Battalion History

The East Carolina University ROTC department was started in 1983 as a partnership school with North Carolina State University. In 1997 the Pirate Battalion was activated as an independent program. We have commissioned over 300 lieutenants in our 24 year history. Distinguished officers have commanded battalions in combat and have arisen to the rank of colonel. The size of our commissioning class has been about 14 a year and we are postured for growth. Challenging training remains of key importance as we prepare our Cadets for commissioning. Our Cadets have as many as seven opportunities during the school year to participate in field training exercises. We continue to perform in exceptional manner at the annual Ranger Challenge competition placing either first or second in our Brigade for the past four years. We also perform above the norm in the Leadership Development Course that Cadets attend between their junior and senior years. Two years ago ECU funded the building of a rappel tower at the ECU West Research Campus on the outskirts of Greenville and we are excited to add that new dimension to our program.

Our program currently has 117 Cadets (88 men, 29 women) and has almost doubled in size over the past three years. Our most popular major is nursing and we currently have 20 Cadets in that program. Other popular majors among our Cadets are criminal justice, history, and majors in the fields of health and human performance.

Our mission remains to commission the future officer leadership of the US Army and motivate young people to be better citizens and we will continue to strive to develop better and more effective ways to do so.