It was the schoolyear 1994-1995 when the 247th Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps received notice of the requirement to provide a battalion sized unit to compete in the Annual General Tactical Inspection (AGTI)  of the Naval Reserve Command.

The Corps leadership summonned it's best officers and gave them the responsibility of accomplishing that mission with one stern reminder: There was no substitute for victory in the inspection.

The officers were perplexed. There was enormous talent within the five officers assigned to the unit. But the big question was, how are we to have enough men to fill the requirement? We needed to maintain at least 150 midshipmen to fill the posts and retain at least 99% of them for four trimesters.

The first thing that came to our minds is that we need volunteers due to the intensity of the training we would be required to undergo (Both Officers and Midshipmen). Now this was a big problem because we also found the apathy to the ROTC program deeply embedded in the students' minds. Since they set foot as freshmen in the university, they already heard negative things about the program from older students and that was the cause of their anxiety.

So volunteers eventually became crossed out as an option. We had to form the unit and accomplish the mission with regular midshipmen who are normally expected to be reluctant and uncooperative.

Nevertheless, with the grace of God, our mission was accomplished with flying colors.

One may ask how? It is within these pages that you will find the story of the Escort and Honor "Model" Battalion of 1994-1995.

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