U.S. Army Lt. Col. Gary Morea of Georgia Southern University's ROTC program, known as the Eagle Battalion, and GSU RTC Cadet Matthew Horne react to Horne being ranked No. 4 among all cadets nationwide in this video.
United States Army Cadet Command, which oversees all Army ROTC programs nationwide, recently announced the top 10 Cadets on the 2015 Fiscal Year's national Order of Merit List.
Of the 5,617 cadets expected to graduate and commission between fall 2014 and summer 2015, Georgia Southern University Cadet Matthew Horne ranks fourth nationally. Horne is an international studies major from Stedman, North Carolina, and currently holds a 3.94 GPA.
The rankings are based on a number of criteria including college GPA, Army Physical Fitness Tests and athletic performances, Battalion Order of Merit Lists and ROTC training evaluations held at the Battalion level and at the Leader Development and Assessment Course held at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Horne serves as the commander for Task Force SEGA, which encompasses both the Eagle Battalion at Georgia Southern and the Coastal Battalion. The Coastal Battalion is composed of cadets from Georgia Southern's partnership schools — Armstrong State University, Savannah State University, Savannah College of Art and Design and East Georgia State College.
Horne was also on the football team during his freshman year and currently serves as the treasurer for the university's Arabic Club and the head delegate for the school's first Model Arab League team, which will compete in the spring. He has been named to the President's List for the past five semesters, and was a recipient of a three-year ROTC scholarship and the Bothwell "Snag" Johnson ROTC Scholarship at Georgia Southern.
He is the only representative from U.S. Army Cadet Command's Sixth Brigade, which spans the Southeast. Horne will commission in May as an active-duty infantry officer.