Army ROTC
Program History
In September 1950, the U.S. Army established the Tennessee Technological University ROTC program as the first Signal Corps ROTC unit in the nation. With a first class of 325 cadets, the Battalion grew to over 740 cadets during the Korean War. In 1956 the program became mandatory for male Tennessee Tech students as well as students from all other Tennessee colleges. By 1967, Tennessee Tech had the second largest program in the southeast with 1834 cadets. In 1972, ROTC at Tennessee Tech again became voluntary, and women were authorized to enroll in military science for the first time beginning in 1973.
Since the first class of eleven officers commissioned on 27 July 1951, the Golden Eagle Battalion has commissioned 1733 outstanding Officers, including nine General Officers. The Tennessee Tech University Army ROTC program moved into the new ROTC building at 90 W. 8th St. in October 2014 and in honor of our most distinguished alumnus, General Carl W. Stiner, who attained the rank of 4-Star General and served as the Commander of US Special Operations Command, the ROTC department building was dedicated as the Stiner Leadership Center on 16 April 2016.
The Tennessee Tech Army ROTC program continues to be a critical commission source for Army officers for all three components of the Army – Active, National Guard, and US Army Reserve – and produces a higher than average production of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) majors and Nurse Corps Officers
Notable Graduates
General Carl W. Stiner, US Army (Retired):
Commissioned 1958
Lieutenant General Don Rodgers, US Army (Retired):
Commissioned 1957
Lieutenant General Bruce R. Harris, US Army (Retired):
Commissioned 1956
Major General Richard Davis, US Army (Retired):
Commissioned 1962
Major General Bob L. Robinson, US Army (Retired):
Commissioned 1955
Rear Admiral Vinson E. Smith, US Navy (Retired):
Commissioned 1973
Major General Robert A., Harris, US Army National Guard (Retired):
Commissioned 1978 (TN National Guard OCS)
Major General Edward F. Dorman III, US Army:
Commissioned 1983
Brigadier General Marcus S. Evans, US Army:
Commissioned 1994
