Syracuse University is proud of its historical commitment to serving our nation’s veterans. In 2014, Chancellor and President Kent Syverud reaffirmed SU’s commitment to become “the best place for veterans.” The Office of Veterans and Military Affairs was formed to spearhead this mission.

Download a PDF of the Timeline of Veterans at Syracuse.

Historic Overview

World War I

Syracuse University’s commitment to veterans and military students goes back at least as far as World War I, when we established a Students Army Training Corps (SATC). In the summer and fall of 1918, the Students Army Training Corps, part of a federal government military training program, dominated much of life on campus. Winchell Hall, Archbold Gymnasium, and fraternity and sorority houses were converted to barracks. The University built a large mess hall between Sims and Bowne Halls. Members of the SATC took basic training and classes in auto mechanics, telegraphy, and carpentry as well as surveying, foreign languages, and government. Due to the Armistice, the Corps was demobilized in December of 1918, but it is estimated over a thousand men received training at Syracuse University during those brief months. These glass plate negatives show Corps members involved in various activities, such as constructing buildings and working in carpentry and telegraphy classes.

 

Army ROTC

Syracuse University’s Army ROTC Stalwart Battalion traces its lineage to the Students Army Training Corps. The U.S. War Department reorganized the SATC into the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) in 1919 and established a permanent military department at Syracuse University that year.

Colonel Sidney F. Mashbir, the first ROTC commander at Syracuse University, wrote “it should be the aim of Syracuse University to maintain one or more units of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) in order that in time of national emergency there may be a sufficient number of educated men, trained in Military Science and Tactics, to officer and lead intelligently the units of the large armies upon which the safety of the country will depend.”

 

 

 

Photo Gallery from the Syracuse University Archives

 

World War II

The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 – better known as the GI Bill – was one of the most significant pieces of legislation ever enacted by the United States Congress. Along with other provisions, it offered a college education to millions of returning veterans, thus opening new opportunities for them and their families, changing the shape of American society and public life, and transforming the very nature of higher education.The response to the bill was far greater than anyone had predicted. Between 1945 and 1950, the GI Bill supported some 2.3 million students, most of whom would never have been able to get a college education without it.

No university in the country was more closely identified with the GI Bill than Syracuse. Chancellor William P. Tolley served on the Presidential committee whose proposal formed the basis of the legislation. Taking the lead, Tolley also announced Syracuse’s “uniform admissions program,” promising everyone entering the service that there would be places waiting for them at Syracuse when they returned. And when they did return, Syracuse was as good as its word. Although still a small university by national standards, SU ranked first in New York State and 17th in the country in veteran enrollment.

Those years were not easy for anyone – not for the veterans, who were eager (and sometimes impatient) to make up for lost time, and not for the University, which was faced with challenges beyond anything in its history.

Space was at a premium. More than 600 prefab buildings, old barracks, Quonset huts, and trailers covered the campus and surrounding areas. Even so, classrooms were crowded and housing problems were legendary. New programs and curricula had to be developed and social rules had to change. The vets had to adjust to college life, and the students who were already here had to adjust to the vets, whose attitudes were different and whose numbers were overwhelming.

This exhibition, compiled from the University’s Archives and materials contributed by alumni, documents the fact that all those things were accomplished. They were accomplished in what came to be known as Syracuse’s “Can Do Spirit” that prevailed among faculty, staff, and students alike. That spirit of innovation, commitment, and caring – born during the years between 1946 and 1950 – defined a new Syracuse University and set its course to the future. This information is provided by the Syracuse University Archives.

 

Air Force ROTC

Syracuse University’s AFROTC Detachment 535 was established for the 1946-1947 academic year in accordance with US War Department General Order 124. Syracuse is one of the original 77 Air ROTC units established in 1946 by then Chief of Staff of the United States Army Dwight D. Eisenhower. It became known as Air Force ROTC after the Air Force was designated a separate service in 1947.

