ROTC Might Cut Program To Two Years

Air Force and Army ROTC programs may be reduced from four to two programs if proposals approved by the Department of Defense are adopted by Congress.

The new program would allow the reduction of the ROTC programs to two years at colleges which approve the change, but would not require the elimination of four year programs at institutions desiring to keep them.

As currently proposed, the new Air Force program would provide for military Instruction for three hours a week in the junior and senior years only, and each student would receive a scholarship of approximately $2200 for the two years. The Air Force ROTC program currently consists of five hours a week of instruction for four years.

The Defense Department proposal also provides for a similar two-year program for the Army ROTC at colleges agreeing to the reduction.

The proposed program would allow students who spent their first two years at junior colleges and then transferred to four-year institutions to secure Army for Air Force commisions.

The new program was originally proposed by the Air Force to increase the number of officers provided by the ROTC program. Although there are approximately 100,000 students enrolled in the Air Force ROTC program at any one time, it currently produces only about 4000 second lieutenants a year.

According to Lt. Col. Edward M. Lyman, professor of Air Science, it is possible that the new program would start next year if it passes early in the upcoming session of Congress.

The reduction of the ROTC program from four to two years would not greatly reduce the amount of military instruction at Harvard for either the Army or Air Force. Both allow students to count courses offered by other departments for four of the eight half-courses of the ROTC program.

The Navy, on the other hand, which is planning a reduction of its program to two years, requires that seven of the eight half-courses be Naval Science offerings.

The Navy also already has a scholarship program which provides full four-year scholarships, including an allowance for books and personal expenses, for students selected by a competitive examination during their final years of secondary school.