About

The Fighting Illini Battalion

The Fighting Illini Army ROTC Battalion is part of a military training tradition at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign dating to the University’s opening in 1868. Today, the Department of Military Science provides Army ROTC instruction and leadership development for cadets at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Eastern Illinois University.

Army ROTC combines Military Science coursework with leadership laboratories, physical training, field training, and other military training opportunities. Cadets develop and practice leadership while completing their university degrees and preparing to commission as officers in the U.S. Army, Army Reserve, or Army National Guard.

Illinois’ military tradition predates the establishment of the modern ROTC program. Following the creation of ROTC through the National Defense Act of 1916, ROTC began full operations at Illinois in 1919. Today, Army ROTC continues that tradition by preparing students for service as Army officers.