SENATE MEMORIAL 77

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2016

INTRODUCED BY

William H. Payne

A MEMORIAL

RECOGNIZING THE SEVENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO NAVAL RESERVE OFFICER TRAINING CORPS.

     WHEREAS, 2016 marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of the naval reserve officer training corps program, more commonly known as navy ROTC, at the university of New Mexico; and

      WHEREAS, the navy ROTC program began in 1926, with six units established at the university of California at Berkeley, the Georgia institute of technology, Harvard university, Northwestern university, the university of Washington and Yale university; and

     WHEREAS, the navy ROTC program was established to provide a broad base of citizens knowledgeable in the arts and sciences of naval warfare, and the program provided an opportunity for young men to undertake careers in the naval profession; and

     WHEREAS, as part of the navy buildup prior to World War II, a decision was made to expand the navy ROTC program; and

     WHEREAS, in the spring of 1941, the university of New Mexico was selected as the location of one of the expansion units; and

     WHEREAS, navy ROTC was chartered at the university of New Mexico on May 10, 1941 and was the first ROTC unit of any United States military service established at the university; and

     WHEREAS, the university of New Mexico's navy ROTC program has maintained the longest on-campus presence, with seventy-five continuous years as of June 27, 2016; and

     WHEREAS, the mission of the navy ROTC unit at the university of New Mexico is to educate, train and commission officers in the United States navy and marine corps; and

     WHEREAS, since 1941, over one thousand eight hundred navy and marine corps officers have been commissioned through the university's navy ROTC program; and

     WHEREAS, officers trained at the university of New Mexico have served in World War II, the Korean conflict and the Vietnam conflict and in Operation Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan; and

     WHEREAS, navy ROTC soldiers continue to serve worldwide today;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that recognition and congratulations be extended to the university of New Mexico's naval reserve officer training corps program on its seventy-fifth anniversary; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the commanding officer of the university of New Mexico's naval reserve officer training corps.

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