while all cadets are required to take four years of rotc, accepting a commission in the armed forces is optional. while over 50 percent of vmi graduates are commissioned each year, the vmi board of visitors has set a goal of having 70 percent of vmi cadets take a commission. the vmi class of 2017 graduated 300 cadets, 172 (or 57 percent) of whom were commissioned as officers in the united states military.