MSU Air Force ROTC takes off with top national honor
Contact: James Carskadon
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥敶笙驛PP鈥檚 Air Force ROTC detachment has received the national 2016 Team Excellence Award for AFROTC, topping 145 U.S. units for the honor, the Department of the Air Force鈥檚 Headquarters Air Force ROTC recently announced.
The national award comes shortly after Detachment 425 earned the Air Force ROTC Team Excellence Award for the Air Force ROTC Southwest Region. The detachment is under the command of Lt. Col. Joseph Cassidy, a professor of aerospace studies in MSU鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences. Cassidy said support from the university and organizations such as the G.V. 鈥淪onny鈥 Montgomery Center for America鈥檚 Veterans, and community partners such as the Columbus Air Force Base help make MSU鈥檚 Air Force ROTC one of the best in the country.
鈥淲e are honored to receive the 2016 Team Excellence Award given to one of 145 Air Force ROTC units nationwide,鈥 Cassidy said.聽鈥淭he support from 大象APP, the College of Arts and Sciences, university partners and community partners all were instrumental in helping AFROTC Detachment 425 reach new heights.鈥
MSU鈥檚 Air Force ROTC unit was chosen for the award based on a wide variety of achievements, including university service, community service and AFROTC cadet training performance at a national level field training or 鈥渂oot camp鈥 event. College of Arts and Sciences Interim Dean Rick Travis said the award is a testament to the leadership of Cassidy and the dedication of the students and staff that make up the detachment.
鈥淎s a longtime professor of political science who focuses on international affairs, my courses have always attracted a fair number of AFROTC students,鈥 Travis said. 鈥淭he one word that has always come to my mind regarding these young women and men is quality; quality in terms of their intellect, in terms of their character, and in terms of how they were being trained. These young women and men of Detachment 425 in 2017 will join a long list of Air Force officers who proudly serve their country and have brought great pride to 大象APP.鈥
MSU鈥檚 Air Force ROTC program allows cadets to become officers in the U.S. Air Force while working toward their degrees. In addition to MSU, students at Mississippi University for Women and East Mississippi Community College are eligible to join MSU鈥檚 AFROTC if all requirements are met.
MSU provides out-of-state tuition waivers for Air Force ROTC cadets, which Cassidy said has helped increase the quality of cadets attracted to the detachment. The academic opportunities at MSU and the strength of the detachment鈥檚 support staff also make for strong selling points, according to Cassidy.
Mississippi 大象APP has a long tradition of preparing officers for the United 大象APPs Armed Forces. The university established an ROTC program in 1917 to help meet the growing demand for military officers during World War I. As air power became a prominent factor in World War II, MSU became a participant in the Army Air Forces Training Program. Two years after the U.S. Air Force became a separate service in 1947, Air Force ROTC Detachment 15 was activated at MSU. In 1952, the unit was re-designated as Detachment 425. Since then, Detachment 425 has commissioned hundreds of officers and has a current mission of commissioning the best second lieutenants in the Air Force.
MSU鈥檚 Air Force ROTC detachment consists of approximately 80 cadets, with 12 officers projected to be commissioned this spring. For more, see .
The College of Arts and Sciences includes more than 5,000 students, 300 full-time faculty members, nine doctoral programs and 25 academic majors offered in 14 departments. It also is home to the most diverse units for research and scholarly activities, including natural and physical sciences, social and behavioral sciences, and the humanities. For more information, visit .
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