 

 

Contract Training Programs

Syracuse University has continued serving the military through offering several contract training programs for military personnel.

 

Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) Language Program

In 1951 Syracuse University contracted with the US Air Force Institute of Technology to establish the first Russian language training program for airmen run by a civilian institution. Hundreds of enlisted airmen were trained in intensive 6- to 12-month courses in Russian and other East European Slavic languages until 1971. It operated from 17 aluminum-clad prefabricated wood buildings (M-0 through M-16) along what is now Lambreth Lane on South Campus. Eight buildings were used as barracks housing for enlisted airmen assigned to AFIT Detachment One at Skytop.

 

 

In Memoriam

During the early morning hours of Jan. 6, 1959, fire broke out in barracks M-7, which housed 43 airmen. The fire spread through the wood structure quickly. Seven airmen died in the fire and 19 were hospitalized. A memorial plaque to honor those lost and injured in the fire was installed on October 4, 2013. The memorial was a joint project of Syracuse University and a group of Air Force Security Service airborne reconnaissance veterans known as the Prop Wash Gang.

 

Enduring Partnerships

We currently operate four military contract programs that result in students obtaining graduate degrees. The programs are offered in Comptrollership, Information Studies, Supply Chain Management, and Visual Journalism. More information about these programs can be found here.

 

In addition to degree-granting programs, Syracuse has a number of military focused offerings such as the following:

The National Securities Studies (NSS) was founded in 1996 and is headquartered at top ranked Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. It is a premier professional development program that offers executive education courses for senior civilian and military leaders who are responsible for the national security interests of their respective organizations.

 

The Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism (INSCT) was established in 2003. It is a collaboration between the College of Law and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

 

 

A U.S. Army Signal Center Partnership was established between the iSchool at Syracuse University and the U.S. Army Signal School at the Cyber Center of Excellence (SIGCEN) to allow soldiers to transfer 9 to 15 credits from SIGCEN to the iSchool and complete the remaining requirements online for a master’s degree in Information Management or Telecommunications and Network Management.

 

 

Recognizing that a new generation of veterans would be entering the university, Syracuse University has launched the following initiatives to serve their needs:

The Veterans Resource Center was opened in July 2009 to assist prospective and current students with Veterans Administration and University business matters and provide a welcoming space for veterans on campus. The office and Veterans Lounge is located at 700 University Ave.

 

The Syracuse Veteran’s Writers Group was founded in 2010 to help veterans write stories of life in and out of the military.

The Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) was founded in June 2011. It is the first national center in higher education to focus on the social, economic, education and policy issues affecting veterans and their families post-service.

 

The College of Law opened the Veterans Legal Clinic on January 8, 2015. The Clinic will benefit our veterans and community by assisting with VA claims, representing clients in VA Claim appeals, and helping veterans in upgrading discharges. Priority status will also be given to veterans in existing Clinics, such as Family Law, Bankruptcy, Criminal Defense, Disability Law, Elder Law, Tax Law, and Consumer Law.

 

The Office of Veteran and Military Affairs was established on January 19, 2015, to serve as Syracuse University’s single point of entry for all veteran and military related programs and initiatives. It collaborates and coordinates with all stakeholders to best serve veterans, military connected students, and military family members at Syracuse University.

Syracuse University’s Office for Veteran and Military Affairs and the Department of Athletics were pleased to co-host the reenlistment ceremony for AE1 Justin D. Taylorcole, an active duty Navy Non-Commissioned Officer, on Thursday, July 30, at the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center.

Taylorcole, currently stationed in San Diego, Cal., is originally from Lindley, N.Y. (located in the Southern Tier). He’s been in the Navy for 15 years, having enlisted in April 2000.  In 2011, Taylorcole served on the newly commissioned, nuclear powered Aircraft Carrier, the USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77), where he participated in the ship’s first two deployments.  He is currently serving as an Instructor for the H-60 Seahawk Intermediate level electrical repair course molding the young minds of newly trained technicians fresh out of initial training at the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit North Island in San Diego, Cal.

