page_title: Penn State Army ROTC
section_title: Advanced course
hierarchical_section_title: Penn State Army ROTC / Course of instruction / Advanced course
caption_attribution_description: English: PSU AROTC Cadets Practice Force on Force
context_page_description: The Penn State Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps is the ROTC department at The Pennsylvania State University. It is the largest branch of the ROTC program at the school, which also has Naval ROTC and Air Force ROTC.
  The Penn State ROTC Battalion is one of the 41 participating battalions in the 2nd Reserve Officers' Training Corps Brigade, also known as the Freedom Brigade. The brigade is headquartered at Fort Dix, NJ, and comprises ROTC programs in the North Eastern United States including CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, and VT.
context_section_description: Military Science III Year (MSIII)
  The third year marks the beginning of the Advanced Course.  This is where most cadets must contract with the Army to continue in the program.  Cadets may be eligible for the Advanced Course if the following criteria are met:
  The cadet has prior military service OR
  The cadet took three or more years of JROTC in high school OR
  The cadet has completed the first two years of the program (Basic Course) OR
  The cadet has graduated the Leaders Training Course (formerly Basic Camp) at Ft. Knox AND
  The cadet has completed 54 credits (at least 60 preferred) of college coursework.
  The course sequence in this year is mainly focused on the application of leadership and small-unit tactics.  Cadets are assigned rotating leadership positions within the School Battalion and are evaluated on their performance and leadership abilities while in those positions.  Third-year cadets practice briefing operations orders, executing small-unit tactics, leading and participating in physical training, and preparing for successful performance at the four-week Leader Development and Assessment Course during the summer following the third year.  Under current regulations, unless the cadet is in the Nursing program, attendance at the course is mandatory (in the past, Ranger School was offered as an alternative to select cadets).
  Cadet Leadership Course (CLC)
  Also at Fort Knox, CLC is a new style of training from the formerly LDAC. At three weeks long, Cadets are trained and instructed on leadership abilities, in class and field. Additionally, Cadets take three primary assessment tests which go into their point value on the Order of Merit List.
  Military Science IV Year (MSIV)
  This is the final year of the ROTC program and the main focus is towards preparing cadets to become successful lieutenants in the Army upon graduation and commissioning.  Senior cadets apply for their branches (career fields). Senior cadets apply before end of their third year but have until mid September to make any changes before they are locked in. In early September, cadets are notified of which service and status they were granted (e.g., Regular Army, Army Reserve, Army National Guard; as well as whether they will be active duty or not). The next thing they will be notified is the branch of choice in mid October. Last but not least, cadets will be given their requested first duty location from late March through early April. In the meantime, senior cadets are assigned cadet battalion staff positions and are responsible for evaluating MS III cadets, planning and coordinating training operations and missions. MSL IV's main goal is to teach and train MSL I, II and III cadets as well as be a mentor and establish sustainable systems to meet all requirements and provide quality training designed to develop and prepare the best leaders for United States Army.
caption: Penn State Army ROTC Cadet takes aim during a Field Training Exercise
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XSi", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2009:12:04 17:55:55", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "196", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "9648", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6956", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/30", "EXIF FNumber": "5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "800", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2009:12:04 17:55:55", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2009:12:04 17:55:55", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "5", "EXIF ApertureValue": "37/8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "CenterWeightedAverage", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "109", "EXIF SubSecTime": "03", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "03", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "03", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4272", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2848", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "9506", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "2136000/439", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "356000/73", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Manual", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}