ROTC Anniversary Weekend is Friday-Saturday, Nov. 11-12
JONESBORO – The Department of Military Science and the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) at Arkansas State University will host special campus events Friday and Saturday, Nov. 11-12.
The weekend of activities will include a special celebration of the 80th anniversary of ROTC's beginning at Arkansas State in 1936 and the 100th anniversary of the U.S. Army Cadet Command, along with observance of Veterans Day.
Alumni of the ROTC program are invited to the Friday evening Hall of Heroes induction banquet, where five more individuals will be recognized for their military and professional service. The guest speaker will be retired Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, a former professor of military science at A-State.
The banquet, themed "World War II: Heroes & the Homefront," begins at 6 p.m. at the Military Science Building, 1921 Aggie Road.
This will be A-State's first Veterans Day as a Purple Heart University, as proclaimed by Chancellor Doug Whitlock last month.
The Veterans Day Parade, organized by the Craighead County Veterans Monument Foundation, begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, in downtown Jonesboro. That afternoon, ROTC will host a tailgate starting at noon, followed by the A-State football game during Heroes Day at Centennial Bank Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m., and the 2016 Hall of Heroes inductees will be honored on-field at halftime.
During Homecoming, Arkansas State recognized its eight alumni who were inducted into the U.S. Army Cadet Command's inaugural Hall of Fame in conjunction with the national observance of the 100th anniversary. Details about the eight are in an online news release.
According to Lt. Col. Michael Fellure, professor of military science, "A-State ROTC has a proud 80-year history of producing top quality leaders who have gone on to hold high paying jobs, public office and high ranking military positions. Cadets find their full potential and become overall better citizens by commissioning into the Active Duty Army, Army National Guard or Army Reserve."
Because the Army holds education as such an important aspect of leadership, it has invested in developing leaders. Scholarships and other forms of financial aid are available to prospective students.
Details about the ROTC's 80th anniversary at Arkansas State were announced earlier this year.
ROTC alumni who have not yet registered for the Hall of Heroes induction banquet may do so by visiting the website, AStatealumni.org/ROTC80thAnniversary, or by contacting Virginia Yates, vyates@astate.edu, in the Department of Military Science by Monday, Nov. 7.
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