“I am extremely thankful to Syracuse University for allowing me to have held my NAVY reenlistment ceremony at the Carmelo Center – a place where so much has been accomplished and celebrated,” said Taylorcole, an avid Syracuse University basketball fan who specifically reached out to the University in February 2015, requesting to hold this brief ceremony on campus.

According to Vice Chancellor for Veteran and Military Affairs Mike Haynie, “Holding such a ceremony for Taylorcole and his family on the Syracuse University campus demonstrates Syracuse University’s historic and continued commitment to our military, veterans and their families.”

Major General Jerome Johnson is an alumnus of Syracuse University, and also a military veteran. You should know his story, because it’s a Syracuse University story – one that speaks to our past, our present, and our future.

 

Born in rural Georgia in 1951, Johnson attended Fort Valley State University south of Macon, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Business Administration in 1973, received a commission in the United States Army as a second lieutenant, and met his future wife, Doris. While at Fort Valley State, Johnson was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity, and graduated cum laude and as salutatorian of his class.  From 1973 to 1993, he held a number of different positions, each with different responsibilities. For example, his wide range of experiences stretched from his service as an action officer at the Total Army Personnel Center, a financial management officer at the 21^st Support Command, and as a program analyst for the US Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics.

 

In 1982, Johnson graduated from Syracuse University’s School of Management with a Master’s in Business Administration, following the historic trend of veterans attending SU for Master’s Degrees. While here at SU, Johnson graduated cum laude and as salutatorian of his class. After his time at SU and a one-year fellowship to the US Army Command and General Staff College, Johnson began to work in strategic issues, such as his position as the Chief of Staff and Support Operations Officer for the 3^rd Corps Support Command at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Johnson would later serve in leadership positions with the 227^th Maintenance Battalion, Eighth US Army in South Korea, the 29^th Support Group of the 21^st Theatre Army Area Command in Germany (and also served in Bosnia), and at the Army War Reserve Support Command in Rock Island, Illinois.

 

In 1999, Johnson became a transformative player in the reform of the Army War Reserve Support Command (AWRSPTCMD). Chosen as its Commanding General, Johnson helped transition AWRSPTCMD into the Field Support Command (FSC), which became the “one-stop-shop” for all US Army Materiel customers and consumers. His success at FSC led the Army to appoint him as the Director of Plans, Readiness, and Operations for the US Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics at the Pentagon, in which he managed the logistics aspect of the response to the September 11, 2001 attacks as well as the early stages of US combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. After a similar three year position at the US Army Field Support Command, Johnson was appointed in 2007 as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics (G-4) at the Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) at Fort McPherson in Georgia. While at FORSCOM, Johnson was responsible for all logistical support for the more than 800,000 active and reserve Army personnel as well as 40,000 Department of the Army civilian personnel.

 

Johnson’s career has certainly been an impressive one. Not only have his positions been of major significance, but he’s also been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, and the Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters.

 

Following Johnson’s retirement in 2009, he and his wife Doris are retired in the Washington DC area, where he is the Vice President for Operations and Logistics at Honeywell Technical Solutions.

 

Jerome Johnson is an alumnus of Syracuse University and a veteran of the U.S. military. You should know his story.

Major General Bernard L. Weiss is an alumnus of Syracuse University, and also a military veteran. You should know his story, because it’s a Syracuse University story—one that speaks to our past, our present, and our future.

