PITTSBURG, Kan. — While Pittsburg State has commissioned U.S. Army officers for well over a century, dating back to World War I, it was not until 1952 that a more permanent program was established with the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). First established by Congress in 1916, ROTC has commissioned more than 500,000 officers into the U.S. Army, Army Reserve, and National Guard. The Gorilla Battalion at PSU commissioned 1,379 of those officers.