activity, or student participation in ROTC on its campus. In 2010, DADT was repealed (P.L. 111-321), and several universities began to re-introduce ROTC programs. Establishing ROTC Units According to DOD policy, ROTC programs may be affiliated with schools in one of four ways * Host Unit: all activities are located on that school's campus. * Extension Unit: students are affiliated with another school's host unit but participate in activities and classes at their own institution.

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