Growing up in Brooklyn, NY, Weiss was a hometown hero, dedicated from an early age to serving his country in uniform. He attended New York University, where he was a cadet in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Government and education, cum laude, in 1955. Soon after graduating from NYU, Weiss entered the US Air Force as a commissioned officer in 1956, first serving at the New York Air Procurement District in New York City as an administrative contracting officer. Weiss continued to work in Air Force procurement, being transferred in 1958 to the 20^th Tactical Fighter Wing based at Royal Air Force Station in Wethersfield, England, where he served as a base procurement officer. Weiss served in England for two years before returning to the United States, where he was Chief of the Systems Management Division at the Air Defense Command Headquarters in Colorado. While at the Systems Management Division, Weiss was responsible for the procurement and administration of operations contacts supporting the Distant Early Warning line, the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System, and the Spacetrack stations, working closely with Dutch and Canadian officials in these areas.

Weiss’ time in Colorado allowed him to develop his managerial and leadership skills, which would become important for his time at Syracuse University. While at SU, Weiss received a Master’s in Business Administration with honors in 1966 from the SU School of Management through the Air Force Institute of Technology. Having traveled to the East Coast to attend SU, Weiss was transferred back to the West Coast, where he served at the Defense Contract Administration Services Division in Los Angeles, California as a manufacturing officer and plant office chief at Garrett Air Research Corporation. He would later serve as Chief of the Contract Administration Directorate for the region before returning to the East Coast to serve in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Systems and Logistics at the Pentagon. While in Washington DC, he became a procurement staff officer and was responsible for contract policy formulation and implementation for major weapons systems such as the A-10 and F-15. His successes in the office at the Pentagon were incredibly valuable for the Air Force, who decided to transfer him back “into the field” and send him to many Air Force Bases around the country, including Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. While at Andrews and Wright-Patterson, Weiss was in charge of major systems procurement and acquisition programs.

Weiss’ track record of success in systems acquisition for the Air Force definitely helped Weiss move up the chain of command to his second-to-last post at the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Research, Development, and Acquisition. While here, he served as the Director of contracting and manufacturing policy from 1983-1985, where he was responsible for developing contract and manufacturing policy related to all major military systems acquisition. Weiss’ last post was at the Air Force Systems Command at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, where he served as Commander of the Air Force Contract Management Division. He was responsible in this post for the administration of major weapons systems acquisition contracts within the United States. He remained in New Mexico from 1985 until his retirement from the Air Force in 1988.

Weiss has received many commendations from the Air Force, from the Distinguished Service Medal and the Legion of Merit with two oak clusters to the Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters and the Meritorious Service Award. He is also a Fellow of the National Contract Manager Association, where he served on the Board of Directors.

Major General Bernard L. Weiss is an alumnus of Syracuse University, and a veteran of the U.S. military. You should know his story.

John A. Williams is an alumnus of Syracuse University, and also a military veteran. You should know his story, because it’s a Syracuse University story—one that speaks to our past, our present, and our future.

Williams was born December 5^th, 1925 in Jackson, Mississippi. As a young child he and his family moved to Syracuse, NY where he grew up the oldest of 4 children. There, he attended local public schools and left before graduating from Central High School (where he played football, basketball and ran track) to enlist in the Navy in 1943 during World War II. Williams served as a medical corpsman in the Pacific Theater and was honorably discharged in 1946.

After his service, Williams came back to Syracuse to finish his secondary schooling at a Vocational High School in the city. He then attended Syracuse University on the GI Bill where he earned degrees in Journalism and English, graduating in 1950. During his time at Syracuse University Williams discovered his passion for writing and his professors encouraged that career path. “It was something he liked, but not something he imagined he could be”, his son Dennis said. His time at Syracuse University set the course for the rest of his life.

Williams did not get into the world of journalism directly following school. He first spent time working several public relations positions before landing a job with Ebony and Jet magazines as a European correspondent and briefly covered Africa for Newsweek in the mid-1960s. Williams soon realized that journalism was not meant for him. He felt the profession was only going to take him so far and was looking for more. As he did in college, Williams took to writing.

Williams began his writing career while still working as a journalist. He wrote 21 books, 13 novels, several of them were created based on his experiences growing up in Syracuse. In 1967 Williams wrote the classic bestseller, The Man Who Cried I Am and in 1998, his book Safari West won the American Book Award.

