CLEVELAND—The Cleveland Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps presented its Cleveland State University cadets a first-ever “Viking Detachment” unit patch Feb. 4 at the College of Urban Affairs building here.
The patching ceremony signifies a significant growth in numbers of CSU cadets. In 2007 the university had only one contracted cadet and had averaged only one per year over the last decade. This year, however, CSU boasts seven contracted cadets and three participating cadets.
The university’s ROTC leadership attributes this boost in strength to CSU chemistry professor Dr. John Schupp’s Supportive Education for Returning Veterans (SERV) program.
SERV allows veterans to transition among their peers by taking veterans-only classes until they feel comfortable with a college classroom environment, usually a semester or two. The program, founded by Schupp at CSU in 2007, has spread to four more universities: Youngstown State, West Virginia, Ohio State and the University of Arizona. |
“It has absolutely been a symbiotic relationship,” said Lt. Col. Eric Patterson, professor of military science for the Cleveland Army ROTC. “As Schupp’s program has grown, my cadet presence here at CSU has grown. There’s an undeniable correlation between the two.” Cleveland ROTC has targeted the SERV program to recruit veterans.
“ROTC is an economy of force operation,” Patterson said. “We don’t have dozens and dozens of cadre to cover down on all of the schools that I own in the Cleveland area. In collectively bringing the veterans together in an entity, John (Schupp) and his staff have served as my outsourced recruiters.”
Schupp, who has no military background, developed his SERV concept from talks with Vietnam War veterans. He said his motivation partly springs from a belief that the country needs Soldiers to lead it.
“You guys bring self-reliance, discipline, an understanding of different cultures and societies and how to resolve conflict between different cultures and societies,” Schupp said. “This country needs you to be educated, to be graduated, then to lead the country. The goal is simple - change the country.” |
