Cadets Today, Sky Heroes Tomorrow

by

Mallory Gantenberg

An essay prepared for CIS 110Prof. William Cooper

University of KentuckyFall, 2011

Beep! Beep! Your alarm clock shakes the ground and reminds you it’s 5:30 am.

Reluctantly you slump out of bed and grab your clothes. Ambition. Eyes squinted you pull out

the blue Air Force shorts and a grey Air Force shirt sitting on your bed. Perseverance. Still sore

from yesterday, your body moves like the tin man from The Wizard of Oz. By 6 am, the training

starts and your day officially begins as a University of Kentucky Air Force student. You tell

yourself, you are strong and can do it. Everyday these strong men and women train in both

physical fitness and academic areas. The stresses of an ordinary student are magnified to equal

an ROTC student. Through my observation of the University of Kentucky’s ROTC Air Force

program I learned about the hard work needed, the opportunities offered after college, and the

history of the Air Force.

In order to qualify for the air force program you must meet some very high standards.

Despite the high scores needed, the positives outweigh the negatives. Multiple scholarships are

offered for college tuition, books, and a financial budget for after college. The scholarships vary

in each major. The picture below shows all of the Air Force ROTC cadets.

The Professional Officer Course in the Air Force ROTC is very competitive and has high

standards for graduation. For instance, cadets in the POC not on scholarship must maintain a

GPA between 2.0 on 4.0. Cadets on scholarship in this program have different requirements

based on majors. They must receive a grade higher than a C- in the Aerospace Studies course and

pass all Leadership Labs with nothing less than a C-. The Physical Fitness Test is taken every

fall and spring term while a cadet is enrolled in Air Force ROTC. The minimum score is 75

points.

(This picture was obtained from the AFROTC website.)

The physical fitness

test is composed of three sections. It begins with push-ups, then crunches, and lastly is a 1.5 mile

run. Listed below are the maximum scores achieved.

Maximum ScoresEvent Age Male Female

Push-ups (1-Min) Up to 24 62 4225-29 57 4130-34 52 40

Crunches (1-Min) Up to 24 55 5125-29 53 4730-34 51 42

1.5-Mile run Up to 24 9:36 11:0625-29 9:36 11:2430-34 9:48 11:54

As well as academic requirements, and physical fitness standards, cadets must also pass a

physical health and medical test. There are certain body requirements regardless of age and sex,

a cadet must meet qualifications for their height and body weight. Once in Air Force ROTC,

cadets must obtain a Class 1 Flight Physical. A pilot’s requirements are: normal color vision,

distant vision: uncorrected 20/70, but corrected to 20/20, near vision: uncorrected 20/30, but

corrected to 20/20, have no history of hay fever, asthma or allergies after age 12, meet Air Force

weight and physical conditioning requirements, and have a standing height of 64 to 77 inches

and a sitting height of 34 to 40 inches.

The AFROTC provides scholarships for many majors. This helps pay for tuition, books,

and a budget after graduation. Cadets have the opportunity to choose basically any major. Some

that qualify as technical majors are: Aeronautical Engineering - 4AYY, Aerospace Engineering -

4BYY, Architectural Engineering - 4DYY, Computer Engineering - 4WYY, Computer Science -

0CYY, Electrical Engineering - 4IYY, and Physics - 8HYY. There is a multitude of Foreign

Language Majors available. Some of which are Chinese (Mandarin), Dutch, French, German,

Japanese, and Italian. Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering are very competitive

majors and very popular for AFROTC cadets.

Before observing the University of Kentucky’s Air Force program I, like many of the

students I found out, was not familiar with this community. From the survey I discovered that

24/41 were not sure about this community and only 14/41 knew a little from family or campus

news. I always respected these students in their uniforms and felt a sense of pride in knowing

they will one day fight for our country. Yet, I was not very informed about them. I perceived

them as a little but mighty community. Sometimes I saw the cadets in their uniforms on

Thursdays, but other than that I did not know very much. My roommate’s best friend is actually

in this program. Therefore, I understood the basis of the community but lacked real concrete

information for them. This is why I decided to observe them. Also, my brother is interested in the

ROTC program, so I found it very valuable to spend time with the community and learn more.

The picture above shows the Air Force fighter jets.

In order to learn what other students knew and thought about the air force program, I

conducted a survey of randomly selected students through the use of Facebook. I learned that

many people including my friends did not know very much about these students. Some believed

the presence of Air Force students was strong and they saw the students in uniform on a regular

basis. On the other hand, the majority passed by walking to classes in a world absent of ROTC

students.

By interviewing a first year UK Air Force ROTC cadet, I learned a lot more about the

community. Every day she experiences the air force and shared her thoughts and feelings about

the community with me. The members of the UK Air Force see themselves as just normal

students but on a slightly different academic track. They still go to classes and choose their own

majors, but they have a few more things on their plate. For instance the workouts of this

community are very extensive. To be a success in this field you must be mentally and physically

strong to conquer anything in your way. They feel very lucky and see great benefits from the

United States for offering a program like this. It has helped many students by granting financial

aid and after graduation, plunging them into their new trained careers as officers as a safety net

for their jobs.