Throughout Williams’s professional career he held many different teaching positions at many different Universities and Colleges; College of the Virgin Islands, the City College of New York, Sarah Lawrence College, University of California at Santa Barbara, La Guardia Community College, the University of Hawaii, Boston University and Rutgers University. In 1970, he received the Syracuse University Centennial Medal for Outstanding Achievement and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Syracuse in 1995. While at Rutgers, Williams was named the Paul Robeson Professor of English and retired in 1994.

Williams passed away July 3^rd, 2015 in Paramus, NJ. He was 89.

John A. Williams is an alumnus of Syracuse University, and a veteran of the U.S. military. You should know his story.

Major General Donald D. Brown is an alumnus of Syracuse University, and also a military veteran. You should know his story, because it’s a Syracuse University story—one that speaks to our past, our present, and our future.

Brown was born in 1931 in Montreal, Quebec and grew up in Canada before leaving to come to the United States for his undergraduate education. Leaving one big city and going to another, Brown attended Columbia University and participated in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program, eventually earning his BA in 1955 and receiving a commission in the United States Air Force. Brown’s first mission in 1956 was flying C-118s over the North Atlantic from McGuire Air Force Base, NJ with the 18^th Air Transport Squadron. Brown really enjoyed this assignment, flying the C-118s for six years before becoming a flight instructor at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma in 1964. Before returning to the Air Force, Brown attended Syracuse University’s School of Management, where he received a Master’s in Business Administration in 1965.

Brown’s career as a flight pilot in New Jersey and Oklahoma took him to distant places he’d heard about as a child in Canada. He was assigned to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam from 1966-1968 as the assistant base supply officer, eventually becoming the base supply officer. His travels also took him to Vietnam, where he served from 1968-1969 as the squadron chief for the 315^th Special Operations Wing, based out of Phan Rang Air Base in southern Vietnam. Brown’s successes in Vietnam and Guam, in addition to his time in Oklahoma and his return to McGuire as the commander of the 30^th Military Airlift Squadron, led to his appointment to the Military Airlift Command headquarters at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois in 1973. While in Illinois, Brown was director of logistics from 1973-1975, and later the assistant deputy chief of staff for logistics from 1975-1976.

As Brown continued to fly, his career continued to climb as well! In 1977 Brown was assigned as the vice commander of the 62^nd Military Airlift Wing out of McCord Air Force Base in Washington, a post which he held until 1979 when he was transferred to Scott Air Force Base, where he eventually became the deputy chief of staff for plans in 1980. Under his tenure at Military Airlift Command, Brown was responsible for all long-range planning for the command, which consisted of over 92,000 personnel at more than 300 locations in 24 countries. If that wasn’t impressive enough, Brown was promoted to deputy chief of staff for operations at Military Airlift Command, responsible for all flying operations worldwide and assumed that position in 1984! Missions under his command include Operation Just Cause in Panama at Christmas, 1989 and airlifting personnel to Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War in 1990.

Brown’s last assignment was as the Commander of the 22^nd Air Force, Military Airlift Command, stationed at Travis Air Force Base in California from 1984 to his retirement in 1987. The 22^nd Air Force’s missions have a wide geographic scope, from the Mississippi River to Eastern Africa and from the Arctic Ocean to Antarctica. He was responsible for over 20,000 personnel who perform airlift missions around the world. Brown has also won many awards and commendations from the Air Force, such as the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf clusters, and the Bronze Star Medal. His 146 combat missions in Vietnam were recognized with the Republic of Vietnam’s Gallantry Cross with palms. Brown was inducted into the Order of the Sword, the highest honor awarded within the US Air Force, in 1987.

Currently, Brown resides in Tacoma, Washington, where he is on the Board of Directors for the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra.

Major General Donald D. Brown is an alumnus of Syracuse University and a veteran of the U.S. military. You should know his story.