The McDaniel College Green Terror Army ROTC Battalion more than doubled its number of cadets since 2004, and nearly tripled its number of commissioned lieutenants.

This spring, this ROTC program offered a record 27 four-year scholarships to incoming freshmen of the class of 2011, up from three in 2004. During interviews, high school students, whose Active, Reserve or National Guard duty commissions would not begin until 2011, tell Lieutenant Colonel Brian Feser, McDaniel’s ROTC commander and professor of Military Science, that they sense a possible shift in political opinions in the 2008 election that could mean the end of the war in Iraq.

“High school students are savvy,” says Feser. “If I’m a high school senior, I know that there are so many things that could happen between now and 2011.”

He says that military enlistments increased post 9/11, but leveled off in 2004-05. Currently, Feser sees an increase in cadets in many regions, although not necessarily in every ROTC program.

The number of students receiving their commissions from McDaniel, Hood College and Mount Saint Mary’s University, which comprise the Green Terror Battalion, have increased at such a rapid pace that this is one of the reasons the battalion earned the General Douglas MacArthur Unit Award as the nation’s best small college ROTC program. The Green Terror Battalion bested 250 other small colleges and has commissioned more lieutenants than the state’s flagship university.

Money is not the main motivator for cadets, says Feser, who grills program applicants before awarding four-year scholarships to one-third of those who apply. Out of 55 scholarships offered between 2000 and 2006, students have turned down only four. At McDaniel, the award amounts to $30,000 per year, per student. This is up from $20,000 a year in 2004-05, and $17,000 a year in 2002-03.

He says a sense of duty to the country or a family history in the military are the major motivators for the young men and women who apply.

Students with freshly minted college diplomas are commissioned as Army officers with the rank of second lieutenant and attend officer basic training ranging from three to 18 months. Following officer basic training, they can go into active duty, join the Army National Guard or Army Reserve, or delay their service in order to pursue an advanced degree. They typically serve a minimum of four years active duty service with many making it a career in the Army.

Nearly 70 percent of commissioned officers in the U.S. Army are products of ROTC. The Army program, which has commissioned more than 500,000 officers since its inception in 1915, is located at 372 colleges and universities throughout the country. The McDaniel College program began in 1919.

The ROTC President’s review will be held 12:30 p.m. April 19 in Baker Memorial Chapel. For more information, call 410-857-2725.