The Florida A&M University(FAMU) NROTC Program was established to educate and train qualified young men and women for service as commissioned officers in the United States Navy and Marine Corps. HISTORY:
The Florida A&M University Naval Reserves Officer Training Corps (FAMU NROTC) was commissioned on August 1st, 1972. It was the fourth of seven NROTC Units to be established at a Historically Blac
k College or University (HBCU) campus. Since, FAMU NROTC has established cross-town enrollment programs with Florida State University and Tallahassee Community College. To emphasize the importance of the unit, Commander Benjamin Hacker was selected as the first Commanding Officer. CDR Hacker went on to achieve the rank of Rear Admiral (Upper Half), serving as Commander of the Naval Training Center, San Diego, California before retiring in 1988. Other significant firsts include Ensign Jeffery Young, first Enlisted Commissioning Program (ECP) commissionee (now the STA-21 Program) in June 1979; Ensign Harold Lomax, first selectee to the Nuclear Power Program in February 1976; Ensign Carol Skiber, first female aviator selectee in December 1978; Staff Sergeant Robert Winchester, the Unit’s first MECEP officer candidate in August 1989 and first MECEP commissionee in December 1991. Since the Unit’s establishment, over 400 men and women have completed the NROTC Program at FAMU and have gone on to serve as officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps. During the 2005-2006 and 2011-2012 school years, FAMU NROTC commissioned its largest classes, which consisted of 22 Ensigns and Second Lieutenants. Today, our unit thrives with students from all over Tallahassee, and the country, who all enjoy the camaraderie and great history which we boast. The diversity of majors, colleges, backgrounds, and interests of our Midshipmen allows FAMU NROTC to boast one of the best units in Florida and to proudly represent the Navy and Marine Corps through our great officers.
