Founded in 1904 by five cadet officers at The University of Wisconsin, The National Society of Scabbard and Blade is an organization dedicated to the United States military officers through a variety of programs. Their mission is “...dedicated to developing aspiring and current military officers that emulate the Five Star qualities while fostering strong joint-service relationships.” Their organization’s vision is that their members will “redefine the standard of excellence for all military officers.”

While Scabbard and Blade may not be a household name, the organization might most be recognized by their specific programs: The Junior ROTC (JROTC) and Senior ROTC. According to their website, Scabbard and Blade’s JROTC program “aims to support the planning and accomplishment of JROTC students’ goals and aspirations. Our objective is to help expose these members to opportunities, mentors, and resources that assist them in accomplishing their goals and developing Five Star qualities.”

The Five Star qualities they reference is part of their Senior program which builds upon their core Junior program. The Five Star qualities are:

• Honor
• Leadership
• Professionalism
• Officership
• Unity

Scabbard and Blade has its own honor society, The Honor Society for ROTC, which “allows students to add membership to their transcript and resume along with recognizing them for not only being an outstanding scholar, but also a superior officer candidate.” It’s currently the only accredited military honor society of its kind.

In order to qualify for the honor society, applicants must be a current ROTC student, be entering into their junior or senior year, and be ranked in the top 20% of the commander’s order of merit listing (OML). 

Scabbard and Blade currently has over 137,000 cadets enrolled and wear both honor cords and stoles at commencement.

As a reminder, our team continues to operate with a modified business solution, complete with remote and isolated order processing locations. Our goal is to safely deliver honor and recognition gear to schools and institutions to have ready for their students once graduation dates have been reworked. We understand the importance of graduation regalia and what it means to students and faculty and want graduates to mark their accomplishments in a way in which they deserve. No matter what your commencement ceremony looks like this year, our honor and recognition gear means the same and looks just as great!