Gonzaga’s ROTC program named top unit in West again

For the second year in a row, the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Gonzaga University has won the prestigious MacArthur Award.

The sight of cadets running onto two Black Hawks on Friday begins to explain why.

The helicopters transported the ROTC students to Camp Seven Mile, where they will spend the weekend in intensive exercises, such as practice combat operations, complete with warring teams, raids and camouflage face paint.

These sorts of drills, which cadets participate in twice a semester, prepare them not only for future careers in the military, but also for a summer training camp at Fort Lewis, Wash.

Cadets from all around the country, who are entering their senior year, attend the month-long Leaders Development and Assessment Course.

Performance at LDAC is one criterion the MacArthur Foundation uses to assess the strength of a school’s program, said Lt. Col. Allen Patty, a professor of military science at Gonzaga. And GU’s ROTC has done really well in that camp, enough to put it first among 140 schools in the West.

Other factors considered in choosing the award recipients are recruitment and retention of students.

Erik Solberg, a GU senior, said he saw the difference between schools’ ROTCs when he got to the Fort Lewis course.

“We get a lot more field experience here,” Solberg said, minutes before boarding a chopper.

As such, Solberg said he wasn’t surprised at all about receiving the award.

“The main focus here is developing us to be leaders,” he said. “They do a great job at that.”