In his closing message during Stetson’s Army ROTC Commissioning Ceremony in May, retired Lt. Col. Oakland McCulloch pointed to his five graduating cadets and warmly stated: “This is a special day for these fine young men. I can tell you that I’m 120 years old [said in jest], and there aren’t many days that I can remember like it was yesterday. But one of them is when I got commissioned.”

Quite apparently, young men and women are getting that message loud and clear across the nation from McCulloch, the university’s recruiting operations officer for Army ROTC.

In August, a total of 105 cadets are expected to arrive on campus for the fall semester, including 56 first-year students. And during the summer, that tally could increase. Eight years ago, when McCulloch arrived on campus, 15 cadets were in the Army ROTC program.

More numbers: Of the 105 students in the program, 63 are male and 42 are females. Similarly, of the 56 newcomers, 25 are female.

Perhaps equally notable, 20 of the new students will be on a national Cadet Command scholarship. For perspective, in 2017, there were more than 13,800 applicants nationwide, with 3,000 scholarships awarded.

While recruiting for the program, McCulloch seeks bright, ambitious and athletic students who “want to serve their country.” He follows the acronym SAL — Scholar. Athlete. Leader. In turn, McCulloch believes he’s getting them, commenting, “Some of these kids could have competed for West Point.”

Graciously, McCulloch added that Stetson also assists with ROTC admissions.

Stetson’s Army ROTC program works under the wing of the Eagle Battalion Army ROTC, headed by Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University (the host school) and joined by Bethune-Cookman University and Daytona State College. This fall, the Eagle Battalion is expected to consist of approximately 350 cadets, with Embry-Riddle accounting for most of the remaining two-thirds of students.

A little more background on the program: First-year cadets at Stetson are required to take a one-hour ROTC class weekly and a two-hour lab, along with physical training three early mornings per week. As they progress each year, those requirements are raised. Field training also is mandated for all, with a 32-day leadership course at Fort Knox, Kentucky, occurring between the junior and senior years.

Upon completion of the program, military-service contracts come with an eight-year commitment, where cadets may select their specific service area. If they choose active duty, at least the first four years must remain in active duty. If Reserve or National Guard duty is selected, cadets must remain in that service for their entire eight-year commitment.

McCulloch looks forward to his own challenges on campus.

“I love watching all these new freshmen come in every year, and the culmination is that commissioning ceremony,” he said. “So, you get to watch them come in as [first-year students], and you get to watch them walk across that stage (at the commissioning ceremony).”

– Michael Candelaria