By Chantelle Tuitele
National leaders in the Army ROTC are honoring BYU''s Cougar Battalion as one of the best programs in the nation.
Army ROTC headquarters in Fort Monroe, Va., has determined that the BYU Army ROTC is in the top 15 percent of all programs.
ROTC programs throughout the United States were ranked according to how well cadets are maintained in the program, how well junior cadets performed at National Advanced Camp at Fort Lewis, Wash., and how many senior cadets were commissioned as 2nd Lt., said Capt. Noel Namauu, professor of military science.
Namauu said 80 percent of the BYU ROTC''s junior cadets have been in the program since their freshman year. He said they chose to stay because the ROTC offers them opportunities they cannot find elsewhere.
'We teach them management and leadership skills - things they''d learn in business school,' Namauu said. 'Then we put them in charge and make them put those skills to use.'
Juniors and seniors in the ROTC program train first and second year cadets and help run the program, said cadet Steve Powell, 22, a freshman from Provo, who has not declared a major.
'We''re one of the well known universities at advanced camp,' he said. 'The cadets are well prepared and above average.'
The Cougar Battalion has two partnership schools: Utah Valley State College and Southern Utah University.
'These schools are an integral part of the BYU Army ROTC''s success,' Namauu said.
Because BYU is the host university, its professors of military science are in charge of establishing proper guidance and training standards for the UVSC and SUU ROTC programs, said Col. Reed Grawe, professor of military science and chair of the military science department.
Military science professors at those universities are then responsible for making sure the cadets are prepared to go to camp and become commissioned officers.
With the help of the UVSC and SUU Army ROTC programs, BYU''s host program is now ranked 26 out of 270 host programs nationwide, Namauu said.
'They can drag us down or bring us up,' Grawe said. 'In this case, we have stellar performers in each of the universities.'
This year, junior cadets from BYU, UVSC and SUU performed well at the National Advanced Camp, Namauu said.
Grawe also said this year he submitted 34 cadets'' names to the National Commissioning Board. The board decides whether or not cadets are qualified to be on active or reserve duty and become commissioned officers.
After the board was complete, 11 Army ROTC cadets from the BYU, UVSC and SUU programs combined received the Distinguished Military Graduate Designation.