Brenes 1 Anthony Brenes Inquiry Essay Introduction: When deciding a career path, it is important to assess all of the educational

options available to prepare one for a desired career. For those interested in pursuing a career as a military officer in the Air Force, there are various options that can lead one there. The most common source of Air Force officers is the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC). AFROTC is the largest commissioning source for officers ("Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps."). For one to make an educated decision on which program to pursue, research must be done on how each program is structured and operated in order to best educate and prepare Air Force officers for military service. The following academic paper is an informational essay on the structure of AFROTC and how it is operated in order to best prepare Air Force officers for active duty service. Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Background: The goal of AFROTC is to develop quality leaders for the Air Force. It does so through college campus based programs that recruit, educate, and eventually commission Air Force officers. There are currently 145 AFROTC detachments located at different universities around the country. In order to complete the program, students attend AFROTC classes while in school along with the courses that they must take for their normal academic major. Students typically receive elective credit for AFROTC courses and are eligible for a minor in Aerospace Studies at some universities if they complete the program ("Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps."). Four Year Program:

Brenes 2 Typically, most AFROTC cadets complete the program in four years and it is structured as such. In some cases, the curriculum can be either accelerated into two years or extended over a five year period. In this analysis of how AFROTC is structured to educate military officers, the four year program timeline will be used because it is how the core curriculum is structured to be completed if not accelerated or extended for personal reasons. For the first two years, cadets are part of the General Military Course (GMC) curriculum, then between their sophomore and junior years they attend Field Training to learn hands on skills, and the last two years of the program, cadets are members of the Professional Officer Course (POC) program and educational curriculum ("Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps."). General Military Course (GMC): The General Military Course curriculum consists of the first two years of the AFROTC program. During GMC membership, cadets are required to enroll in one AFROTC class and leadership laboratory course each semester as well as participate in three mandated hours of physical training. In total, the mandated time commitment of an AFROTC cadet during their GMC membership is approximately six hours a week, but the actual time commitment may far exceed this minimum as cadets are encouraged to become as involved within their AFROTC detachments as possible ("Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps.") Being involved within an AFROTC detachment would consist of volunteering to assist with special events, assisting instructors with any tasks they may need help with, and having a presence at the detachment by studying and relaxing there with fellow cadets. As a GMC member, freshman cadets have no service obligation after graduation, and only sophomore cadets who receive a scholarship have a service obligation ("Course Descriptions.").

Brenes 3 The freshman year GMC introductory course study focuses on the organization and structure of the Air Force to educate students with no military background on what the Air Force is. This background information providing knowledge on how the Air Force operates proves to be essential in order to have a successful military career. It also focuses on developing leadership and communications skills as well as professionalism in all cadets. Character development education as a whole is a critical part of an AFROTC education that prepares cadets for military service because, as an officer, one must be able to communicate and lead their troops. The leadership laboratory focuses on developing knowledge of Air Force customs and courtesies, health and fitness, and military drill and ceremonies. All officers must be proficient and operate under strict code of military tradition. Learning about the Air Force culture early on allows students time to perfect this life style, providing them with a strong educational background on it once they reach active duty military service ("Course Descriptions."). The sophomore GMC curriculum is history based and studies the advancement of the Air Force over time. Major events studied are the Air Forces involvement in conflict during WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf War. The peaceful employment of Air Force resources for space exploration, civic actions, and scientific advancement is also studied. This course is more centered around educating cadets in order to give them the knowledge they need about the Air Force in order to serve on active duty. The sophomore leadership laboratory places cadets within leadership roles and teaches them the responsibility of how to handle them. The laboratory is also when cadets learn the hands on skills that they need to learn before attending summer Field Training such as reporting in, teamwork, personal appearance, fitness standards, and drill and ceremonies procedures. ("Course Descriptions.").

Brenes 4 Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT): In addition to completing the GMC curriculum, most cadets take the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test before attending summer Field Training. The only requirement is that the test be completed before a cadet is eligible to commission, so some cadets may choose to delay taking the test if they feel that they are not prepared enough. This is a standardized test that all officer candidates must take and pass before becoming eligible for a commission in the Air Force. If a cadet cannot pass the test after two attempts, they will be withdrawn AFROTC program and denied entry into any other commissioning program. The AFOQT consists of sixteen subtests that assess five ability domains: verbal, quantitative, spatial, aircrew interest and aptitude, and perceptual speed (Carretta, Thomas R.). The results of the test are used to determine Air Force officer commission eligibility, select individuals for competitive career paths such as pilot or navigator, and can be accessed for selection boards. Field Training: Field Training occurs between an AFROTC cadets sophomore and junior year of college. Field Training is where cadets learn the hands on skills that must be learned before active duty military service and can not be taught in the classroom such as weapons training and combative skills. The GMC curriculum focuses on educating students about the Air Force and providing them the intellectual knowledge they must know, and Field Training allows cadets to experience its application. A typical day at Field Training begins at 4am and ends at 9pm. During a standard day, cadets undergo inspections, learn Air Force history, participate in physical fitness, and complete an obstacle course. Throughout training, they also learn weapon marksmanship and hand to hand combative skills. The most intense part of Field Training is a fourteen day mock deployment during which their skills are assessed. Cadets must establish a

