The Rocks, Inc.
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 | |
| Founded | October 9, 1974 |
|---|---|
| Founded at | Washington, D.C. |
| Type | United States military support organization |
| Purpose | Concern, Dedication, Professionalism |
| Headquarters | P.O. Box 471212 |
| Location |
|
| Members | 1,100+ |
Publication | The Rocket |
| Website | http://www.rocksinc.org Official Website |
The Rocks Incorporated (Rocks, Inc.), was founded on October 9, 1974 by sixty-five United States Army officers in Washington, D.C. Headquartered in Forestville, Maryland and with over 1,100 members, it is the largest professional military officers’ organization with a majority African-American membership.[1]
The Rocks, Inc. is a non-profit organization composed primarily of African American active, reserve, retired and former commissioned officers and warrant officers of the U.S. Armed Forces, and widows and widowers of deceased members. The organization hosts professional development sessions and social events to improve the officer corps.[2]
The Chairperson of the Board is Brigadier General Earl Simms, United States Army (Retired).[3]
The Rocks, Inc. began in the mid-1960s as an informal meeting of Army officers assigned to the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The group initially met to help each other "survive" at Fort Leavenworth, and many members continued to meet after being reassigned to the Pentagon and elsewhere in the greater Washington, D.C., area.
In the years that followed, the group grew. On October 9, 1974, along with Colonel Robert B. Burke, General Roscoe Cartwright led an initiative to formally organize the growing network. They dubbed themselves the No Name Club until they agreed on a formal name. On December 1, the No Name Club had assembled to ratify an official name. That evening they learned that General Cartwright and his wife, Gloria, had died in a plane crash near Dulles Airport.[4]
The No Name Club soon voted to name itself The Rocks, Inc. and established the Roscoe C. Cartwright Scholarship Fund in their namesake’s honor. Today, The Rocks, Inc. has 23 active chapters across the Army (including one in Iraq).[citation needed]