The U.S. Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps’ enrolment has fallen more than 16 percent over the past two school years, the Washington Post reported Sunday. The drop leaves the program — which commissions more than 6 of every 10 new Army officers each year — with its fewest participants in nearly a decade, the Post said. Enrolment in the program dropped 10 percent from the 2003-04 school year to the term ending spring 2005. The Army’s Cadet Command at Fort Monroe, Va., said 26,566 students are enrolled in the program now, down from 29,618 last year and 31,765 in 2002-03. However, the number of officers commissioned through the program has been increasing, as students who joined ROTC three and four years ago rise to their senior year. Army officials and defense experts have said the decline probably mirrors the Army’s recent decline in recruitment, as some potential recruits fear they will be sent into a war zone. Army and ROTC officials said they fear the flagging enrollments could soon strain the program’s ability to meet its annual quotas for commissioned officers. © Copyright 2005 by United Press International

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