Schools

NJ's Only Naval ROTC Program to Begin in at Rutgers in September

Rutgers president Richard McCormick and U.S Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus signed an agreement Wednesday to establish a Naval Reserve Training Corps program at Rutgers this year.

Incoming Rutgers University students will now have the option of entering a Naval Reserve Training Corps (NROTC) program.

On Wednesday morning, Rutgers University president Richard McCormick and U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus signed an agreement that will bring an NROTC program to Rutgers University in September.

The naval program will be added to Army and Air Force ROTC programs, which are already on campus.

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Before a crowd of Navy and military officials, Rutgers staff and press gathered in his office chambers, McCormick said Rutgers was "So proud to be in this program."

According to the University, Rutgers applied for the program two years ago. This past October, the University Board of Governors passed a resolution establishing a Department of Naval Science, which is to be staffed by Navy personnel.

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McCormick said that students have already declared interest in attending the NROTC program, but did not say how many.

Rutgers University will be the only university or college in New Jersey hosting an NROTC program. 

"NROTC graduates taking the Navy option will be commissioned ensigns with a minimum commitment of five years of active military service," a release issued Wednesday from the university said. "The NROTC Marine Corps option leads to commissioning as a second lieutenant with a minimum commitment of four years on active duty."

According to Mabus, Rutgers' first application for an NROTC program was received in 1945.

"The Pentagon moves slowly," he joked.

Mabus said the academic climate at Rutgers would be complimentary to the NROTC program, particularly due to the strengths of the science and technology departments there, and the university's diverse campus.

"Today, only one percent of Americans wear the uniform of America," he said.

That one percent must represent the "the best that America has to offer," he said.


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