Military Science Department / 42
Faculty Liaison to Military Science: Dr. Mark Corson
Northwest hosts two different military science programs, both of which lead to commissions in a component of the US Army. The Missouri Army National Guard Show Me GOLD (Guard Officer Leadership Development) Program is a pre-Officer Candidate School preparation program. The Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program is a traditional officer commissioning program. Students in both programs may use their Military Science Credits to pursue a Military Science academic minor. GOLD Program students are officer candidates. ROTC students are cadets.
Army National Guard GOLD Program
Northwest offers the Guard Officer Leadership Development Program on the Maryville campus. The Show Me GOLD Program is an officer candidate school preparation program resulting in a commission as a second lieutenant in the Army National Guard. Students enlist in the Army National Guard and attend basic and advanced individual training. They are then attached to the Northwest GOLD Detachment where they take military science courses on the Maryville Campus from Army National Guard instructors. Between their junior and senior year, student officer candidates then attend the accelerated National Guard Officer Candidate School where upon completion they are commissioned as second lieutenants in the Army Guard. The students then return to Northwest to complete their degrees. While completing their degrees, the GOLD Lieutenants fulfill their military duties working with the GOLD Program. GOLD Program students may apply their military science coursework toward a minor in Military Science.
GOLD Financial Assistance
The Missouri National Guard pays GOLD officer candidates monthly pay equivalent to monthly drill pay based on the candidate's military pay grade. The Missouri National Guard also has substantial financial assistance for all Guardsmen in the form of the GI Bill and tuition assistance programs.
GOLD Requirements
GOLD officer candidates are already qualified National Guard Soldiers. The GOLD officer instructor determines the required military science courses for each candidate necessary to prepare them for Officer Candidate School. GOLD officer candidates desiring a minor in Military Science must complete the course requirements for the minor listed later in this section.
Army Reserve Officer Training Corps Program
Northwest offers the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) off campus at Missouri Western State University and the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Army ROTC provides an opportunity for qualified college students to pursue a commission in the United States Army while attending college as a full-time student. The program also provides the general student body the opportunity to attend leadership and confidence building classes without incurring a military obligation. A commission as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, Army Reserve or National Guard is awarded to individuals who have successfully completed the ROTC program and obtain a baccalaureate degree from Northwest Missouri State University.
Northwest Missouri State University partners with Missouri Western State University to provide the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program to Northwest Missouri State University students. Other partnership schools include Rockhurst University, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Benedictine College, Park College and Avila College. These combined schools constitute the Pony Express ROTC Battalion.
Program Descriptions
Four-year ROTC Program
This program consists of 26 credit hours of Military Science offered on campus: six credit hours from the basic ROTC program MILS 100- and 200-level courses, and 20 credit hours from the advanced ROTC program MILS 300- and 400-level courses. First-time sophomores who did not take Military Science during the freshman year may compress the basic program during their sophomore year by taking a 100- and a 200-level course (for 3 credit hours total) for two trimesters.
Two-year ROTC Program
This program option is designed for junior- and senior-level students who were unable to enroll in ROTC during their first two academic years. As a prerequisite, the two-year program substitutes a paid five-week leadership internship at Fort Knox, KY, for the MILS 100- and 200-level courses. This Basic Course Qualification is designed for students with no prior military training. Students must attend in the summer between their sophomore and junior years to qualify for the program.
Financial Assistance
Financial assistance is available through the U.S. Army Scholarship Program. Two- and three-year scholarships are awarded each year to selected students who are enrolled or will enroll in the Army ROTC program. The scholarships provide payment directly to the college for applicable tuition and fees. Each student receives a textbook allowance of $1,200 annually paid in two increments of $600. In addition, a tiered monthly tax-free stipend is paid directly to the student for the duration of the scholarship, not to exceed 10 months for each year of the scholarship. These scholarships are available for both undergraduate and graduate students. Non-scholarship contracted cadets in the advanced course also receive the tiered monthly tax-free stipend, not to exceed 10 months per year for two years. Students are furnished free textbooks for military science classes.
The Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP) allows students to be a member of a National Guard or Reserve unit while enrolled in ROTC. Advanced course SMP students receive E5 pay, plus the tiered monthly tax-free stipend from ROTC, tuition assistance, and any Active Duty GI Bill entitlement.
The tiered stipend pay is: first year contracted cadets MSI, $300; second year MSII, $350; third year MSIII, $450; and 4th year MSIV, $500; per month not to exceed 10 months of the year.
Commission Requirements
This program requires all students seeking a commission to attend a paid four-week advanced training camp, normally the summer between the junior and senior years, at Fort Knox, KY. Attendance at camp may be deferred until after the senior year for exceptional cases with the recommendation of the chairperson of Military Science and approval from the ROTC chain of command.