The officer position is very important. An officer leads the flight. An officer may be in

charge of 20 people or so. In the military, it’s a lot of answering to the person above you and big

with chain of command. The highest ranked person will tell the person below him or her

something and they keep passing it down the chain.

When asked what drew you towards the Air Force program, Cadet Semall responded,

“For me, my mom pushed me to do it. Both of my grandfathers were in the military and my

uncle was as well and she wanted me to try it so I did and I absolutely love it! A lot of others in

the program have parents that were in the Air Force and are just following in their steps,” (M.

Semall, personal communication, November 30, 2011).

Everyone in the program loves how close their flight becomes; they are almost like

brothers and sisters. Cadet Semall said some of her favorite things about the Air Force are that

“the guys are almost like brothers to us that would do just about anything for us. I also like that it

keeps me in shape. At times, we play basketball and do fun activities for PT such as a high ropes

course which keeps it fun and not the same repetitive thing all the time,” (M. Semall, personal

communication, November 30, 2011).

Another benefit from the Air Force is the social aspect. The members of this community

are constantly spending time together and get to know each other very quickly. They usually

have flight meetings once a week and are together for PT Mondays, Wednesdays and then 5

hours on Thursdays. Many of them share the same goals and interests which made it easy to

bond quickly. They do team building exercises which encourage them to work together and help

one another. There are 111 cadets in the Wildcat Battalion at UK. There are definitely more men

than women. An average flight usually has 2 girls and 8 boys. However, there are still quite a

few women in the program. Aside from the training, leadership labs, and course work these

students are also allowed to go out with friends and have fun on the weekends. Of course, there

is a great penalty to for getting caught drinking at parties. Therefore these cadets must be careful

and wise about where they choose to go on those weekend nights. This is contradictory to the

public myth that ROTC cadets are not allowed to go out and have fun.

When asked what fears most people have in this program, Cadet Semall confided that she

was scared about “where [her] life is going to go with this program.” (M. Semall, personal

communication, November 30, 2011). Cadet Semall knows she will become an officer in the Air

Force but part of her is worried about not experiencing everything she can in life because it is

almost guaranteed she will be sent overseas at some in her life. She said this type of job will

most likely affect her family dynamics. She said she will have to plan carefully what she will do

when she is married and decides to raise a family.

PT is the required workouts that occur every Monday and Wednesday. It lasts from 6:30

to 7:30 in the morning and then on Thursday there is a special class from 2:30 till 3:20. The

leadership lab follows this from 4-6. After the lab, another session of workouts happens from

6:15-7:15. In total there are three fitness sessions a week. This helps the cadets be in the tip-top

shape they need to be. According to Cadet Semall she said she tries to work out 2 extra days a

week as well.

The uniform of the AFROTC consists of a few different combinations. To PT, they wear

blue Air Force shorts and a grey Air Force shirt. On Thursdays, cadets wear their blues all day

until PT. Blues consists of a light blue short sleeved shirt with navy blue pants, a belt, and black

shined shoes. On each person’s shirt it has their name badge and on the shoulder their soft

rankings. Cadets are also permitted to wear a light weight blue jacket over top of the uniform.

One of the major benefits from the air force program is the guarantee of job placement

after college. Many college students worry about the economy and if they have chosen the

correct major. Luckily, Air Force ROTC students do not have to worry about this. After college

cadets are guaranteed a job. There are all different types of jobs. For example, Cadet Semall is

majoring in the nursing field. Upon graduation, they are granted jobs in their fields and become

officers. This automatically puts them above the rest of the community in the career search

world. It grants peace of mind to the students after their hard work of training and years of high

academics. There are many career fields. They include flight, nontechnical, specialty, technical,

and nursing.

Flight career options are Air Battle Manager (ABM), Combat Systems Officer (CSO),

and Pilot. Nontechnical careers would qualify as Intelligence Officer, Communications and

Information Officer, Planning and Programming Officer, Public Affairs Officer, and Control and

Recovery Officer.

Specialty careers are Band Officer, Chaplain Attorney, and Attorney. Technical careers

would consist of Acquisition Manager, Civil Engineer, Developmental Engineer, Scientist, and

Weather Officer.

Some job opportunities in the nursing field are Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Critical

Care Nurse, Emergency Room Nurse, Medical Surgical Nurse, Mental Health Nurse, Nurse

Anesthetist, Operating Room Nurse, and Women's Healthcare Nurse Practitioner.

The U.S. Air Force ROTC has a long history dating back to 1862 when the Passage of

Morrill Act (Land-Grant Act) created military training programs at certain colleges. This started

the ROTC revolution. The ROTC program was put into place in 1916. It stands for the formal

Reserve Officer Training Corps. The Air Force has specific colors and objects in the seal. The

main colors are gold and ultramarine blue. There are thirteen stars that represent the original

states and the bald eagle is of course the symbol for the freedom of the United States and

signifies the power of the air. The shield also has a nebula line that borders it and is symbolic of

the clouds. Lastly the thunderbolt is meant to display immense power and strength in the air.

