Colorado State University

Colorado State's Ram Battalion in Fort Collins was recognized with the region's Best Medium Program Award by U.S. Army Cadet Command, validating what has been a consistently competitive program in the Western Brigade. Fort Carson, home of the 4th Infantry Division, sits roughly 90 miles south in Colorado Springs and provides cadets with access to a major Active Army installation for occasional training exercises, though the day-to-day program is campus-based in Fort Collins. CSU's STEM-heavy enrollment — engineering, agricultural sciences, and pre-vet students — produces cadets who tend to score well on the national OML. The program has been growing in recent years and conducts standard training including land navigation, rappelling, and patrolling with an outdoor-capable terrain advantage given Colorado's geography. Fort Collins also hosts active duty families who occasionally interact with the program, and Colorado's proximity to multiple installations shapes branch expectations for cadets. Ranger Challenge is competitive within the brigade.