The United States Army’s early October decision to cut funding to UW-La Crosse’s 41-year-old ROTC program has been reevaluated, placing the school’s military cadet program on a two-year probationary status.

In an attempt to cut national military spending, 13 Reserve Officer Training Corps programs at universities across the country were given notice that they must dismantle their programs by the spring of 2014.

The decision triggered a response from U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis; U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.; and U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, who authored a letter to the U.S. Army Secretary together.

Johnson said the program is “a very effective way to train the leaders that we call upon to lead the finest among us.”

The first of several meetings was held on Friday where university, military and political leaders came together to discuss the conditions of the program’s probationary status.

The initial decision to cut the program was “disappointing,” UW-L Chancellor Joe Gow said, as the program has at UW-L for 40 years and recruits talented students.

“It is looking like the Army is eager to talk and collaborate and make sure the program can be with us on a permanent basis again, so I think the signs are very encouraging,” Gow said. “We are looking forward to working with the Army on what they would like to see us do to improve.”

Kind said in a statement Friday he plans to work with the Army and UW-L to ensure the standards to keep the program on campus are “realistic and achievable.”

“I have always strongly supported the efforts of young people who seek a career with our military while still attending college,” Kind said.

Johnson, who visited the UW-L “Eagle Battalion” Friday, said he hopes the probation period is a “transition phase” to determine whether the program will remain long-term at UW-L.

Johnson added a member of his Washington staff was a graduate of the UW-L ROTC program and served in Afghanistan.

LTC. James Hill, commander of the Eagle Battalion, said the program is “world-class” and allows students with a strong propensity to serve in the armed forces the opportunity to develop strong leadership skills, while receiving substantial financial assistance to pay for their education.

“I think it is a very solid program with good young people in it who are going to be great army officers and great contributors to our society,” Hill said.

Hill added while many cadets in larger programs do not get along with each other, the UW-L cadets are supportive of each other and compare well against cadets across the country.

The program not only serves students from UW-L but also the surrounding colleges of Viterbo University, Winona State University and St. Mary’s University, Hill said. Cutting the program would have ended ROTC opportunities for students geared towards military or nursing careers in all four of these schools.

The UW-L ROTC program not only produces many strong military and societal leaders, but the program is also Wisconsin’s biggest producer of Army nurses, which are vital in times of war, Johnson said.