Scabbard and Blade (S&B) is an American collegiate military honor society founded at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

in 1904. It was founded as a men's organization and later became a co-educational society. Membership is for

Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

(ROTC) cadets and midshipmen of all military services. Scabbard and Blade also has a Junior Program for

Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) is a federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools across the United States and at US military bases across the world. The progr ...

(JROTC) cadets and midshipmen. S&B was a member of the

Association of College Honor Societies The Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS) is a voluntary association of national collegiate and post-graduate honor societies. It was established on December 30, 1925 by six organizations: Alpha Omega Alpha, the Order of the Coif, Phi B ...

. By 2021, all collegiate companies (chapters) went inactive, but the society continued to initiate members through the national organization.

History

Scabbard and Blade was founded in 1904 at the

in Madison, Wisconsin. Its founders were five senior officers in the

(ROTC): Leo M. Cook, Albert W. Foster, Victor R. Griggs, Charles A. Taylor, and Harold K. Weld. The society's mission was "developing aspiring and current military officers that emulate the Five Star qualities while fostering strong joint-service relationships". Although membership is open to

(ROTC) cadets and midshipmen of all military services, the society was modeled after the U.S. Army. Its founding chapter was designated 1st Regiment, Company A. In 1905, Company B was established at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

. This was followed by Company C at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

and Company D at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

in 1906. By 1915, S&B had fifteen companies and had initiated 866 members. Its first national convention was held in Madison, Wisconsin, on May 11, 1906, and included representatives of the society's four companies. Conventions were annual until April 1916, when S&B ceased operations due to

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and were reestablished in February 1920. After the 1920 meeting, conventions were held biannually. In 1921, S&B had initiated 2,900 members; this had grown to 14,300 members by 1930. According to its 1940 directory, S&B had 31,980 members.Robson, John, ed. (1963). ''Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities'' (17th ed.). Menasha, Wisconsin: The Collegiate Press, George Banta Company, Inc. pp. 690-691. As with World War I, the society was inactive during World War II when there were no courses of military training in universities and colleges because all able-bodied men were in the service. After 70 companies had been reactivated, a national convention was held in November 1947. S&B had 51,000 total initiates by 1950 and 107,000 by 1960. The society had grown 150 active chapters or companies active companies, 20 inactive companies, and 89,154 total members in 1962. Scabbard and Blade was founded as a men's organization and became a co-educational society. Before going coed, it sponsored auxiliaries and support organizations for women, including Guidon, Blades, and the National Organization of L'Esprit de Corps, founded in 1971. It had grown to around 130,000 members by 1981. S&B became a member of the

in 2010. In February 2012, it had 59 collegiate chapters and 449 members. In 2014, there were some 137,000 cadet officers. Around 2021, the national society closed all collegiate companies (chapters) but continued to initiate members through the national organization. A new company was formed at

Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach is a residential campus of Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University, a private university focused on aviation and aerospace programs, and it is located in Daytona Beach, Florida. The universi ...

around 2024. Its national headquarters is located in

Stillwater, Oklahoma Stillwater is the tenth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and the county seat of Payne County, Oklahoma, Payne County. It is located in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. Route 177#Oklahoma, U.S. Route 177 and Oklahoma S ...

Symbols

Scabbard and Blade's five stars or pillars is honor, leadership, professionalism, officership, and unity. The Scabbard and Blade badge is a gold American eagle, holding a shield over its breast, crossed with two swords. The scabbard features small jewels that represented five stars. The society's colors are red, white, and blue. Its membership bar is red on its top half and blue on its bottom half, with five silver stars along the line between the two colors. Its citation cord is mostly red, interwoven with blue, and was worn on the left shoulder. Its quarterly publication was originally called ''Scabbard & Blade Journal'' and was later called ''Scabbard & Blade Today''.

Membership

Membership in Scabbard and Blade is for life. Its membership categories are active, alumni, associate, and honorary. Associate members include active or retired commissioned officers who did not join the society during college or civilian college officials. Honorary memberships are awarded to civilians for accomplishments and contributions to national defense.

ROTC

Members must be an ROTC student in at least their second semester, preferably in their junior or senior year. They must rank in the top twenty percent of their unit commander's Order of Merit Listing or have a 3.5

GPA Grading in education is the application of standardized measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentages, or as num ...

. Candidates also need a letter of nomination from their ROTC unit's commander and take a pledge to become a commissioned officer in the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

JROTC

There are two membership levels for a JROTC Company: junior membership and distinguished junior membership. Junior membership is open to active JROTC students who are juniors or seniors in high school and are in the top twenty percent of their class with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Distinguished junior membership is only open to JROTC students who are active junior members in S&B.

Chapters

Governance

Scabbard and Blade consists of three organizations: the National Society of Scabbard and Blade, the National Honor Society of Scabbard and Blade, and Scabbard and Blade Endowment Resources. The latter is a nonprofit corporation that raises funds and endowments to support the ROTC principles.

Officers

The chapters of Scabbard and Blade are called companies. Companies are organized into regiments by geographic local and order of establishment. Each Scabbard and Blade company has a faculty or school staff member who serves as the company advisor. In addition, each company is required to have the following officers: *Company captain (commander) *Company 1st lieutenant (vice commander) *Company 2nd lieutenant (finance officer) *Company first sergeant (executive officer)

References

External links

Scabbard and Blade official website
{{Professional Fraternities Student organizations established in 1904 ROTC programs in the United States University of Wisconsin–Madison Former members of Professional Fraternity Association 1904 establishments in Wisconsin Professional military fraternities and sororities in the United States Defunct fraternities and sororities Former members of Association of College Honor Societies