Army Ejects 10 Schools from ROTC Program

The U.S. Army is booting 10 colleges and universities from its Senior ROTC program and slashing the civilian workforce of its Cadet Command by 12%.

The Army said in a news release that the elimination of 168 Cadet Command staff positions is part of a “strategic rebalance and optimization” of the Reserve Officer Training Corps program and includes the inactivation of the 1st Brigade headquarters at Fort Knox. As a result of the staff cuts, the Army is eliminating 10 colleges and universities from the ROTC program and reclassifying and merging other ROTC units around the country starting in the summer of 2026.

ROTC programs will continue at about 900 campuses nationwide, according to the release.

“This rebalance and optimization effort ensures we meet the Army’s requirements for officer commissioning while being good stewards of resources,” Cadet Command commander Brig. Gen. Maurice Barnett said in the release. “Our approach allows us to sustain and strengthen ROTC programs while providing quality training to cadets across the country.”

The changes are designed to be reversible, allowing the Army to ramp up officer production in the future if needed, according to the release.

The Army said it is offering affected cadets options to continue their education and training, although it did not specify what those options are.

The changes do not affect Junior ROTC programs at high schools.

The 10 colleges and universities where ROTC programs are being ended are:

• California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo (Calif.)
• University of Northern Iowa (Iowa)
• Western Illinois University (Ill.)
• Truman State University (Mo.)
• Elizabeth City State University (N.C.)
• Saint Augustine’s University (N.C.)
• Clarkson University (N.Y.)
• John Carroll University (Ohio)
• University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (Wis.)
• West Virginia State University (W.Va.)

For more information on the ROTC realignment, go here.