SEMO's ARMY ROTC TARGETED FOR CLOSING

The shadow of military downsizing has enveloped the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps at Southeast Missouri State University, casting doubt on the program's future.

Southeast's Army ROTC is one of 28 on college campuses nationwide that the Army has recommended be discontinued.

"This is just a development of the Army's downsizing efforts over the last four years," said Maj. Richard Hilliard, who heads up the program at Southeast.

The fate of the program isn't expected to be known until February when Congress will consider the Army's recommendations.

Although the possibility exists that Congress could spare Southeast's Army ROTC, Art Wallhausen, assistant to university President Dale Nitzschke, said that prospect doesn't look promising.

Wallhausen said that last spring the university contacted the offices of then-U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson and U.S. Sens. Christopher Bond and John Ashcroft and were told that based on the Army's criteria for closure, overturning the recommendation would be unlikely.

"We may make one more stab at keeping it going, but we're not very optimistic because we tried that approach already," Wallhausen said.

"There is a limit to the amount of money that is awarded to the defense budget, and I'm sure the Army feels it has to do this."

Hilliard said that in 1980 the Army had 782,000 troops on active duty. That number has plummeted to 495,000. Army ROTC programs annually produced 10,000 new lieutenants during the 1980s, Hilliard said, but by 1998 will only produce 4,000.

"We just don't need as many ROTC programs," Hilliard said.

There are currently 10 cadets in Southeast's program. Two will be commissioned officers in December with five others following in May. The remaining three are juniors taking compressed ROTC training.

Since the program likely will not be around next year, they are taking both junior- and senior-level ROTC classes this year. They will be commissioned following graduation in 1998.

Hilliard said the probable demise of the program hasn't adversely affected cadets' morale.

Cadets who complete Army ROTC are committed to eight years in the Army Reserve or a combination of three to four years active duty and four to five years reserve duty.

"The most important thing I like to see cadets take away from the program is that they begin to internalize Army values of selfless service and dedication to country and become take-charge type leaders who know how to take care of their soldiers," Hilliard said.

Army ROTC has had a presence on Southeast's campus since 1986. It is an extension program of the Army ROTC at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. The other 27 programs targeted for elimination are also extensions of larger programs at other universities.

As an extension, Southeast's ROTC receives its equipment and uniforms from SIU's program and conducts all of its major field training exercises with SIU cadets.

Whatever the fate of Southeast's Army ROTC, it will not affect the school's Air Force ROTC. Currently 21 students are enrolled in the Air Force ROTC, which has been at the university since 1972.

Staff Sgt. Gary Wamble, an Air Force ROTC instructor, said although Southeast's program works very closely with that at SIU, the two are independent.

There is no overlap of coursework or training between Southeast's Army and Air Force programs.

Hilliard found at least one bright spot concerning the downsizing of Army ROTC on the nation's college campuses.

Said Hilliard: "Even though downsizing obviously creates turmoil, I think the success story is we commission quality officers out of ROTC, and as we commission less that quality will be even higher."