Roanoke College announces new ROTC program

Roanoke, Virginia – A new program that will start in the 2025 academic year has been announced by Roanoke College.

The New River Valley Battalion of Cadets will be a member of Roanoke College’s new Army Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (ROTC) program, which was announced on Monday, November 11.

Although the ROTC curriculum will last four years, sophomores and juniors may potentially enroll. Roanoke’s goal is to “make the exploration of purpose, the pursuit of character, and the graduation of leaders as part of the education at the college.” This program is a component of that objective.

For students, this program will serve as a concentration that they can combine with a school major. Cadets will participate in weekly joint training exercises with Radford University cadets and take a course in military science on campus.

For students interested in the program, they should get in touch with Damon Daniels ’24, who will be Roanoke’s new military assistance and recruitment coordinator. Daniels recently finished with a major in health and physical education after nearly 20 years in the Army, including tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.

During his time at Roanoke, Daniels also founded and presided over the Student Veterans Group, which he currently advises.

David Taylor, associate vice president for academic operations, stated, “The College is grateful to Radford and in particular to Major Drew Snow, assistant professor of military science and detachment officer in charge, for helping to bring ROTC to Roanoke College.” “We can’t wait to continue working together.”

Army academics and instructors will teach the military science courses, and ROTC students from both schools will be able to attend joint classes once a week.

ROTC courses include the following:

• Critical thinking
• Personal development
• Leadership development
• Analytical thinking
• Troop leading procedures
• Army problem-solving

While honing their abilities to advance into leadership positions, cadets will gain knowledge about their own leadership styles. Because they will be in a small detachment, ROTC members will be able to collaborate while still being physically fit.

Following graduation, the cadets may join the US Army as Commissioned Officers. The U.S. Army offers financial aid and scholarships to ROTC students to assist with their educational expenses.

The program aims to emphasize the following: personal integrity, goal formulation, ethical decision making, and mission completion. Cadets can also graduate as second lieutenants.

Along with boosting self-esteem, self-discipline, and physical endurance, the program also provides outdoor instruction in areas like shooting, land navigation, and rappelling.

The military support and recruitment coordinator, Damon Daniels, can be reached at 540-444-0774 or daniels@roanoke.edu by students who are interested in the new ROTC program at Roanoke.