The Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets welcomed back a squadron with roots as deep as the traditions of A&M.

Brigadier General Joe Ramirez, who's led the corps for just over two years now, brought Squadron 6 back from its 20 year hiatus to the cheer of former members.

"You've got a lot of real happy men that were once part of Squadron 6 that are real thrilled to see their guidon flying on the quad again," said General Ramirez.

Two of those former members happen to be Governor Rick Perry and Chancellor John Sharp. Both were on hand to welcome back their old unit.

"A lot of people came back here today to be a part of this. It's a good reflection of how this university always draws people back," said Governor Perry.

Perry credits General Ramirez with building the Corps of Cadets into a force Aggieland hasn't seen since his time at Texas A&M.

"General Ramirez has been a real Godsend for this university and particularly for the Corps of Cadets. He is that vibrant and intellectually engaging, I mean he reflects everything good about Texas A&M and he's also a great reflection of Texas," said Perry.

"We haven't see the corps grow significantly in over 40 years. My goal, one of the objectives I had when I got here, was to grow our corps back to a number that I thought represented well our state and our nation. We've been very, very lucky in that our recruiting efforts have paid off. We've grown significantly the past two years and it's my hope that we continue to do so over the next several years," said General Ramirez.

Also activated today was Company S-2 making that four units added to the Corps in the past two years. The Corps of Cadets currently has 2300 members, its highest membership in 15 years.