MURFRESBORO, Tenn. — Earlier this year, Middle Tennessee State University’s Military Science Department celebrated the 75^th anniversary of its ROTC program.

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Arlin Wilsher, the department chair and professor of military science, recently appeared in the May edition of “Out of the Blue,” MTSU’s television magazine show.

Wilsher discussed the anniversary and the program, one of 11 College of Basic and Applied Sciences departments, with “Out of the Blue” host Andrew Oppmann, MTSU vice president of Marketing and Communications.

You can watch the segment here:

“We have been lucky enough to produce over 1,600 officers that we’ve commissioned into all services of the Army, the active duty, the National Guard and the Reserves,” Wilsher said.

“We also have produced general officers,” he added. “We now have 17 general officers that have served that were formerly cadets at MTSU. So, we’re very proud of the statistics that we have produced as an ROTC program and just the great tradition that we’ve had and that we continue to do.”

Wilsher said when they created ROTC, or Reserve Officer Training Corps, that “it was a pipeline to get officers other than through the commissioning sources of the (U.S. Military) Academy. When they did start expanding, we realized that it was a great source. We’ve had ROTC officers lead at all levels, and it continues today.” 

Compulsory in the 1950s and now all volunteer, the program, which had more than 60 cadets this past year, recently commissioned nine new officers as second lieutenants. About one-third of the corps are on scholarships, paying for their education. Wilsher said the program has grown in numbers in recent years.

Wilsher said there’s “more engagement with local high schools and Junior ROTCs. We’re finding a lot more young students coming to college that want to serve their country and have decided to come and join Army ROTC or at least learn about it.

“Army ROTC is a great opportunity for young students who want to get a college degree, but also want to serve their nation. We want your son or daughter to join our program to earn their college degree, but while doing so, study leadership, study how to become a leader in the United States Army and how to be a leader in life.”

Cadets participate in campus and off-campus activities and competitions, including Ranger Challenge, color guard and more, building great camaraderie, added Wilsher, who plans to retire later this year after serving 26 years in the Army.

To learn more about the ROTC program, visit https://www.mtsu.edu/arotc1/ or call 615-898-2470. 

“Out of the Blue” is available anytime on the university’s YouTube channel, the True Blue TV channel, Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. It also airs on Murfreesboro cable Channel 9 daily at 6 and 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; NewsChannel5+ at 6:30 p.m. Sundays; via streaming on MTSU’s Jazz Network on WMOT HD2 and through WMOT.org at 7 a.m. on the first Sunday of each month; and on other cable outlets in Middle Tennessee, so check local listings.

It is also available as a podcast on iTunes and Google Play and as individual interview segments on Spotify at https://spoti.fi/453hxg3.

Watch previous episodes of “Out of the Blue” at https://mtsunews.com/out-of-the-blue.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)