Reserve Officers' Training Corps facts for kids

Newly graduated and commissioned officers of the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) Unit Hampton Roads stand at attention as they are applauded during the spring Commissioning Ceremony in May 2004.

Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a type of military officer commissioning program, mostly in the United States. It is designed as a subject that students can choose to take at college. It focuses on leadership development, problem solving, strategic planning, and professional ethics. After joining the Reserve Officers' Training Corps, the person involved must be involved in the military for a period of time.

The U.S. Armed Forces and a number of other national militaries have ROTC programs. The Philippines established its program in 1912, with the creation of the first unit at the University of Santo Tomas during American colonial rule. ROTC in South Korea started in 1963; while China created its own program in 1997.

Images for kids

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  The Western Union Building at the College of William and Mary, site of the college's Army ROTC offices.

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  ROTC at the University of Florida during the 1920s

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  Oscar K. Chamber, the first African American ROTC graduate at Arlington State College, 1965

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  An Army ROTC unit practicing rappelling from a parking garage in September 2010

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  Army ROTC cadets on a field training exercise in March 2005

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  Arlington State College ROTC students firing a mortar during a field exercise, circa 1950s