On September 20, 2018 the Eastern Washington University (EWU) Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program contracted 10 Cadets into the US Army. A Contracting Ceremony was held in front of Showalter Hall which is the oldest building on EWU’s campus. Showalter Hall was built back in 1915 when EWU was a teacher’s college. (Note: All the following pictures provided by Mr. Rob Riedel)
The Contracting Ceremony was attended by senior university leadership, fellow Cadets, alumni, friends, and family.
All 10 Cadets recited the Oath of Enlistment given to them by Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Stafford, the Professor of Military Science and Department Chair for the EWU ROTC program.
The first Oath of Enlistment was developed during the Revolutionary War when the Continental Congress established different oaths for the enlisted men and officers of the Continental Army. Here is what the original oath said:
“I _____, do acknowledge the Thirteen United States of America, namely, New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, to be free, independent, and sovereign states, and declare, that the people thereof owe no allegiance or obedience to George the third, king of Great Britain; and I renounce, refuse and abjure any allegiance or obedience to him; and I do swear that I will, to the utmost of my power, support, maintain, and defend the said United States against the said king, George the third, and his heirs and successors, and his and their abettors, assistants and adherents; and will serve the said United States in the office of _____, which I now hold, and in any other office which I may hereafter hold by their appointment, or under their authority, with fidelity and honour, and according to the best of my skill and understanding. So help me God.”
The first Oath of Enlistment under the Constitution was approved by an Act of Congress on 29 September 1789. It applied to all commissioned officers, noncommissioned officers, and enlisted Soldiers in the United States military.
The oath would receive minor modifications during the 1800’s, but the current oath recited by the contracting Cadets has remained unchanged since 1959. Here is the current Oath of Enlistment:
“I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”
By contracting the Cadets can now activate scholarship benefits, receive a monthly monetary stipend, attend advanced training, and other opportunities to help them towards their goal of becoming a US Army officer after graduating from EWU.
Following the reciting of the Oath of Enlistment, the 10 Cadets were then given their right shoulder sleeve EWU ROTC patch. The patch was presented by Sergeant First Class Jason Hennig who explained the importance of the right shoulder sleeve patch that recognizes combat service in the active US Army. In the EWU ROTC program the right should sleeve patch recognizes these Cadets’ commitment to the program by contracting.
A video of the Contracting Ceremony can be viewed below:
Congratulations to all 10 of our great EWU ROTC Cadets who contracted into the US Army:
- Jacob Villasenor
- Samantha Knight
- Christopher Milward
- Isabelle Erickson
- Adam Burnside
- Chad Triplett
- Jazmin Castrejon
- Jameson Palmer
- Matthew Jeffs
- Andreas Brazier.
Contracting cadets don’t swear an Oath of Enlistment. They swear an abbreviated Oath of Office, which is an entirely different Oath, notable for the absence for any swearing to follow the orders of the President. Instead, the commissioned Officer’s Oath is singularly to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. A military officer has no specific obligation or loyalty to the personage of the President, except to the authority vested upon them by his office to issue valid orders. The differences in Oaths very clearly gives them the liberty in that regard.