From the first day, to today

Army ROTC at the University of Arkansas

The Razorback Battalion is a premier leadership program with a rich history at the University of Arkansas. Our program commissions officers to meet the Army’s leadership requirements; and provides a citizenship program that motivates young people to be strong leaders and better citizens. The program combines college electives in military science with practical leadership training to prepare men and women to become Army officers. ROTC also opens the doors to a variety of exciting careers, extracurricular activities, and advanced military training.

ROTC is not a major; it is a program designed to compliment your regular college courses, not interfere with them. ROTC at UAF will quickly give you the confidence and self-discipline necessary to progress in your studies, skills no other college course teaches. You will learn how to motivate and lead others, manage complex tasks, and communicate ideas effectively; skills that translate to all walks of life.

What else do we offer?

The Military Science Program sponsors several social and professional activities as well as community service events. The social highlight of the school year is a formal Military Ball in the spring. Razorback Army ROTC also sponsors cadet visits to Army installations. Cadets gain valuable and practical leadership experience by organizing and executing these extracurricular activities.

Campus Locations

The Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) is a series of elective courses offered at the following campuses:

Our History

  • The Arkansas General Assembly accepted the Morrill Act (Land Grant College Act of 1862) provisions and created the Arkansas Industrial University (now the University of Arkansas) on 27 March 1871. Military training began that same year.
  • In 1873, the War Department detailed Lieutenant E.S. Curtis, an Artillery Officer and West Point graduate to supervise military training at the newly established university. LT Curtis served from 1872 until 1875 training the corps that had grown to 120 young men by 1875.
  • The passage of the National Defense Act of 1916 created the Reserve Officers Training Corps. The University of Arkansas Army ROTC Program was established as one of the charter universities under this act. Major C. F. Armistead, former commandant, returned to the University to become the first officer at the University of Arkansas to hold the title of Professor of Military Science and Tactics.
  • In 1927, LT H.O. Lane guided the ROTC rifle team to the first of three consecutive National Championships capturing the William Randolph Hearst Trophy in 1927, 1928, and 1929. The ROTC program would add National Championships in 1944 and 1957.
  • From the end of WWII until present the Army ROTC program has continued to train students to become officers. In the fall of 1969, military training at the University of Arkansas became elective rather than compulsory.