ROTC canceled at USM; now only 1 program left

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BRUNSWICK — The deactivation of a Reserve Officer Training Corps battalion named after a Maine Civil War hero leaves the state with one school that offers the military training. The Maj. Gen. Joshua L. Chamberlain ROTC unit at the University of Southern Maine’s Gorham campus…
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BRUNSWICK — The deactivation of a Reserve Officer Training Corps battalion named after a Maine Civil War hero leaves the state with one school that offers the military training.

The Maj. Gen. Joshua L. Chamberlain ROTC unit at the University of Southern Maine’s Gorham campus will stop offering programs May 10, leaving The University of Maine at Orono the sole school providing ROTC.

A ceremony that combined modern soldiers with others in Civil War uniforms was held Wednesday at the tomb of Chamberlain, who won the Medal of Honor for heroics at Gettysburg, Pa.

The USM program is victim of Army cuts and a reduced need for commanding officers, said Maj. Samuel Small, professor of military science at USM. “What this program has done is … give those students upward mobility and great earning potential. Now, that will be lost,” he said.

Cutting the program will save the Army about $25,000 annually, Small said.

Students said the program will be missed.

“I think this cut is going to hurt a lot of students who otherwise would have benefited,” said Kendra Coates, a senior ROTC student from St. Joseph’s College.

The Brunswick site was chosen for the ceremony because it gave the Army a chance to unveil a grave marker for Chamberlain, Small said.

History books say Chamberlain, who later became governor of Maine and president of Bowdoin College, saved the Union forces with inventive tactics.

The ROTC program named after Chamberlain trained students from USM, Bowdoin, Bates College, St. Joseph’s and the University of New England to be Army officers.


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