Army ROTC program named among top in the country by Cadet Command

Task Force Blue Ridge, an Army ROTC partnership between the University of Virginia and Liberty University, was recently named as a 2014-15 MacArthur Award winner for the second time in four years. This award is given to the top ROTC programs in the country by the U.S. Army Cadet Command. There are 275 senior Army ROTC units in eight brigades across the nation; Task Force Blue Ridge was named the winner for Cadet Command’s 4th Brigade.

“This is huge. The award speaks to the quality of our cadets as well as the universities they represent,” said Lt. Col Mark Houston, professor of military science and commander of Task Force Blue Ridge. “Not a lot of detachments get the support from their universities that we get from Liberty and UVa. It allows us to do some really great things and attracts quality individuals to our program.”

The MacArthur Award is based on a combination of factors, including the achievement of the school’s commissioning mission, its cadets’ performance and standing on the command’s National Order of Merit List, and its cadet retention rate. Since 1989, the awards have been given each year by the Cadet Command and the Gen. Douglas MacArthur Foundation. The award recognizes the ideals of “duty, honor, and country” as advocated by its namesake.

“The success garnered by (Task Force Blue Ridge) is principally reflected in the cadets’ academic and extracurricular achievements,” Houston said. “UVa and LU cadets are increasingly focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and the medical fields of study, and routinely place near the top of their respective student cohorts. A high percentage earn active duty commissions and receive their top U.S. Army branch choices and officer assignments.”

Liberty’s ROTC program was founded in 1979 as the Eagle Battalion, in cooperation with Lynchburg College. It disbanded five years later and was re-established in partnership with the University of Virginia in 2001. The Cavalier Battalion and Eagle Battalion duly adopted the moniker Task Force Blue Ridge in 2013 to signify the unity of the two programs.

• Visit www.Liberty.edu/ROTC to learn more about Army ROTC at Liberty.