UNG Corps of Cadets wins MacArthur Award

The U.S. Army Cadet Command has selected the University of North Georgia (UNG) Corps of Cadets as the 2016-2017 winner of the MacArthur Award for 1st Brigade, which encompasses the nation's six senior military colleges – UNG, Norwich University, Texas A&M University, Citadel, Virginia Military Institute, and Virginia Tech.  

"I'm proud that our Corps of Cadets has been named the number one senior military college ROTC program in the nation, continuing a long-standing national reputation for excellence," said UNG President Bonita Jacobs. "This recognition is a testament to the exceptional work the Department of Military Science is doing to prepare future military officers to lead in our communities, across the nation and around the world."

The award is based on a combination of the achievement of the school's commissioning mission, its cadets' performance and standing on the U.S. Army Cadet Command's National Order of Merit List and its cadet retention rate. UNG's Corps of Cadets has some 730 members for spring 2018 and commissioned 111 second lieutenants during the 2016-17 academic year.

The awards, presented by Cadet Command and the Gen. Douglas MacArthur Foundation, recognize the ideals of "duty, honor and country" as advocated by MacArthur, who commanded the southwest Pacific in World War II and oversaw the successful allied occupation of postwar Japan.

The award recognizes the eight schools, one from each brigade, selected from among the 275 senior Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) programs nationwide, as the top programs in the country.

"I'm very proud of the efforts of the entire UNG team and the program for being recognized as the MacArthur award recipient for 1st Brigade," said Col. Brent Cummings, professor of military science at UNG. "This accomplishment is about our outstanding cadets, but that success comes from the tremendous support given by the school, faculty, staff, and alumni and, as the professor of military science, I'm very grateful."

Cadet Command and the MacArthur Foundation have given the awards each year since 1989 to the top institution in each of the eight ROTC brigades. The U.S. Army Cadet Command is responsible for commissioning more than 60 percent of the Army's new officers each year through 275 host programs, and more than 1,000 affiliated campuses nationwide. The Command is also responsible for conducting the Army Junior ROTC program at more than 1,700 high schools nationwide.

The MacArthur Award is just the latest of many accolades during the 2016-17 academic year for UNG's Corps of Cadets.

• Two UNG cadets were ranked in the top 5 in the nation: Cadet 1st Lt. Andrew Gomez of Cumming, Georgia, is ranked second in the nation and Cadet Lt. Col. Bryton Wenzel of Albany, Georgia, is ranked fifth.
• UNG's Ranger Challenge team advances to the Sandhurst Military Skills Competition at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point this spring after winning the U.S. Army Cadet Command Spartan Ranger Challenge Competition in October.
• The Association of the United States Army presented UNG’s Corps of Cadets with its top ROTC award in 2017 for having the most active chapter.