HISTORY OF THE CORPS OF CADETS

 Since the inception of military training at this institution in 1902, when it was the Carlisle Military Academy, hundreds of outstanding young men and women have been prepared for service as officers in the Armed Forces. The ROTC program, as we know it today, began when this institution became part of the Texas A&M System in 1917.  The institution offered two years of military training and was known as Grubbs Vocational College.  Grubbs became North Texas Agricultural College from 1923 until 1949 when, again, the name changed to Arlington State College.  ROTC was mandatory for all male students of the college until the Spring of 1954 when ROTC was deleted from the College’s core curriculum.  However, cadets remained an integral part of college life because the Corps was intertwined with most campus activities.  This close feeling has continued even until today.

  In the Fall of 1959, the curriculum was expanded to four years, and by the Spring of 1961, the first class graduated with eight officers receiving commissions.  Since that date up through December 2006, 1007 officers had been commissioned through the Arlington ROTC program.  In October of 1965, the institution was transferred to the University of Texas System.  On May 17, 1968, Department of the Army General Order Number 20 was published and formally established The University of Texas at Arlington ROTC unit as a separate Army ROTC organization. 

          Today the Corps of Cadets of The University of Texas at Arlington is a vital link in the preservation of the freedoms this country enjoys.  The proud legacy of the Maverick Battalion has been enriched by each generation that has served in time of peace to safeguard our security and in time of war to secure victory through supreme sacrifice.  The tradition of the UTA Army ROTC Cadets is to live up to the magnificent example set by their former comrades-in-arms, in our land and overseas, as guardians of liberty.

Originally written by Jimmie J. Hataway, Lieutenant Colonel, Infantry,
Professor of Military Science, 1992-1994,
and updated to reflect current number of commissionees.

  There are two papers that cover the history of the Corps of Cadets;

          1.  A History of the Military Science Department at the University of Texas at Arlington, by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmie J. Hataway, 1992.  download