Students of the Voluntary Cadet Corps in 1888, in front of Old Main. Photo courtesy of the University of Colorado Boulder Library Archives, University Collection.
In 1883, students at the University of Colorado Boulder established a voluntary cadet corps in order to drill in the schools of “the soldier and the company.”
The State of Colorado issued the cadets Army infantry uniforms, weapons, and equipment. They were supervised by Lt. W. Hasson, an engineer officer assigned by the Department of the Navy to the University to help establish the engineering department.
This Cadet Corps, although it had no official military affiliation and did not serve in any military campaigns, represented an early University interest in establishing military officer training on campus.
Students of the Voluntary Cadet Corps in 1902 on the CU-Boulder campus, conducting field exercises. Photo courtesy of the University of Colorado Boulder Library Archives, University Collection.
In 1914, the first official military units were established on campus. Troop D, 1st Battalion of Cavalry, Colorado Militia and Engineer Company B, Colorado National Guard were raised from University Students. These two units were federalized and sent to Douglas, AZ in 1916 following Pancho Villa’s attack on Columbus, New Mexico.
On June 3, 1917, the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program was established by Congress but the Army declined the University of Colorado administration request for a unit in Boulder. In October 1917, the University faculty voted to establish its own voluntary ROTC program. A retired Army Officer, CPT James A. Merritt was put in command by the University.
The first 38 men to finish training with the University of Colorado Student Army Training Corps (SATC) in 1918. All were sent overseas. Photo courtesy of the University of Colorado Boulder Library Archives, University Collection.
In early 1918 the War Department established a Student Army Training Corps (SATC) at the University for students who had been drafted. This program allowed them to continue in school and simultaneously train then in specialties such as automobile mechanics, radio and telegraphy operations, concrete construction, and general mechanics. Some were allowed to transfer into the Navy while in the program. As enlisted members, they wore uniforms, lived in campus barracks, and were paid $30 per month. Some of the 452 SATC members were selected for commissioning. All of the first 38 to graduate in 1918 were deployed to Europe. When peace came in late 1918, an estimated 1,000 Coloradans were among the dead, including 55 CU-Boulder alumni. Their names are inscribed in the University Memorial Center and carved into the walls of what today is the economics department building. After the end of WWI, the SATC program was closed.
In 1940, the University requested an ROTC program. The War Department declined, but established on campus three enlisted Army reserve training units including Army Air Corps and Signal Corps elements.