The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets (VTCC) is the military component of the student body at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Cadets live together in residence halls, attend morning formation, wear a distinctive uniform, and receive an intensive military and leadership educational experience similar to those at the United States service academies. The Corps of Cadets has existed from the founding of the university as the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College in 1872 to the present-day institution of Virginia Tech, which is designated a senior military college by federal law.Harry Downing Temple 'The Bugle's Echo A Chronology of Cadet Life at the Military College at Blacksburg, VA', The Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Volume I 1872–1900 Date: 1998 As of August 2025, about 1,400 cadets are currently enrolled in the program.
Overview The Corps provides leadership training for all of its cadets through two tracks: a Military-Leader Track for cadets enrolled in one of the three Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs, and the Citizen-Leader Track for cadets wishing to pursue civilian sector careers. Students in the Military-Leader track can pursue a commission in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, or Space Force.
All cadets have the opportunity to receive an academic minor in Leadership through the Rice Center for Leader Development which is in the Virginia Tech Pamplin College of Business. To earn the minor, cadets must complete 22 academic credits and have three successful leadership positions within the Corps and or ROTC.
Around 80% of the cadets choose the Military-Leader Track. If a student is enrolled in an ROTC program at Virginia Tech, they must also be enrolled in the Corps of Cadets. However, a student does not have to be enrolled in an ROTC program in order to participate in the Corps. There are a few exceptions made for active duty enlisted students participating in programs such as the Army's Green to Gold program. However, ROTC cadets may compete for four-, three-, and two-year ROTC scholarship opportunities that typically pay tuition, fees, an amount towards books, and a monthly stipend that ranges from $250 per month to $500 per month.
The remaining cadets choose the Citizen-Leader Track to pursue civilian careers or officer training or officer candidate training programs after graduation, or attend professional or graduate schools. Some cadets in this track also participate in the Coast Guard Auxiliary University Program (AUP), which provides leadership training, maritime education, and service opportunities. Since the Coast Guard does not have an ROTC program, the AUP serves as a pathway for cadets interested in commissioning as Coast Guard officers after graduation. Eighty-three percent of the Citizen-Leader Track cadets had a job or graduate school offer in hand upon graduation in May 2016. Recently, Northrop Grumman funded six scholarships for Citizen-Leader Track cadets or Military-Leader Track cadets not on scholarship which included an opportunity to intern with Northrop Grumman as well. Citizen-Leader Track cadets participate in an exercise called Job-Ex, where the junior and senior cadets learn to write a job description, freshman and sophomore cadets apply to those jobs, the upperclass cadets review them, and then they conduct panel interviews with the underclass cadets, so they can learn from their peers what is successful in a job interview. The upperclass cadets learn what interviewers expect, so they can improve their interviewing skills as well. The Rice Center Board of Advisors, made up from executives from organizations such as Northrop Grumman, Union Pacific, Dell, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, advise the Corps staff on curriculum and skill sets cadets need to develop to be more employable after graduation.
Women entered the VTCC in the fall of 1973 and created a single unit called L Squadron. By 1979, women were integrated into the line companies, though they still lived separately from the males in their units. In 1981, the residence halls became co-ed and women began to live in the same unit area as their male counterparts. In 1987, the first female Regimental Commanding Officer (CO) was appointed. To date, the Corps has had 12 female Regimental Commanding Officers. Today the Corps is at least 20% female and women hold leadership positions throughout the Corps.
History
Early years of the Corps On October 1, 1872, Virginia Tech opened as the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (VAMC). All students were cadets organized into a battalion of two companies with an enrollment of 132. The Commandant of Cadets was General James H. Lane, formerly the youngest general in the Army of Northern Virginia, who was wounded three times in combat. Based on his experience in the Civil War, as a student and teacher at VMI and UVA, and as a teacher at Florida State Seminary and North Carolina Military Institute, he wrote the first cadet regulations.
In 1878, VAMC President Charles Minor wanted to do away with the strict military requirements. Lane opposed him and their disagreement became so heated that a faculty meeting ended with a fistfight between the two. Both left campus in the ensuing scandal, but the Corps remained.
The VAMC cadets made their first Corps trip in 1875 to Richmond to the dedication of the Lee Monument. Over the years, the Corps has made many trips. These trips were more frequent in the early years including the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York in 1901 and the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. In 1880, political mismanagement from Richmond contributed to enrollment dropping to just 78 cadets. But in the ensuing years, enrollment and educational opportunities were expanded. E Battery, manning four Civil War artillery pieces with upper classmen, existed between 1883 and 1907.
In 1896, VAMC, through an act of the Virginia Legislature, changed its name to the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute. The name was quickly abbreviated in common usage to VPI. Also that same year, a tradition began that lasted nearly three-quarters of a century, the VPI-VMI annual football game in Roanoke. Known as the Military Classic of the South, the annual Corps trips and associated parades ended in 1970.
