Spring Break
ROTC celebrates first full year
Summer Burke Contributing Writer
Issue date: 6/19/09 Section: NEWS
The ROTC program at UNT will finish its first full year on campus when the only senior, Cadet Tod Dillingham, graduates in May and is commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
The program, founded in spring of 2008, has experienced success in its first year, said Maj. Herman Troy, who helped found the program at UNT after being transferred from his position with Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. Troy said the UNT assignment has been the best in his 15-year career with the U.S. Army.
The 41 cadets in the Reserve Officer Training Corps program all have a few things in common, he said. All have proven themselves in the three criteria of becoming a cadet: athletics, scholarship and leadership.
The program
ROTC looks for students in good physical condition or who have been a part of an athletic team while in high school or college. To be considered, students must pass a rigorous fitness test, the same test that is used for the U.S. Army. Troy said this is the hardest of the three standards for students to meet.
Shelby Henderson, a political science freshman and cadet at UNT, agreed. A self-described "band kid who took AP classes in high school," Henderson struggled with the physical requirements at first.
"Athletics are hard for me," she said. "My first PT (physical training) test wasn't good. Now I can actually run two miles. I'm getting used to it."
Women candidates must do 19 pushups in 10 minutes, followed by 54 crunches in 10 minutes. Finally, they must run two miles in under 19 minutes. Men must be able to do 40 pushups in 10 minutes and complete their run in less than 15 minutes.
To qualify scholastically, students must have a 2.5 grade-point average from high school,school; score at least a 19 on the ACT or at least a 950 on the SAT. For transfer students, only the college GPA is considered, Troy said.
Leadership is the last attribute needed for the program, Troy said. When recruiting, he looks for students who have held leadership positions in the past, such as being involved in Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts or the Student Government Association.
The program, founded in spring of 2008, has experienced success in its first year, said Maj. Herman Troy, who helped found the program at UNT after being transferred from his position with Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. Troy said the UNT assignment has been the best in his 15-year career with the U.S. Army.
The 41 cadets in the Reserve Officer Training Corps program all have a few things in common, he said. All have proven themselves in the three criteria of becoming a cadet: athletics, scholarship and leadership.
The program
ROTC looks for students in good physical condition or who have been a part of an athletic team while in high school or college. To be considered, students must pass a rigorous fitness test, the same test that is used for the U.S. Army. Troy said this is the hardest of the three standards for students to meet.
Shelby Henderson, a political science freshman and cadet at UNT, agreed. A self-described "band kid who took AP classes in high school," Henderson struggled with the physical requirements at first.
"Athletics are hard for me," she said. "My first PT (physical training) test wasn't good. Now I can actually run two miles. I'm getting used to it."
Women candidates must do 19 pushups in 10 minutes, followed by 54 crunches in 10 minutes. Finally, they must run two miles in under 19 minutes. Men must be able to do 40 pushups in 10 minutes and complete their run in less than 15 minutes.
To qualify scholastically, students must have a 2.5 grade-point average from high school,school; score at least a 19 on the ACT or at least a 950 on the SAT. For transfer students, only the college GPA is considered, Troy said.
Leadership is the last attribute needed for the program, Troy said. When recruiting, he looks for students who have held leadership positions in the past, such as being involved in Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts or the Student Government Association.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Havok
posted 7/11/09 @ 10:13 AM CST
More branches than just the Army have ROTC programs. The Air Force ROTC program has been running for years now on campus, so your statement about ROTC 'celebrating their first year'is inaccurate. (Continued…)
JD
posted 7/13/09 @ 8:21 AM CST
Yes the Air Force has been on Campus for decades. The writer needs to put Army or Air Force in front of ROTC. Please do this. This is the 3rd time a misunderstanding has been made with the NT Daily! Thats 3 times to many. (Continued…)
Clay
posted 7/13/09 @ 12:25 PM CST
To be fair, they don't print that much about the Air Force ROTC that I've seen this year. I've seen three articles about the Army ROTC since this January, but little or no coverage of the Air Force. (Continued…)
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