ODU ROTC Set Enrollment Records

Old Dominion University's Reserve Officer Training Corps units have set new freshman enrollment records for the 2008-09 school year.

The ODU Army ROTC Monarch Battalion is expected to have 220 cadets, including 101 freshmen, enrolled this fall. Last year, the unit ranked sixth in the nation among the Army's 273 ROTC host institutions.

Lt. Col. William Brown will again lead the battalion staff as commanding officer and professor of military science and leadership. Cadet Teron Alford, of Raleigh, N.C., will serve as student battalion commander.

The ODU Navy ROTC unit welcomes 64 new midshipmen, officer and Marine Corps candidates this fall, increasing the ranks to a total of 216 students. Many of these new students are former enlisted personnel with combat experience. The majority of freshman midshipmen entering the program directly from high school have been selected for full NROTC national scholarships.

Capt. Michael Barea, a naval aviator who recently returned from duty in the Middle East, will lead the Navy program. Officer candidate Derek Cribs, of Jacksonville, Fla., has been selected as the NROTC Hampton Roads Battalion commander and will oversee Navy ROTC students on the Old Dominion, Norfolk State and Hampton university campuses.