Alumni and Awards
VSU ROTC General Officers
Four Star General Officers
Dennis L. Via
(8th)
1980
Three Star General Officers
Alonzo E. Short, Jr.
(4th)
1962
Two Star General Officers
Ernest R. Morgan
(2nd)
1952
Leo A. Brooks
(3rd)
1954
W. Montague Winfield
(6th)
1975
One Star General Officers
Alfred J. Cade
(1st)
1952
Bert W. Holmes, Jr.
(5th)
1963
Sheila R. Baxter
(7th)
1978
BG Charles R. Hamilton
(9th)
Alfred F. Abramson III
(10th)
1988
BG William L. Thigpen
(11th)
BG James S. Moore Jr
(12th)
Notable Facts
- LTC (Ret) Irene F. Logan, first female commissioned in the ROTC program in 1976.
- COL Sheila R. Baxter, 1978 graduate, is the first female promoted to BG.
- MAJ Ester Sharpe, 1987 graduate, first female from Virginia State University deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation Desert Shield
- COL Velma Richardson, Assistant Professor of Military Science '80-'83, first female from the ROTC Staff promoted to BG.
- LTC (Ret) Veronica L. Baker first female to serve as PMS since the program originated in 1947 by LTC (Ret) Robert M. Hendrick, Jr.
- MG Leo A. Brooks is the father of BG (Ret) Leo A. Brooks, Jr. and GEN Vincent K. Brooks, currently the Commander, U.S. Army Pacific.
Awards
- 2000 General Douglas MacArthur Award, Best Battalion US Army Cadet Command, Medium School Category
- 2009 Thurgood Marshall College Fund Outstanding ROTC Program Award
- 2010 Thurgood Marshall College Fund Outstanding ROTC Program Award
VSU graduate, 1LT Ruppert Sargent, was the first Black officer in history to be awarded the Medal of Honor.
Click here for more information: www.sola.vsu.edu/departments/military-science/trojan-warrior-battalion-rotc/history/medal-of-honor.php.
| VSU ROTC PMS | Years | ||
| 1st | LTC (Ret) Robert M. Hendrick, Jr. | 1947-51 | Deceased |
| 2nd | LTC (Ret) Crawford H. Lydle, Jr. | 1951-54 | Deceased |
| 3rd | LTC (Ret) Clinton C. Burke, Jr. | 1954-57 | Deceased |
| 4th | LTC (Ret) George C. Bingham | 1957-59 | |
| 5th | LTC (Ret) Jesse J. Mayes | 1959-64 | |
| 6th | LTC (Ret) T.J.L. Stephens | 1964-67 | Deceased |
| 7th | LTC (Ret) Phillip Mallory | 1967-68 | Deceased |
| 8th | COL (Ret) Ira Snell | 1968-69 | |
| 9th | LTC (Ret) Napoleon Booker | 1969-70 | |
| 10th | LTC (Ret) Norris F. Dendy | 1971-74 | |
| 11th | LTC (Ret) Jona McKee | 1974-79 | |
| 12th | COL (Ret) Frank E. Underwood | 1979-82 | |
| 13th | COL (Ret) Wilbert M. Dean | 1982-84 | |
| 14th | LTC (Ret) Dan Johnson | 1984-87 | |
| 15th | LTC (Ret) Clarence T. Catchings | 1988-92 | |
| 16th | COL (Ret) Cortez K. Dial | 1992-94 | |
| 17th | LTC (Ret) Michael M. Shackleford | 1994-96 | |
| 18th | LTC (Ret) Larry D. Moore | 1996-97 | |
| 19th | LTC (Ret) Lloyd J. Brown | 1996-97 | |
| 20th | LTC (Ret) Veronica L. Baker | 2002-06 | |
| 21st | LTC (Ret) Jeffrey Garland | 2006-10 | |
| 22nd | LTC Christopher A. Tompkins | 2010-2011 | |
| 23rd | LTC (Ret) Daniel M. Maloney | 2011-2014 | |
| 24th | LTC John P. "JP" Swoopes | 2014-2015 | |
| 25th | LTC David D. Johnson | 2015-2018 | |
| 26th | LTC Tony Wrice | 2018-Present | |
| Approximate Number of ROTC commissionees 1949-2017: 1,640 | |||