The first cadet barracks was opened in 1888. Known as Barracks No. 1, it would become the heart of the Corps and what would become the Upper Quad. It housed 130 students and had revolutionized campus amenities by having bathrooms containing hot and cold running water. In 1894 and 1900 respectively, Barracks No. 2 and Barracks No. 3 were constructed to add more dormitory space as the Corps outgrew the first barracks. Barracks No. 2 was later renamed to Rasche Hall while Barracks No. 3 became Brodie Hall. In honor of General Lane, Barracks No. 1 was renamed to Lane Hall in the 1950s.
Spanish–American War service In 1898, with the outbreak of the Spanish–American War, the VPI Corps of Cadets formally volunteered to the governor for combat service. This request was declined, but most of the VPI Cadet band and their director enlisted as the Band of the 2nd Virginia Infantry Regiment. Many alumni served in the Spanish–American War and the Philippine–American War. One alumnus (Antoine A. M. Gaujot, Class of 1901) was awarded the Medal of Honor during the Philippine–American War and another cited for gallantry at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba. The Gaujot brothers Antoine and Julien remain the only two brothers in American history to receive the Medal of Honor for actions in two separate wars.
The VPI Cadet Band was first organized in 1892. Prior to that, as early as 1883, music was provided by the "Glade Cornet Band," an organization made up of people from the town of Blacksburg. The summer of 1902 saw the VPI Cadet Band serve as part of the 70th Virginia Infantry during large-scale national military maneuvers held in Manassas, Virginia. The VPI Cadet Band has been referred to as the Highty-Tighties since 1921.
World War I Before U.S. entry into World War I, the ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) was established at Virginia Tech. The Infantry unit was established 21 December 1916. During the war, Virginia Tech essentially became an army post. Cadets were inducted and became enlisted men of the Student Army Training Corps and its Navy detachment. They wore Army and Navy uniforms during this period. Two Army training detachments of between 226 and 308 men each operated on campus.
Captain J. W. G. Stephens (class of 1915), of the 26th Infantry, led the first American forces "over on top" in combat near Montdidier, France. Many alumni served with distinction with the 1st, 2nd, 29th, and 80th Infantry Divisions, all of which saw heavy combat. Note must be made of Major Lloyd W. Williams (class of 1907), US Marine Corps. One of the famous quotes of the war, used for years as a Marine standard, was attributed to him. "Retreat, Hell No!" was his reply to the French orders to retreat his company. His company held its ground, but he was killed in the action and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. In the air, alumni, even as World War I foreshadowed VPI's contribution to the Air Force, CPL Robert G. Eoff (class of 1918), French Foreign Legion, attached to the 157 French Fighter Squadron shot down the first of 6 enemy aircraft credited to Techmen. LT John R. Castleman (class of 1919) was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) for heroism in completing an aerial reconnaissance in spite of the attack of 12 enemy aircraft, two of which he shot down.
VPI's contribution to the war effort during World War I included 2,297 men in uniform. These included 2,155 in the Army, 125 in the Navy, 19 in the Marine Corps, 6 in the Coast Guard, 1 in the British Army and 1 in the French Foreign Legion. One alumnus (Earle D. Gregory, Class of 1921) was awarded the Medal of Honor, seven the Distinguished Service Cross (United States), and one the Navy Cross. At least eight were awarded the Silver Star. 26 died in service and another 26 were wounded. Based on this, VPI was designated as one of twelve 'Distinguished Colleges' by the War Department.
Coast Artillery and Engineer ROTC units were established on the campus 29 December 1919. After World War I, veterans affected the Corps and VPI at large, both as new and returning cadets. In 1921, women were admitted to VPI as civilian students and attended classes as day students. The next year the Corps was reorganized into a regiment of two battalions. Two years later (1923) military service as a cadet was reduced from four years to two; however, after two years of the camaraderie of Corps life very few cadets chose to convert to civilian student status. During the national rail strike of 1923, the corps again volunteered to the Virginia Governor for active military service. They were not called upon. A Third Battalion was added to the regiment by 1927. Rapid growth followed as Virginia Tech's reputation as both an outstanding academic and military institution grew. In 1939, a Fourth Battalion was added.
Following the war, the class of 1919 erected a memorial to "Our Dead Heroes Over There," honoring the eleven cadets who died during World War I. Known as "The Rock", it is a stone memorial with a bronze plaque and was placed between Brodie and Rasche Hall next to the flagpole on the Upper Quad. Since that time, it has grown to symbolize all graduates who have died in the line of duty. In honor of those cadets, all cadets in uniform salute the rock while cadets in civilian attire put their hand over their heart and look at it for six paces (as if performing an eyes-right movement).
World War II