Louisiana State University Corps of Cadets

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The corps headquarters, the LSU Military Science building,

The Louisiana State University Corps of Cadets is a student military organization at Louisiana State University, being one of the oldest student organization on campus. Students who elect to join the Corps must participate in mandatory Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) courses, and receive commissions as officers in the United States armed forces upon graduation.[1] Current membership exceeds 300 cadets in LSU's Army and Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, to include those who participate in the Naval ROTC program at Southern University (LSU itself lacks a Naval ROTC program, with numerous cadets cross affiliating with the program at SU).[2]

History[edit]

The program's roots trace back to LSU's founding in 1860 under General William T. Sherman, when the campus functioned as a former military post of the Union Army adjacent to present-day Baton Rouge. In 1884, the General Assembly of Louisiana passed a resolution allocating the full usage of the buildings and grounds of the Pentagon Barracks to LSU, where they were used as dormitories for cadets. Cadets were housed there until 1932.[3]  During World War II, LSU was in the top five schools producing officers for the military, after Texas A&M University, the United States Military Academy, and the United States Naval Academy.[1] Amidst the backdrop of the Vietnam War in the 1960s, the LSU Board of Supervisors converted the ROTC program to voluntary status due to escalating tensions on campus. In 1969, mandatory ROTC for freshmen and sophomores at LSU at large was abolished. The Corps at the time consisted of over 3,000 members, a number which experienced a decline post-1969.

Constituent ROTC units[edit]

Commandant of Cadets[edit]

  • Major General Sanderford Jarman (1916–17)[1]
  • Troy Middleton (1930–1936)[1]
  • Colonel Wade Pertuit (2013–2016)
  • Colonel Lisa O’Neil (since 2023)[5]

See also[edit]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "History | LSU Military Science". lsu.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  2. ^ "LSU Corps of Cadets – Cadets of the Ole War Skule". Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  3. ^ "Pentagon Barracks". house.louisiana.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  4. ^ "Naval ROTC | Southern University and A&M College". www.subr.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  5. ^ "Col. Lisa O'Neil, First Woman Colonel Commandant of the LSU Corps of Cadets". www.lsu.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
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