ATLANTA, GA

A History of Success, and Leadership

Atlanta – It has been 20 years, since Lieutenant Colonel Gerald Carter was last on the stage at Sale Hall. In that time he’s been to Iraq four times, earned a bronze star, and been promoted, repeatedly. He’s the type of Marine other Marines look up to.

Today, just five days after returning from his latest combat tour, Lt. Col. Carter is joining four other members of his college class to celebrate their time in the NROTC program that called this hall home.  Walking up to the stage in a small auditorium on the campus of Morehouse College he struggles to suppress a laugh.

“There’s a ton of my sweat right here in these floor boards,” he said. “I get goose bumps just walking in here.”

“This building was the center of our universe,” added Lt. Colonel Dave Burton.

They are gathered on the stage with two other lieutenant colonels, Tony Smith and Alphonso Trimble, and Major Stacey Taylor to mark a remarkable anniversary, 20 years since four historically black colleges in Atlanta secured their own NROTC program. Until then the program for the historically black colleges of Morehouse, Clark Atlanta, Morris Brown and Spellman had been an off-shoot of Georgia Tech’s program.

The NROTC program on the Atlanta campuses is notable, not only for the historical significance of the civil rights movement that took root here, but also for the success mid-shipman have gone on to achieve.

In the 20 years since these officers were in NROTC six members of their class have gone on to achieve commanding officer positions in the Marine Corps. That is the equivalent of a business school class boasting of the CEOs that have emerged from its ranks.

“We are the return on the investment so many made on us 20 years ago,” Maj. Taylor said. “Now we’re here to invest in the next generation.”

Sale Hall on the Morehouse campus housed the unit’s offices. The auditorium, back then, was their gym. Today the auditorium is called a Chapel for Inward Journey. The activities inside may be different, but the goal hasn’t changed.

“This is the breeding ground of leadership,” Lt. Col. Carter said. “From these halls emerge the stewards of the African-American community.”

The five Marines, along with a handful of others who have made the homecoming, spent a week talking to classes, meeting with current NROTC members, even speaking at nearby high schools. They have been reminded that there are those who don’t believe black colleges and universities should promote ROTC programs, let alone a career in the military, said Lt. Col. Trimble.

“These colleges were involved deeply in the civil rights movement and leadership in the black community. Those were lessons in propensity to serve a greater good,” Lt. Col. Burton said. “We have to explain how that translates easily into military service. As a Marine you learn early on that it’s not about you. It’s about something bigger than you.”

In one class he visited, a student asked Lt. Col. Carter why he’s stayed in the Marine Corps. With a degree in banking and finance, he would have made a lot of money in the private sector, the young man pointed out. Lt. Col. Carter tried to explain that his career as a Marine has given him so much more.

“I would challenge you to find anywhere in corporate America a bond so strong as you find right here,” Lt. Col. Carter said, gesturing to the men around him, then Sale Hall itself. “I owe what I am to these men around me and the Marines I’ve served with since then.”

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