Brenes 5 base and defend it from enemy attack. This type of training that places them in possible real world situations prepares cadets for the stress of active duty military service. Field Training is an experience that could not be achieved in the classroom and is an essential component of AFROTC when educating and preparing future military officers (Stoltz, Christopher S.) The structure of AFROTC combining academic classes with hands on experience is part of how the programs structure best educates cadets for a career as a military officer. To be an officer you must have the knowledge and practical skills in order to be a qualified leader ("Course Descriptions."). Professional Officers Course (POC): The Professional Officers Course curriculum is studied during a cadets junior and senior year once they have completed field training. Students studying the POC curriculum dedicate a required ten hours a week of mandated time including class, leadership laboratory, and physical fitness ("Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps."). Juniors focus their studies on the anatomy of leadership to include proper leadership management, discipline, and variables that affect it. Air Force case studies of leadership are also studied to further understand its practical applications. For their leadership laboratory, cadets in their junior year of the program plan and conduct the leadership laboratory for the GMC cadets. This is often times the first leadership position that cadets are placed in to practice for their military career. This structure of gradually placing them in leadership roles and allowing them to operate the AFROTC detachment is a way that AFROTC is structured in order to educate cadets on leadership and prepare them for military service ("Course Descriptions."). The senior curriculum includes national defense and preparation for active duty. Important concepts covered include the role of a military officer in society, maintaining an

Brenes 6 adequate national defense structure, strategic preparedness, military policy making, and military law. Additionally, cadets study specific subject matter that will prepare them for their first individual active duty station. For leadership laboratory, cadets continue taking a role in planning and organizing leadership laboratory for GMC in conjunction with AFROTC cadets in their junior years. Seniors have the most responsibility and are expected to prove that they are capable to serve as leaders in the Air Force. This structure of AFROTC forces cadets to prove that they have received the education needed to become a successful officer and to execute and apply the skills they have learned before they are allowed to commission ("Course Descriptions."). Culture: One last component that AFROTC students are inundated in in order to receive an adequate education to prepare them for military service is the culture of the Air Force. All cadets are expected to live by and uphold certain standards that are stressed to them continually throughout their time in the program. They are required to follow certain customs and courtesies when interacting with others associated with AFROTC. These customs are following the same conduct that takes place in the Air Force during active duty. Forcing cadets to follow theses customs in college allows them to become second nature by the time each cadet commissions. Cadets are also required to wear a uniform on the days that they have AFROTC class. This teaches cadets how to properly wear the uniform and become accustomed to wearing it ("UNC Charlotte Detachment 592 Cadet Handbook."). Other standards cadets are expected to uphold are living by the core values of the Air Force. They are as follows: Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence In All We Do. The first core value dealing with integrity means doing the right thing even when no one is looking. Service Before Self means that professional duties take precedence of personal

Brenes 7 desires. Excellence In All We Do means that one should strive for continuous advancement, innovation, and achievement in performance. Every cadet must know these values and live by them. Not following a lifestyle abiding them is the fastest way to be removed from the program (United States Air Force Core Value.). Conclusion: AFROTC is structured in a way that it combines both academics, hands on skills, practical application, and culture in order to educate and develop cadets as a whole to prepare them for a military career. The program ensures that cadets have the knowledge they need and the ability to execute what needs to be done before entering active duty military service.

Brenes 8 Bibliography "Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps." The Official Website of the U.S. Air Force. Air University Public Affairs, 31 Jan. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. <http://www.af.mil/information/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=152>. Carretta, Thomas R., and Malcolm James Ree. "Air Force Officer Qualifying Test Validity for Predicting Pilot Training Performance." Journal of Business and Psychology 9.4 (1995): 37988. Print. "Course Descriptions." U.S. Air Force ROTC. U.S. Air Force, 2013. Web. 9 Apr. 2013. <http://afrotc.com/college-life/courses-and-training/course-descriptions/>. Stoltz, Christopher S. "ROTC Summer Field Training Shapes Tomorrow's Air Force Officer Corps." Maxwell AFB. US Air Force, 25 June 2010. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. <http://www.maxwell.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123211143>. "UNC Charlotte Detachment 592 Cadet Handbook." Ed. Stephen Timms, Sam Jaeger, and Jeremiah Spurlock. UNC Charlotte AFROTC Detachment 592, 07 Jan. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. United States Air Force Core Value. N.p.: Department of the Air Force, 1997. Print.

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