All ROTC Branches Get Pay Hike Air Science Cut from 4 to 2 Years

The present four-year Air Force ROTC program will be cut to two-years, as a result of the ROTC Revitalization bill which President Johnson will probably sign tomorrow.

Students in the Army and Navy programs will continue to take the longer training course, however.

The change, which will take effect immediately upon the signing, will be accompanied by a term-time pay raise from $27 to $40 per month for juniors and seniors in all ROTC programs. Pay for summer exercises will increase from $78 to $121 per month. In addition, all ROTC members will be authorized to travel on Air Force planes.

Lt. Col Edward McL. Lyman, professor of Air Science, said yesterday that he had received approval from the Committee on Educational Policy to shorten the program. He added that all Air Force drill sessions and leadership labs will be discontinued after Monday.

Under the new system, a student wishing to join AFROTC will apply in the spring of his sophomore year. The following sumer he will attend a six-week training camp, which will fulfill all drill requirements. He will take one full ROTC course in both his junior and senior year, and upon graduation will receive commission as a second lieutenant.

Juniors Participate

Freshmen who have enrolled in AFROTC will be allowed to delay their participation in the program until their junior year. Upperclassmen who are now in AFROTC will be required to wear their uniform to only one class per week.

The Army and Navy ROTC have no plans for conversion to a two year course, although this option will be open to them when the bill is signed. Capt. Edward A. Rodgers, professor of Naval Science and Naval Property Custodian, indicated that his department preferred the more comprehensive four-year course, which enables it to graduate an ensign immediately ready for service.

Rodgers said that, for the present, the Navy Department was "satisfied with the product of Naval ROTC." He added, however, "competition in recruiting may be so rough that they'll change to the two-year plan."

All three ROTC departments indicated they would implement the salary increase with the next monthly paycheck.

Scholarship Program

The bill aso authorizes a scholarship program for ROTC students in colleges, providing up to $850 a year for tuition and books. This program will not apply, however, to services electing to convert to the two-year plan.

The measure, which passed the House by a voice vote Wednesday, also orders the Defense Department to expand the Junior ROTC program for the nation's high schools.