Military Science and Leadership - Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC)

Army ROTC - Suncoast Battalion Bravo Company, Extension at USF St. Petersburg

Location/Phone: USFSP One Building, (727) 873 4730
Office Hours: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday
Web Address: http://www.stpete.usf.edu/rotc/index.htm
Email Address: smacksam@arotc.usf.edu, jbiggs@arotc.usf.edu

The Department of Military Science for Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) was established to select and prepare students to serve as Officers in the Regular and Reserve components of the United States Army. The curriculum is designed to develop students’ leadership potential and improve students’ planning, organizational, and managerial skills.  USF St. Petersburg has partnership agreements with Clearwater Christian College, Eckerd College and St Petersburg College.

Army ROTC training is divided into two phases: the first two years constitute the Basic Course; the last two the Advanced Course. The Department offers both a four- and a two-year program, each leading to a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army. The four-year program requires completion of the Basic Course, a five-week field training course, and the Advanced Course. Students with prior active military service or previous training at military schools may be exempt from some or all of the Basic Course. Students with questions concerning the various options should contact the Professor of Military Science for more information. Enrollment is open to qualified students at all levels, including graduate students. Offerings are published each semester.

Army ROTC training provides scholarships, pay, free uniforms and textbooks. Scholarships are awarded on a competitive basis in all academic majors. The scholarship pays full tuition or room and board, books, lab and mandatory fees, and certain other academic expenses. All Advanced Course and scholarship students receive a monthly subsistence payment that ranges from $300.00 as a freshman to $500.00 as a senior. This is in addition to the pay of approximately $700.00 while attending the five-week field training course at the Leadership Development and Assessment Course at Fort Lewis, Washington.

Additional skills training: Airborne School, Air Assault School, and the Northern Warfare School are available to both Basic and Advanced Course students during semester breaks. Additional skills training and internships are also available during the academic and summer session year to include first aid, rappelling, orienteering, color guards, etc.

Basic Course: The Basic Course consists of four semesters of classroom instruction of one and a half hour each week and a leadership lab. Students incur no military commitment by participating in the Basic Course. In lieu of attending the basic course classroom instruction, a student may attend the four-week Leadership Training Course at Fort Knox, Kentucky during the summer of the student’s sophomore year.

Advanced Course: The Advanced Course consists of four semesters of classroom instruction of three hours each week, leadership lab, physical fitness and field training exercises, and a five-week training phase at Leadership Development and Assessment Course . The Advanced Course is designed to prepare the student who desires to be a Professional Army Officer for duty, either Active Army, Reserve or National Guard. Additional follow-on training is available to selected cadets at both US based and overseas active Army units.

Job Opportunities: The newly commissioned officer can be guaranteed Reserve or National Guard duty, or compete for an Active Duty commission. Prior to commissioning the student may request to serve in a number of career fields to include aviation, engineering, medical, law, law enforcement, logistics, and personnel administration.

Requirements for an ROTC Commission: Students who desire to earn a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army must meet the following requirements: four semesters of the ROTC Advanced Course, successful completion of the Professional Military Education Courses (written communication skills, computer literacy, water survival  and military history), attendance at Leadership Development and Assessment Course, maintain and graduate with a minimum of a 2.0 GPA, successful completion of the Army Physical Fitness Test, compliance with the Army height and weight standards, and other requirements of the United States Army.

Military Science and Leadership Faculty at USF St. Petersburg
Assistant Professor: Scott A.  Macksam
Senior Military Instructor, John  M. Biggs