Schumer: Victory! Clarkson University’s Superb SROTC Will Continue Training North Country Cadets To Become U.S. Army Officers

Following his relentlessly advocacy, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer today announced the Army has reversed course and will retain Clarkson University’s top-notch collegiate ROTC program, meaning dozens of North Country cadets can stay at their schools and continue with plans to commission into the Army after graduation and that the Golden Knight Battalion will continue to train ROTC cadets to become Army officers for years to come.

“As they say in the Army: Hooah! We have saved the excellent Army ROTC program at Clarkson University. When I heard this hasty and misguided plan, I immediately began pushing at all levels to protect this beloved ROTC for the North Country. The Clarkson ROTC unit is the only one in the North Country, helps support Fort Drum, and no cadet should have to choose between staying at their school or transferring to another university that has an Army ROTC program,” said Senator Schumer. “I appreciate the Army taking the community and my concerns seriously and am glad that Clarkson University’s superb ROTC can continue training dozens of North Country cadets, who can now stay at their school and continue with plans to join the military after graduation. Patriotism and passion for serving our country run deep in the veins of the North Country, and I will always fight to protect the Golden Knight Battalion at Clarkson University for our talented and patriotic North Country cadets.”

Clarkson University hosts one of the only Army Senior ROTC (SROTC) programs for college students in the North Country. Schumer, in a letter to Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, called on the Army to immediately reverse its decision to shut down Clarkson University Army SROTC and to support young New Yorkers in the North Country who want to serve the country and to keep the Army strong and mission-ready. Last month, the Army announced it would pause plans to shut down the program, and today’s announcement that the Army will retain the Clarkson University Army SROTC means the program can continue.

Clarkson University’s Army SROTC program is currently home to 45 cadets and has produced more than 1,600 commissioned officers throughout the unit’s history, commissioning at least one cadet for all 17 basic branches of the Army. The Golden Knight Battalion is known for producing more STEM field cadets than other Army SROTC units of the same size and caliber, with more than double the national Army average for cadets who enter STEM fields. The unit also ranks highly for commissioning pre-med officers and sending them to medical school post-graduation, which helps the Army fill medical staffing shortages.