An allotment of $1.1 million in federal funds has been earmarked for the inaugural Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Manoa.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, noted the funds were included in the spending agreement signed into law by the president this month.
“This new ROTC program at UH will give more Hawai‘i students a chance at earning scholarships and gaining an education while helping the Navy strengthen its diversity to make sure its officers better reflect the American public and our values in Hawai‘i,” Schatz, lead Democrat on the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, said.
The Navy ROTC program would train students to become commissioned officers and enable more Hawai‘i students to attend college and serve their country.
Schatz met with Navy Secretary Richard Spencer earlier this year, officials said, encouraging the use of additional congressional funding for the Navy’s ROTC program to be established at the university.
Schatz maintained senior Navy leaders in Hawai‘i have historically advocated the university’s potential to commission a significant number of high-quality cadets with critical language and technical skills from among an ethnically and racially diverse student body.