Murfreesboro, TN - At 92, retired U.S. Army Col. Charles Loyd “Charlie” Pigg of Murfreesboro was the oldest living Middle Tennessee State University Army ROTC alumnus attending the 75th anniversary of the storied program.
Pigg joined about 150 people this past Thursday (4/10/2025) at the Veterans Memorial site outside the Tom H. Jackson Building on the west side of campus to celebrate the historic occasion.
Told the ROTC story on WGNS
Retired Colonel Rickey Smith and Lieutenant Colonel Arlin Wilsher were on WGNS to share the MTSU ROTC 75th anniversary celebration story.
Since 1950, MTSU has provided over 1,600 officers, including 17 current or retired general officers, to serve the nation. Many alumni have served in the three components — Army, National Guard and Army Reserve — with duty assignments around the globe.
Part of its rich history is three times — 1978 (among 283 colleges and universities), 2001 and 2006 (best medium-sized cadet battalion) — being named the No. 1 program in the nation, and second in 1979. ROTC is an acronym for Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.
Watch video from the event here: https://youtu.be/xXx8VrtF8D4
“It was new and something different, another avenue of learning,” said Pigg, who later returned to MTSU to work, spending 28 years as a Campus Planning engineer until retiring in 1992. “I liked the regimentation and discipline.”
Provost Mark Byrnes said that “the longevity and success of our ROTC program is a proud testament to the Army; the support by a succession of university administration; and, of course, the caliber of the cadets who stepped forward to serve their country and receive commissions as officers.”
Byrnes acknowledged MTSU’s “support of those who serve our nation also extends to the great work of the Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center, the largest and most comprehensive veterans center on any higher education campus, which provided support to today’s anniversary event.”
Alumnus and retired Maj. Gen. Max Haston gave the history of the ROTC program, which began in 1950, and added “the past 75 years are a preview of coming attractions.” Cadet battalion commander George Jouny read a state proclamation.
Eight ROTC alumni killed in action were recognized; another six pre-ROTC era students from what was then Middle Tennessee State College also died while serving their country and are listed on the Veterans Memorial wall.
MTSU general officers, all retired, who attended included Brig. Gens. Les Fuller, Pat O’Neal and David Ogg, and Maj. Gen. James “Jim” Myles, who was announced as MTSU’s nominee for the National Army ROTC Hall of Fame.
Inside Cantrell Hall, where a special cake ceremony took place, two tables featured time capsule items, one from 2005 dug up this week and the other to be placed in the ground.
Leading the current ROTC program is U.S. Army Lt. Col. Arlin Wilsher, professor of military science, which is one of 11 College of Basic and Applied Sciences departments.
Hall of Fame inductees
Retired U.S. Army Col. Rickey Smith, the last former cadet to be inducted into the MTSU ROTC Hall of Fame, led the hall inductions for Meg Kelm of Oakton, Virginia, and retired Col. Joseph M. “Jay” Harmon III of Mooresburg, Tennessee.
“ROTC shaped me,” said Kelm, who utilized an ROTC scholarship to attend MTSU and was thankful for family members being able to attend. “This is such a huge honor. I’m proud of my career and proud of my continued service.”
Harmon said it was “an unbelievable honor and privilege” to be recognized. “ROTC funded my education. It encouraged personal growth.”
Harmon is the former deputy to the Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence. Kelm is director for counterintelligence, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
