Southwestern Oklahoma State University has a long history of partnering with the Oklahoma Army National Guard. SWOSU has been an Oklahoma Guard, Guard Officer Leadership (GOLD) Program site since 2007. GOLD is one of the Guard’s officer training programs. Successful candidates commission as 2nd Lieutenants in the Guard upon graduation from SWOSU. As of last year, SWOSU is providing federal wildland firefighting training for Guard soldiers. The latest partnership involves SWOSU working with the Oklahoma Guard’s Unmanned Aerial Systems and Launched Effects Program. This relationship will allow the Guard to increase their UAV readiness in a cost-effective manner.