For the second time in three years, the Northwoods Battalion was awarded the 2017 Overall Top Program by the 3rd Army ROTC Brigade on Jan. 11, 2018. The Northwoods Battalion–comprised of UW-Stevens Point and its partner ROTC programs at UW-Stout, UW-River Falls and UW-Eau Claire–competed against 42 programs stretching from Northern Michigan to Southern Missouri to earn this honor.
The Overall Top Program award is decided by metrics in four areas: logistics, administration, recruiting and retention, and operations. The Northwoods Battalion also placed second in the training excellence category for the Cadet Summer Training (CST) program.
The categories of logistics, administration, recruiting and retention rate the program’s administration, while the operations category assess the student cadets in terms of GPA, physical fitness and leadership as measured by their placement on the nationwide Order of Merit List.
“We’re extremely proud to receive this award because it is a reflection of all the hard work and dedication from both the cadets and cadre,” said Major Wendy Tokach, professor of military science at UW-Stevens Point. “Even though we’re from a small university in Wisconsin, our program is out-performing some big name Midwest schools. Because we are performing so well, our cadets are getting their top choice of branches and duty stations once they commission as second lieutenants. We couldn’t have done this without such great support from UW-Stevens Point and our local community as well.”