UNM became the 272nd institution of higher learning to instate an Army branch of Reserve Officer Training Corps Thursday, a mutually beneficial decision for both the community and the future of the country's military, said University President Louis Caldera.
"I've found New Mexico to be a very patriotic state," said Caldera, who served as Secretary of the Army from 1998 to 2001 during the Clinton Administration. "This adds another dimension to that title. This program will not only provide an avenue for people who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford college, to pursue their dreams. In addition, it will also produce the future leaders of our country and the defenders of what we hold dear."
The activation of UNM's Army ROTC program means that the University now has an officer training program with every branch of the military.
The "Lobo Battalion," as it is called, currently has 18 students enrolled in the program, which pays for a student's college education in return for a minimum of four years service in the Army after graduating, said Maj. Larry Dorsett.
Dorsett said that while all students are encouraged to take advantage of the University's military training programs to afford a way to finance their education and enter the military as a commissioned officer, the "Lobo Battalion" is seeking to recruit minority students.
"We will be able to provide Hispanic and other minority students the opportunity to join the distinguished ranks of ROTC graduates who have gone on to achieve great things in life," Dorsett said.
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Maj. Gen. Alan Thrasher, commander of the United States' Army Cadet Command, thanked Caldera for the instrumental role Caldera played in strengthening the national ROTC program and helping to establish the nation's Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, which recruits future soldiers in high school and thanked him for his dedication to the military cause.
"Your perseverance is making a difference in the future of tens of thousands of our country's youth," Thrasher said.
Thrasher added that the nation's ROTC programs have produced more than half a million military officers since its inception in 1916.
He said the program, which exists in all 50 states as well as Puerto Rico and Guam, has more than 30,000 cadets going through the program and produces half of all the active officers in the nation's military branches.
Thrasher noted the success of the JROTC program, which has 1,510 programs in existence nationwide and boasts an enrollment of 273,000 cadets.
Anna Lucero, lieutenant colonel in the Army and professor of military science at UNM, said that she takes the mission of making the "Lobo Battalion" seriously and personally.
"Our mission is to instill the pride and discipline into our cadets so that they can reach their full potential in life," Lucero said. "ROTC programs are critically important not only because they help people achieve their dreams of graduating from college, but they produce tomorrow's leaders, the people who are going to shape our future."