The core values that the US Air Force was founded on are Integrity First, Service Before

Self, and Excellence In All We Do. “Integrity First” is described as “Integrity is essential. It is

the inner voice, the source of self-control, the basis for the trust that is imperative in today's

military. Doing the right thing when nobody is looking,” (http://afrotc.com/learn-about/mission-

and-values/). I found this statement to be very true. On campus, after observing the community I

saw a sense of respect illuminating off of the cadets. They are extremely polite and really seem

to take to heart the importance of being leaders in the community. After my friend Maygen

Semall pointed out some cadets casually I observed that the students did not just act correctly

and nice while in uniform but they even remained reverent and respectful when they were in

their everyday clothes.

Winston Churchill once said “the importance of the United States Air

Force is immense to our nation. These men and women risk their lives

and are the leaders of our nation. Not to have an adequate air force in

the present state of the world is to compromise the foundations of

national freedom and independence,”

(http://www.quot esabouteverything.com/military-quotes/air-force-

quotes.html).

After completing the observations for this community, the most important thing I

learned was valuable knowledge of the group. Before I had only witnessed the cadets in their

uniforms sometimes or saw the camouflage backpacks rarely. After learning more, I

discovered all the requirements for acceptance into this program, the great opportunities

available to these cadets after graduation as officers, and the rich history of the air force

including the significance of the different aspects of the seal. This program provides hope for

many and it really is unfortunate how so many other college students, including myself, did not

even consider applying for the ROTC program. There is an array of career choices available

and extensive scholarships. Alarming enough, 37/39 people who were surveyed responded that

they did not even consider applying for the ROTC program. I feel that this is a great

opportunity that has been passed up by so many.

Personally with aspirations to be a news anchor, I honestly do not think I could have

joined the Air Force despite the amazing benefits. But after reviewing the career options

available, many of my friends could have completed their desired degrees through this

program. The community needs to be publicized more. I think they should be honored by the

university. Maybe the Kentucky Kernel could create a news corner section with updates on the

Air Force ROTC community. I learned a lot, and I want to reach out to people about this

community and show the truth behind the Blues.

References

1. About the Air Force: History - airforce.com. (n.d.). United States Air Force - airforce.com.

Retrieved November 29, 2011, from http://airforce.com/learn-about/history/

2. Air Force Quotes. (n.d.). Quotes About Everything. Retrieved December 1, 2011, from

http://www.quotesabouteverything.com/military-quotes/air-force-quotes.html

3. Category. (n.d.). U.S. Air Force Seal. United States Military Information. Retrieved

December 1, 2011, from http://usmilitary.about.com/od/airforce/l/blafseal.htm

4. (M. Gantenberg, Please Answer really quick!! :) THANKS, November 20, 2011)

5. Hebert, A. J. (n.d.). airforce-magazine.com Homepage. airforce-magazine.com Homepage.

Retrieved December 2, 2011, from

http://www.airforce-magazine.com/Pages/HomePage.aspx

6. Out of Reserve. (n.d.). airforce-magazine.com Homepage. Retrieved December 2, 2011,

from http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2011/December

%202011/1211reserve.aspx

7. (M. Semall, personal communication, November 30, 2011)

8. U.S. Air Force ROTC - Admissions - Requirements & Standards - Academic Standards.

(n.d.). U.S. Air Force ROTC - College Scholarships and Careers. Retrieved December 3,

2011, from http://afrotc.com/admissions/requirements-standards/academic/

9. U.S. Air Force ROTC - Admissions - Requirements & Standards - Fitness Standards. (n.d.).

U.S. Air Force ROTC - College Scholarships and Careers. Retrieved December 1, 2011,

from http://afrotc.com/admissions/requirements-standards/fitness/

10. U.S. Air Force ROTC - Admissions - Requirements & Standards - Medical Requirements.

(n.d.). U.S. Air Force ROTC - College Scholarships and Careers. Retrieved December 2,

2011, from http://afrotc.com/admissions/requirements-standards/medical/

11. U.S. Air Force ROTC - Admissions - Requirements & Standards - Physical Requirements.

(n.d.). U.S. Air Force ROTC - College Scholarships and Careers. Retrieved December 2,

2011, from http://afrotc.com/admissions/requirements-standards/physical/

12. U.S. Air Force ROTC - Admissions - Requirements & Standards. (n.d.). U.S. Air Force

ROTC - College Scholarships and Careers. Retrieved December 3, 2011, from

http://afrotc.com/admissions/requirements-standards/

13. U.S. Air Force ROTC - Learn About AFROTC - Parents & Influencers - Famous Graduates.

(n.d.). U.S. Air Force ROTC - College Scholarships and Careers. Retrieved November 29,

2011, from http://afrotc.com/learn-about/parents-influencers/famous-graduate

14. U.S. Air Force ROTC - Learn About AFROTC - Mission & Values. (n.d.). U.S. Air Force

ROTC - College Scholarships and Careers. Retrieved December 2, 2011, from

http://afrotc.com/learn-about/mission-and-values/