The FEU ROTC Unit has a glorious history. Its graduates fought against the Japanese horders all over the Archipelago, witnessed the fall of Bataan and Corregidor, shared the bitternes of the Death March, and helped in the Liberation of the Philippines. It has also contributed its share in the defense against communism overseas in Korea. Among them were LIEUTENANTS COSME ACOSTA and APPOLO TIANO who gallantly gave up their lives for the cause of freedom and democracy in that part of the world. As a living memory of these two young FEU heroes, two of the halls in Philippine Army School Center, adjacent to Baromeo Hall in Fort Bonifacio were named after them. Others lived to tell of heroism during the height of the Korean War.
After the War on 13 September 1946, the FEU ROTC Unit was reactivated pursuant to Section 1, General Order Nr. 328, Army Headquarters, Camp Murphy Quezon City, restored into the folds of the Manila ROTC and PMT Units, Philippine Army whose headquarters was then located at Port Area Manila.
Actual training however, started only during 1st semester of 1947. With an initial enrollment of 79 cadets, it has grown steadily until it become the biggest ROTC Unit in the Far East. However, in 1965, the school administration believed that the school population had reached the point of unmanageable proportion, thus thought it wise to adopt the policy of selective admission of students throughout the school, consequently reducing also the ROTC strength to what it is at present with from 7,000 to 8,000 cadets every semester.
To offer its cadets the best in training, the unit kept space with time and progress by continually updating its equipment and facilities and by staffing its department, in addition to organically assigned Regular Commissioned Officers and Enlisted Personnel, with top quality ROTC Alumni who are Commissioned Officers as instructors and tactical officers.
During the early part of its reactivation, the unit was initially occupying a make shift tent in the campus for its headquarters. A few years later, it acquired a one storey building and two small armories vacated by US liberation forces.
From scratch the FEU ROTC Unit saw a great change. With a building exclusively for its own it was able to maintain well kept neat and tidy headquarters, the Department of Military Science and Tactics (DMST) and Corps Headquarters. Charts are well posted and maintained up-to-date. Records of cadets/cadettes are efficiently filed and kept. It has the honor and distinction of having the rating of Excellence in set up and in internal administration by the Army Inspector General.
The DMST and Corps of Cadets/Cadettes are presently in two floors at Nicanor Reyes Hall with the office of the Commandant and Staff and the Corps Headquarters at the Mezzanine and the admin section in the ground floor. The unit armory located under the campus grandstand, is one of the most secured armories. It is made of solid concrete, with doors and windows equipped with steel bars. (This armory is temporarily used as Security Fire Brigade of the University since anyway all the firearms of all ROTC Units are presently stored at Fort Bonifacio.)
In April 1976, the FEU ROTC/WATC Unit was placed under the folds of the Metropolitan Citizen Military Training Command (MCMTC) pursuant to General Order Nr. 662, General Headquarters Armed Forces of the Philippines dated 30 March 1976. This implemented the reorganization of the Army, Constabulary, Navy and Airforce ROTC Units in the Greater Manila Area into an integraded Command. Many of its accomplishments are unrecorded. However, some are still remembered vividly. To summarize - them the following are its achievements if you may call it that:
PRE - WAR YEARS
1938-39 - 1st PLACE in wall Scalling during the Annual ROTC Field Meet.
1940-41 - 1st PLACE in Shelter Tent Drill and Close Order drill during the Annual ROTC
Field Meet
