Six University of Wisconsin-Stout seniors received both their diplomas and their commissions as U.S. Army officers on Saturday in Menomonie.
The five men and one woman took their oaths as commissioned officers on the graduation stage in Johnson Fieldhouse and received a standing ovation from the audience. It was the first time the oaths were part of the university’s commencement event.
The new second lieutenants were formally commissioned in a later ceremony outside the Memorial Student Center. They will be assigned to units ranging from the Infantry Corps to the Army’s Cyber Corps.
Nathaniel Hitchcock, a business administration major from Mason, was one of two graduating cadets to be awarded the title of Distinguished Military Graduate by the U.S. Army Cadet Command. The other was Cole Quednow, a construction major from Ogema who will report to the Army’s Aviation Corps. Hitchcock has been assigned to the Engineer Corps in the Wisconsin Army National Guard.
Army ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) is a program of study that combines electives in military science with practical leadership training as preparation to become Army officers. Graduates of the program receive a commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, the Army Reserve or the Army National Guard.
The UW-Stout ROTC program is part of the Northwoods Battalion, which also includes programs at UW-Eau Claire, UW-Stevens Point and UW-River Falls.