Renewing Harvard-Army ties
In a ceremony today at Hilles Hall, Harvard University resumed a connection with the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) that started in 1916. That connection was interrupted when ROTC offices on campus closed during Vietnam War-era protests. In the intervening 40 years, Harvard students at the University continued to join ROTC units at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. For the first time since 1971 an Army ROTC unit now has an office on campus. The official physical presence marks another step in Harvard’s reconnection with the military that began a year ago. Last March, the University announced it would soon welcome ROTC back. In September, a Navy unit opened an office in Hilles. The decision to renew ties with ROTC was predicated on the expiration of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law, which banned gays from the military. The law expired on Sept. 20, 2011. “Today we celebrate the latest chapter in the...