AUSTIN, Texas—Lt. Gen. Freddy E. McFarren, commanding general of the 5th U.S. Army at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, will give the address at The University of Texas at Austin Reserve Officer Training Corps Joint Commissioning Ceremony. The ceremony will take place at 1 p.m. on Friday (May 18) in Bates Recital Hall. The 323rrd Medical Command Band of Fort Sam Houston will perform and UT Austin President Larry Faulkner will deliver welcoming remarks.
McFarren will administer the oath of office to 17 new officers receiving commissions from the U.S. Army ROTC, the U.S. Navy ROTC, the U.S. Marine Corps ROTC and the U.S. Air Force ROTC.
Major Thomas P. Palladino, UT Austin associate professor of military science and assistant department head of the Army ROTC, said a total of 46 officers are being commissioned into the armed forces during this school year, with 19 sworn in this December. Palladino said nine will be commissioned this summer. This commissioning ceremony honors all of them.
Palladino said 17 of this year’s graduates are receiving commissions in the Army, 12 in the Navy, three in the Marines and 14 in the Air Force. Private ceremonies honoring each group will be held Friday morning.
McFarren is a Texas native who was graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1966 and holds an MA in education from Duke University.
He previously commanded the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Riley, Kansas. He has served as chief of the Office of Military Cooperation in Cairo, Egypt and as director of training for the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans in the Pentagon.
He has been the Commandant of Cadets at the U.S. Military Academy, assistant division commander of the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Stewart, Georgia and assistant chief of staff for operations G3, XVIII Airborne Corps, at Fort Bragg, N.C.
In Vietnam, he was an advisor to the Vietnamese Rangers before serving as a tactical officer at the U.S. Military Academy. During Operation Desert Storm, he commanded the 18th Field Artillery Brigade (Airborne), XVIII Airborne Corps Artillery, which supported the French Light Armor Division and the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized).
