Georgia Southern University ROTC Cadet Ranks Fourth in Nation

United States Army Cadet Command, which oversees all Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) programs nationwide, recently announced the top 10 Cadets on the 2015 Fiscal Year’s national Order of Merit List (OML). The rankings are based on a number of criteria; including college grade point averages, Army Physical Fitness Tests and athletic performances, Battalion OMLs, and ROTC training evaluations held at the Battalion level and at the Leader Development and Assessment Course held at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Of the 5,617 Cadets expected to graduate and commission between Fall 2014 and Summer 2015, Georgia Southern University Cadet Matthew Horne ranks fourth nationally.  Horne is an International Studies major from Stedman, North Carolina and currently holds a 3.94 GPA. Horne serves as the Commander for Task Force SEGA, which encompasses both the Eagle Battalion at Georgia Southern University and the Coastal Battalion. The Coastal Battalion is comprised of Cadets from Georgia Southern’s partnership schools – Armstrong State University, Savannah State University, Savannah College of Art and Design and East Georgia State College. Horne was also a member of the Georgia Southern football program during his freshman year and currently serves as the treasurer for the Georgia Southern University Arabic Club and the head delegate for the school’s first Model Arab League team, which will compete in the Spring.  He has been named to the President’s List for the past five semesters, and was a recipient of a three year ROTC scholarship and the Bothwell “Snag” Johnson ROTC Scholarship at Georgia Southern. He is the only representative from USACC Sixth Brigade, which spans the Southeastern United States.  Horne will commission in May 2015 as an active duty Infantry Officer. Georgia Southern University, a public Carnegie Doctoral/Research University founded in 1906, offers more than 125-degree programs serving more than 20,500 students. Through eight colleges, the University offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs built on more than a century of academic achievement.  Georgia Southern is recognized for its student-centered and hands-on approach to education.