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ROTC at Virginia Tech

ROTC enrollment numbers, which dwindled on campuses during the heights of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, are soaring as U.S. commitments overseas scale down and the economy falters. Army ROTC enrollment has surged 50 percent since the 2005-06 school year to a recent high of 36,000 — higher even than the post-Sept. 11 surge. Virginia Tech in Blacksburg has its highest ROTC enrollment since the 1950s.

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Oct. 22, 2012

Cadet Forrest Rush, 20, of Christiansburg, Va., right, receives a report outside Virginia Tech’s Lane Hall in Blacksburg. The Corps of Cadets enrollment is at its highest levels since the Corps became optional.

Ryan Stone / For The Washington Post

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