History
General History
According to background provided by the University of California, Berkley, origins of Army ROTC can be traced to the early 19th Century. In 1819, Captain Alden Partridge founded an institution that would eventually become Norwich University in Vermont. This institution was the first civilian college to offer concurrent training in military tactics – an alternative to attending the United States Military Academy (West Point) in pursuit of a commission as an officer in the U.S. Army. The Morrill Act of 1862 provided federal land to state-supported colleges, with the requirement that the institutions provide training in military tactics. The Act inspired an expansion of similar programs across various campuses in the United States.
Claremont McKenna College – Golden Lions Battalion
The National Defense Act of 1916 created the modern programs that we know as the Reserve Officer Training Corps today. In the Inland Empire, Pomona College was the first institution to offer formal military training. The U.S. War Department officially recognized Pomona College in 1918 as an ROTC unit. Claremont Men’s College joined Pomona in 1949 as a co-host. In 1995, a structural rearrangement resulted in Claremont McKenna College (CMC) assuming full responsibility from Pomona College as one of the 273 host programs throughout the country. UC Riverside students were direct beneficiaries of this reconsolidation in 1995. The Army designated UCR as one of the 1,100+ affiliate universities with ROTC offerings to students, with ties to Claremont McKenna College as its resident host program.
As it exists today, CMC serves as the headquarters for Military Science and Leadership instruction at five additional institutions across the IE. The six universities that make up the Golden Lions Battalion are separated into two functional groups based on geography – an East side and a West side, as seen below:
| West Side | East Side |
|---|---|
| Claremont McKenna College | California Baptist University |
| Azusa Pacific University | California State University, San Bernardino |
| California State Polytechnic University | University of California, Riverside |
U.S. Army Cadet Command has recognized CMC as one of the largest ROTC units in the country, outside of the Senior Military Colleges. The program has 18 active-duty instructors assigned between the six schools and is assigned under the 8th ROTC Training Brigade, headquartered at Joint Base Lewis-McChord outside of Tacoma, Washington.
UC Riverside
Army ROTC courses were first offered to UCR students as part of the 1995 rearrangement. Partnered with California State University, San Bernardino, UCR students participated in course instruction, practical training exercises, and physical training at CSUSB for many years. The Air Force ROTC program continues to operate in much the same way today – UCR students were required to attend all events at CSUSB. As the program at UCR began to grow, the Army dedicated specific resources to teach, coach, and mentor students at UCR. Instructors partnered at California Baptist University to coordinate combined events. Army ROTC was designated as a student organization at UCR and students were empowered with some financial support and could schedule classrooms for instruction on campus. Physical training was offered on campus in the mornings. UCR’s program was expanding.
In 2019, the Division of Undergraduate Education invited Army ROTC instructors into an office space in 1100 Hinderaker Hall. This change has had a notable positive effect on the morale and general attitude of our students at UCR as they now have resources available on campus for administrative support. Undergraduate Education provided instructors with faculty access that has changed the complexion of the program. The 2019 commissioning class of eight Second Lieutenants is the largest in the history of the program. Collectively, the program is excited about the future partnership between the U.S. Army and the University of California, Riverside.