Reserve Officer Training Corps Records, 1890-1965

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Oregon State University. Dept. of Military Science.
Title
Reserve Officer Training Corps Records
Dates
1890-1965 (inclusive)
Quantity
2 cubic ft.
3 microfilm reels
Collection Number
RG 058
Summary
The Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Records document Army and Air Force cadet training at Oregon State University. The records include correspondence, reports, publications and scrapboooks of the Air Force ROTC program.
Repository
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu
Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

Courses in Military Science and Tactics were first taught at Oregon State in 1872. In 1873 Captain Benjamin D. Boswell was appointed Professor of Military Science and Tactics (1873-1876), the first U.S. Army officer on active duty to hold such a position in any land grant college in the West. The first cadet uniforms, worn at all times by male students, were gray with caps of the Civil War type. The more familiar blue uniforms were adopted in 1893.

ROTC at Oregon State University is made up of the Departments of Military Science, Naval Science, and Air Force Studies. In 1917, the Department of Military Sciences became responsible for all military training under the National Defense Act of 1916. The act expanded and standardized the training of Army Officers by colleges and universities and established the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). During World War II, OSU became known as the "West Point of the West" for commissioning more officers than any other non-military academy in the nation. At the end of World War II, the Secretary of the Navy commissioned the Department of Naval Science (ROTC) on this campus to provide the training of both Navy and Marine Corps officers. On July 1, 1949, the U.S. Air Force activated an AFROTC unit that is now called the Department of Air Force Studies. As of 1999, OSU is one of only 48 colleges and universities that offers education for all three military departments.

Originally, two years of military science and tactics were required of all able-bodied male students, but since 1962, ROTC has been voluntary. Since 1965, two-year programs have been available for students who have finished two years of college but have not taken ROTC previously.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Army Reserved Officer Training Corps is Series One. Documents include military exams, some with the answers provided. Series Two contains Division of Military Science Records, which includes information on early military uniforms, a cadets yearbook, reports, receipts, contracts, correspondence, military directives and orders. Series Three documents the Air Force Officers Education Program created in the 1960s. Documents include a House of Representatives bill that created this program, curriculum development plans, news releases, correspondence and three scrapbooks. The scrapbooks contain photographs and news clippings of Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) activities and honors bestowed on members. Of note is one news clipping of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Records (RG 58), Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Organized into 3 series: I. Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC); II. Division of Military Science; and III. Air Force ROTC.

Custodial History

Reels 2 and 3 were transferred from RG 140 and RG 123, respectively.

Related Materials

Other military records in the Archives include: the Ulysses Grant McAlexander Collection (MSS); Military Photographic Collection (P 2); Army Specialized Training Program Records (RG 59); and Student Army Training Corps Records (RG 60).

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series I:  Army Reserved Officers Training Corps, (ROTC) 1947-1948, undatedReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Reel Folder
1 1
Military Examinations
undated
1 2
Military Examinations
1947
1 3
Military Examinations
1948

Series II:  Division of Military Science Records, 1890-1938, 1962-1965Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Reel Folder
2 1
Uniforms, purchase contracts and costs
1908-1926
2 2
Correspondence regarding uniforms, receipts for uniform fees
1918-1919
2 3
Correspondence, excerpts from reports on military on campus
1911-1920
Box
1
Cadets Yearbook
1908-1909
Reel Folder
2 5
Publications, Oregon Agricultural College military history
1917-1921
2 6
Military Directives and Orders, 1890-1892; sketch of horse saddles, undated; Lists of officers, post commandants, and band members in years of 1873 to 1938
1938
2 7
Reports on ROTC on campus
1962-1965
2 8
Inventory of trophies
1965

Series III:  Air Force ROTC, 1954-1964Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Reel Folder
3 1
House of Representatives Bill HR 9124 regarding Air Force Officer Education Program (AFOEP)
1961
3 2
Questions on AFOEP
1963
3 3
AFOEP Curriculum Development
1961-1962
3 4
OSU Decision on AFOEP, and curriculum development
1961-1962
3 5
AFOEP Enrollment plan
1961
3 6
The AFOEP Curriculum proposed plan, and its mission
1962
3 7
AFROTC-AFOEP news releases and long range plans
1960-1962
3 8
Summary of booklet from conference at Ohio State University
1960
3 9
Correspondence regarding AFOEP functions requiring manpower, Bill HR 9124 excerpts
1960
Box
2
Scrapbook containing news clippings of AFROTC activities and honors bestowed on members
apx 23x31 in.
1954-1955
2
Scrapbook containing photographs and news clippings of AFROTC activities and honors
apx 23x31 in.
1958-1963
2
Scrapbook containing news clippings of AFROTC activities and honors; also news clipping of President John F. Kennedy's assassination
apx 23x31 in.
1963-1964

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Military education--Oregon--Corvallis.

Corporate Names

  • Oregon State College--Examinations--Military art and science.
  • Oregon State University. Dept. of Air Force Studies.
  • Oregon State University. Dept. of Military Science.
  • United States. Air Force ROTC.
  • United States. Army. Reserve Officers' Training Corps.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Scrapbooks.

Other Creators

  • Corporate Names
    • Oregon State University. Dept. of Air Force Studies. (creator)
    • United States. Air Force ROTC. (creator)
    • United States. Army. Reserve Officers' Training Corps. (creator)