A History of Military Training at Indiana University
"To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace."The history of military training at Indiana University is almost as old as the University itself with the first military instruction initiated on campus in 1840. Jacob Ammen, a West Point graduate who would later become a general in the U.S. Army, served as the first instructor. In 1843 Ammen resigned to re enter the service and the military training program went into a hiatus; it was reinstituted in 1861 during the Civil War as a voluntary course to be conducted by members of the faculty. After 1861 there is no record of military instruction during the rest of the Civil War years.
-- George Washington
Military instruction returned to I.U. in 1868, with the appointment of Major General Eli Long by U.S. President, Andrew Johnson. Long served as Professor of Military Science and Tactics (PMST) at Indiana University for approximately two years. In 1870 Colonel James Thompson, a former West Point instructor, came to I.U. to take charge of military training. Over the next few years interest waned in military training, and the program was abolished for the third time in 1874.
With the outbreak of World War I, the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program was established nationally as part of the Hay Chamberlain National Defense Act of 1916. By June of that year University administration began plans to organize a new corps on campus, the first in forty-two years. On 17 April 1917 the United States War Department approved the university's application for a corps, marking the fourth incarnation of a military training program at I.U. The new Department of Military Science and Tactics was established in 1917 as part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, but it became an independent entity during World War II, in 1942. The Defense Act allowed for the university to choose whether the basic program was elective or compulsory; administrators chose to make ROTC a prerequisite for graduation for all able-bodied males, and required the course work be completed in the students first two years of study. ROTC remained a mandatory course for incoming male students until 1964.
Because so few officers were available during World War I, the Department of Military Science and Tactics assigned Kenneth P. (K.P.) Williams, then a member of the Mathematics Department and a First Lieutenant in the Indiana National Guard, as the first officer to organize the cadets. This earned Williams the distinction of being the "founder of the ROTC" at Indiana University. During Williams' tenure the War Department temporarily changed the ROTC title to SATC (Students' Army Training Corps) in 1918, but changed it back to ROTC in January 1919.
During 1918 two divisions were created within the ROTC corps, Collegiate and Vocational. The Collegiate Division, with 900 students, provided a student with $30.00 a month from the government and tuition funding similar to the present- day ROTC. This division consisted of 5 specialty areas: Infantry and Artillery; Air Service; Ordnance and Quartermaster; Engineer, Signal and Chemical Warfare Service; and Motor Transport and Truck Service. The Vocational Division, or "radio detachment", enrolled 282 students and offered technical training.
The Department of Bands was transferred to the Department of Military Science and Tactics from the Music Department in 1919 and became an integral part of the military training program at I.U. Under the direction of the Department of Military Science and Tactics, the ROTC band gained great prestige and received its first nickname from the press: "Indiana's Famous Marching and Playing Hundred." The I.U. band was the first in the country to use precision drill formations in its performances, and even garnered the label of "best All-American band" in the country in 1928. Throughout the 1930's the band played at several large venues across the country, including the Chicago World's Fair in 1933 and the Kentucky Derby in 1939. In 1948, the Department of Bands was separated from the Department of Military Science and Tactics. The nickname they earned while a part of the Department of Military Science and Tactics did stick, however, with the marching band now known world wide as Indiana University's "Marching Hundred."
The post-WWI years brought some opposition to the ROTC program at I.U. A debate over the necessity of a compulsory ROTC program ensued in 1926. When put to a vote by students, the majority opposed the compulsory status of ROTC. However, because only 25% of the student body actually voted, the University Board decided the evidence was inconclusive, and no action was taken.
Throughout the rest of the 1920's, ROTC at I.U. continued to expand and increase its programs and offerings. In 1928 the I.U. ROTC formed their own company of the Pershing Rifles, a drill team for honor students, with 75 participants. From the 1920's to the beginning of World War II in 1941, ROTC continued to flourish, and the Department of Military Science and Tactics struggled to find space to accommodate the growing number of students enrolled. This growth was due in large part to the course being compulsory for all incoming university male students.
World War II brought a period of growth and change for the Department of Military Science and Tactics. In 1941 Colonel Raymond L. Shoemaker took over as Professor of Military Science and Tactics (PMST). He would later serve as Dean of Students at I.U. from 1946 to 1956. During Shoemaker's tenure as head of ROTC, many new units and programs were established to enhance military training at I.U. In 1942, the Quartermaster unit was formed to supplement the Infantry and Medical units. The Medical Administrative Corps was also organized to provide a future source of qualified medical officers to the armed forces and to prevent medical students from being drafted and depleting the number of qualified doctors on the home front.
During World War II, 9,200 I.U. alumni served their country. In the post-war era ROTC split into separate Army and Air Force units in 1951. In addition, the department changed its name to Military and Air Science Tactics. The turbulent 1960's brought even more changes for military instruction at I.U. The ROTC department shortened its name in 1960 to Military and Air Science. In 1962, the Crimson Cadettes, a women's drill team, was organized by a group of female students interested in military drill work. Originally sponsored by the Union Board, this group later became part of the ROTC, and was actively involved in competitions and events with the Pershing Rifles, the male drill team, paving the way for female participation in this military organization.
The 1960's brought even more changes for military instruction at I.U. The ROTC department shortened its name in 1960 to Military and Air Science. In 1962, the Crimson Cadettes, a women's drill team, was organized by a group of female students interested in military drill work. Originally sponsored by the Union Board, this group later became part of the ROTC, and was actively involved in competitions and events with the Pershing Rifles, the male drill team, paving the way for female participation in this military organization.
October 1964 introduced Public Law 88-647, also known as the Reserve Officers Training Corps Vitalization Act. Besides establishing the Junior ROTC program for high school students, this act provided for a continuation of the four-year college ROTC program, but the university could now add a two-year program of advanced training to students who participated in a summer field training course in lieu of the first two years of the four-year program. For universities who maintained their four-year program, the new law, just as in the Defense Act of 1916, allowed state or school authorities to decide whether the first two-years were voluntary or compulsory. In December 1964, due to pressure from the Student Senate, anti-ROTC protestors, and others who argued against a compulsory course, I.U. administrators decided that for the first time in almost 50 years ROTC should be optional. This lead to a drop in enrollment in ROTC by 60%, but the program remained at the university thanks in part to President Herman B Wells and university administrators who decided that I.U. needed to offer a choice to Indiana college students who wanted to enroll in ROTC.
The 1970's marked an era of groundbreaking moments for ROTC. In 1972 I.U. became one of the first ten universities to accept women as cadets in ROTC. In the same year the department shortened its name to the Department of Military Sciences. One year later in 1973 the Air Force ROTC program became the Department of Aerospace Studies, and in 1975 the Army ROTC took on its current title, the Department of Military Science.
Today involvement in the Department of Military Science, or Army ROTC, is voluntary for any I.U. student during their first two years of enrollment. Once students begin taking advanced courses as a junior, they are considered contracted cadets in the Army ROTC and upon graduation, or commission, cadets are obligated to serve in the Army for at least four years, in either active or reserve duty. Besides academics, Army ROTC cadets enjoy extra-curricular events sponsored by organizations such as the Pershing Rifles, Ranger Club, and Recondo Club. Hundreds of students participate annually in Army ROTC courses and programs every year.
