A description of the establishment of the first Engineer's Reserve Officer Training Corps courses

Thomas, William N. Jr.

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 The Knowledge Bank at The Ohio State University Ohio State Engineer Title:  Engineer R. O. T. C. Unit Creators:  Thomas, William N. Jr. Issue Date:  Nov-1936 Publisher:  Ohio State University, College of Engineering Citation:  Ohio State Engineer, vol. 20, no. 1 (November, 1936), 14-15. URI:  http://hdl.handle.net/1811/35329 Appears in Collections: Ohio State Engineer: Volume 20, no. 1 (November, 1936)      ENGINEER R. O. T. C UNITBy MAJOR WILLIAM N. THOMAS, Jr.W ITH the opening of the 1936 Fall Quarter therehas been inaugurated at The Ohio State Uni-versity an Engineer R. O. T. C. unit. Althoughthe establishment of such a unit was proposed a numberof years ago, it was not until last year that authorities ofthe War Department and the University agreed to estab-lish a unit of the Engineer Arm of the Army. To assistthe Professor of Military Science and Tactics in the or-ganization and instruction of this unit the War Depart-ment has detailed to The Ohio State University from theRegular Army three officers of the Corps of Engineersand an infantry staff sergeant.The primary general object of this course of instruc-tion of the Reserve Officers Training Corps is to qualifystudents for positions of leadership in time of nationalemergency.The complete course of instruction comprises fouryears, a compulsory basic course of two years and anelective advanced course of two years.The object of the basic course is to give the studentknowledge of the fundamental training requirements ofthe army and to develop his initiative, confidence, andability thus qualifying him, in case of emergency, to in-struct untrained civilians in the duties of privates, cor-porals, and sergeants, and to train squads and sectionsfor, and lead them in, combat.The object of the advanced course is to qualify for acommission as a Second Lieutenant in the Officers ReserveCorps a number of selected students who have completedthe basic course and who have demonstrated exceptionalqualities of leadership, and who, in case of emergency,should be able to perform the duties of a platoon leader,and have received instruction in the duties of a companycommander.The mission of the Engineer R. O. T. C. is to pro-duce qualified Second Lieutenants in the Engineer Re-serve Corps.In view of the fact that one of the qualifications fora commission as Second Lieutenant in the Engineer Re-serve Corps is completion of a college course in engineer-Page 14 T H E OHIO STATE ENGINEERing, only students pursuing a course leading to an engi-neering degree or an equivalent, will be enrolled in theadvanced course Engineer R. O. T. C.With these ends in view the regular enrollment inthe basic course in the new Engineer unit is limited tostudents in the College of Engineering. Since there isalso a Signal Corps R.O.T.C. unit at The Ohio StateUniversity and the military and civil educational and pro-fessional activities are parallel, the basic students electingcourses in Electrical Engineering and EngineeringPhysics are enrolled in the Signal Corps unit. There arenow enrolled in the Engineer unit approximately fourhundred and fifty first-year basic students and three hun-dred second-year basic students. There will be addednext year a first year advanced course and the followingyear a second year advanced course.As the Engineer Unit develops the infantry unit willbe discontinued. This year there are no students enrolledin the basic course Infantry and no students enrolled inthe advanced course Engineers. As the first year advancedcourse is added in the Engineers, it will be discontinuedin the Infantry and the same procedure will be followedin regard to the second year advanced course. To pro-vide balanced training in leadership the advanced courseInfantry men will act as the Cadet Officers for the basiccourse Engineers until there are advanced course studentsin the Engineers.In the first year of the Engineer basic course studentsare taught the military fundamentals of the organizationof the army; military discipline; courtesies and customs ofthe service; military sanitation and first aid; NationalDefense Act; Military History and Policy; Militaryobligations of Citizenship, and Current International Situ-ation. Also included in this first year's instruction areleadership, consisting of drill and command, and basicmilitary instructions in Rifle Markmanship and Weaponsand Musketry.During the second year of the engineer basic coursebasic engineer instruction] is given in the Organization andDuties of Engineers, in Rigging, and in Mapping. Thelatter includes Map and Aerial Photograph Reading, Mili-tary Sketching, and Map Making. Leadership is againtaught in drill and instruction and courses of the com-bined first and second year classes. Preliminary combattraining in Scouting and Patrolling, and in Combat Prin-ciples- of the Rifle Squad is also given during this secondyear.Classes in the basic course are of one hour durationand are held three hours each week for which the studentreceives one hours credit toward graduation in hisacademic course.Upon successful completion of the compulsory twoyears engineer basic course, students whose academic andmilitary standing are satisfactory may apply for enroll-ment in the voluntary two years engineer advanced course.If these applicants have demonstrated during the basiccourse potential qualities of leadership satisfactory to theProfessor of the Military Science and Tactics, they willbe enrolled in the first year engineer advanced course,where the training will be more specialized along the linesof the field duties of military engineers.In the first year of the advanced course the studentswill receive further drill and command training in Leader-ship as the Cadet Officer instructors of the engineer basiccourse students. They will be given instruction in theMilitary fundamentals of Interior Guard Duty, and theCare of Animals and Stable Management. Combat train-ing will take up Tactics in the form of combat orders andSolutions of problems dealing with Engineers. There willbe included training in the combat principles of infantryunits and of Engineer Units, and in Mechanization. Theadvanced training will take up the subjects of the locationand construction and the maintenance and repair of mili-tary roads, of military bridging in general and specificallyin the use of floating bridges; of Military Explosives andDemolitions; and of Field Fortifications covering trenches,emplacements, obstacles, and protected shelters.At the end of the first year engineer advanced course,the students are sent by the War Department to a sixweeks military training camp where they receive trainingin the practical application of the subjects taken up at theuniversity.In the second year of the engineer advanced coursethe following subjects are taught: Leadership, in an ad-vanced application of the method pursued in the samesubject during the first vear advanced course; militaryfundamentals of supply and mess management, and of theemergency procurement of property and the handling offunds; advanced engineer training in organization andduties of engineers; in construction in war, and in fixedmilitary bridges; combat training dealing with the combatprinciples of the company, the organization of the ground,and in the defense against chemical warfare; military lawand administration dealing with the law of militaryoffenses, court martial, and administration; and advancedinstruction in Military History and policy.The engineer advanced course consists of five hoursclass work per week for which the student receives threehours credit toward graduation in his academic course.The training outlined is progressive and is designed tocover the maximum amount of ground in the limited timeavailable. As many of the students do not take the ad-vanced course, every effort is made to offer in the engineerbasic course those phases of military training which willqualify the engineering college graduate for effective mili-tary engineer service in case of an emergency and, at thesame time, offer instruction which will be of educationalvalue in preparation for civil life.Professor James R. Withrow, Chairman of the De-partment of Chemical Engineering, spent the summermonths on an extensive tour through Europe, where heinspected various chemical industries, and gave numerouslectures. He served as Chairman of the Opening Sessionof the World's Congress of Chemical Engineers inLondon.November, 1936 Page 15

Engineer R. O. T. C. Unit

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Engineer R. O. T. C. Unit

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