Rewarding hard work

Liberty and UVA ROTC programs receive General Douglas MacArthur Award

The University of Virginia’s (UVA) Army Reserves Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), which also includes Liberty University’s ROTC program, received the 2015 MacArthur Award for the 2014-2015 school year.

The MacArthur Award is presented to the ROTC programs that exhibit the same qualities General Douglas MacArthur showed while in the Army. The qualifications include leadership, cadets’ performances, cadets’ ranks on National Order of Merit List and cadet retention rate.

Lt. Col. Bret Hamilton is an assistant professor of military science at Liberty and also an overseer of the ROTC program.

“The MacArthur Award is awarded to the top ROTC program in our brigade of 41 different schools,” Hamilton said.

He said Cadet Command looks at the quality of the cadet in regard to their academics, extracurriculars, sports, and how they are developing as leaders.

Hamilton said UVA and Liberty are in the same brigade, which is why they share the award. The Cadet Command takes all of those qualifications they see and chooses whichever brigade that goes beyond those requirements.

According to its website, the ROTC program “prides itself on active recruiting initiatives for prospective cadets.” Hamilton talked about the process many cadets go through just to be a part of the ROTC program at Liberty.

“When an ROTC cadet comes in, there are two different ways to get in,” Hamilton said. “One is if they’re a National Scholarship winner for the Army, which means they apply to be in the Army when they’re a senior in high school. The other way is if they’re a student currently going to Liberty University. They can come in and apply for either a scholarship or a contract. Contract means that we’ve accepted them into the program, and they are qualified to compete for active duty National Guard or Army Reserve upon graduation.”

Hamilton also laid out the many factors that applying cadets must meet for the university. He said the biggest aspect they look for is academics, but they prefer their cadets to be well-rounded in academics, SAT/ACT scores, high school grades, sports and extracurricular activities.

When it comes to cadets becoming a part of Liberty, Hamilton said cadets are now applying in college instead of applying while a senior in high school for the National Scholarship. He also said that since Liberty’s ROTC program is not as old as UVA’s, many cadets start applying in college.

The top cadet in the Liberty and UVA ROTC program, Caleb Grow, said how much of an honor it was to receive the MacArthur Award.

“It’s honestly a huge honor,” Grow said. “I know everyone at Liberty has been working really hard to earn this award. It is cool to say that your school has the best brigade.”

Grow said he received notice back in November that he would be the top cadet to represent Liberty and UVA.

As Hamilton said, Liberty’s ROTC program wants well-rounded cadets in the program. Grow has excellent academics, shows great leadership in the ROTC program and was able to balance playing hockey for Liberty and taking classes all at the same time.

“Last year was my last year playing hockey,” Grow said. “It definitely was rough and took a lot of time commitment, but it’s worth it.”

Hamilton spoke well of Grow and added that he went to Fort Leavenworth and represented Liberty and UVA as top cadet in Kansas.

Only one cadet from every brigade is chosen to be top cadet and sent to Fort Leavenworth. There are more than 300 cadets from around the nation that are represented as well. This award is more individualized and not just awarded to the group.

“Being the top cadet is similar to the MacArthur Award (and) the George C. Marshall Award,” Hamilton said. “It is an award that goes with you as you go forward, and (you) will always be noted as winning
that award.”

Hamilton said Grow is “an outstanding cadet, and that’s why he is Cadet Battalion Commander.”

Hamilton and Grow are proud of the Liberty ROTC Program and said they cannot wait to see what is in store for them as the years go on.

Robertson is a news reporter.