Purdue AFROTC Detachment 220

History

From its start as a Land Grant College in 1862, [http://www.purdue.edu/ Purdue University] has been a source of officers for the United States Military. [http://www.afrotc.com/ Air Force ROTC] was established at Purdue University in the fall of 1949, but its roots began with a branch of the Army ROTC program known as the Air ROTC program formed in 1946. The first graduates of Purdue Air ROTC were commissioned into the U.S. Air Force in February 1948 as second lieutenants. Over the years Purdue Air Force ROTC has produced officers that have gone on to become senior Air Force officers, successful leaders both in and outside of the military and have added to the ranks of Purdue's illustrious Cradle of Astronauts. [ [http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~afrotc/ Purdue University Air Force ROTC - Detachment 220 ] ]

Continuing The Tradition

Air Force ROTC [http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~afrotc/ Detachment 220] has earned a reputation as one of the best officer training programs in the entire country. Its members have the advantage of attending a world-class university and an exceptional Air Force ROTC unit. As testimony to this claim, the Detachment has been recognized numerous times as one of the nation's top 4 Air Force ROTC programs and been awarded with the Air Force Organizational Excellence Award. Det 220 is one of the largest Air Force ROTC units in the North East region boasting approximately 200 cadets. The Air Force ROTC classes, leadership lab, and cadre offices are all conveniently located in one building - the Purdue Armory. [ [http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~afrotc/ Purdue University Air Force ROTC - Detachment 220 ] ]

Training

During their ROTC career, a cadet is constantly going through training. This occurs in the form of Physical Training (PT) three times a week, Leadership Laboratory (LLAB) once a week, and other special opportunites only available at Purdue. It is through this intense training and opportunities that are unique to Purdue that we are able to produce such a large volume of quality officers year after year.

Physical Training

Three times a week the cadet wing gathers to work on their fitness. They begin each session with stretches in formation. After this is accomplished the flights break up to do their assigned work out for the day. This can range from a formation work out lead by one of the Physical Conditioning Officers, a sprint workout on the track, a personal run, to the rare days when they play dodgeball or another fun, albeit motivational sport. All of this training as well as the training that the cadets do on their own culminate in the Physical Fitness Assessment, or PFA, which tests their physical stamina.

Leadership Laboratory

Leadership Laboratory, or LLAB as it is known among the cadets, is the two hour session on Thursday mornings where most of the training takes place. For freshmen and sophomores this mostly consists of learning the basics of drill and ceremonies, academic briefings on Air Force and ROTC knowledge, quizzes over past briefings, and other miscellaneous items of business. The juniors and seniors, or POC as they are known to the cadets, perform wing functions during this time. Each POC member has a wing job that is vital to the successful operation of the wing, as they are the ones that run it. In the spring semester the freshmen and sophomores are divided into separate flights and Field Training Preparation begins for the sophomores.

Field Training

Every summer the sophomore class packs their bags and heads off to [http://www.maxwell.af.mil/ Maxwell Air Force Base] , located in Montgomery, AL. This is the final hurdle they must overcome before entering the Professional Officer Corps, or becoming a POC. The successful completion of Field Training is also required in order to commission into the United States Air Force.

Extra Military Experience

Flight Training Opportunities

Being one of the few universities in the US with an airport on campus allows us to offer our cadets many flight training options. Cadets who want to learn the basics of flight can take official Purdue Aviation department flight training classes, receive flight training through our local Civil Air Patrol unit, or practice in our detachment's dedicated flight simulator room. We also use Purdue's airport to bring in Air Force C-130 cargo aircraft and take the cadets up for orientation flights. Additionally, we take our cadets to Grissom Air Reserve Base and take them up in KC-135 tankers and let them see first hand mid-air refueling of local Indiana Air National Guard F-16 fighters. [ [http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~afrotc/ Purdue University Air Force ROTC - Detachment 220 ] ]

Joint Training

We team up with Purdue's Army ROTC unit and travel to a nearby Army National Guard installation where we allow our cadets to experience a mock military deployment exercise complete with training from the Army Rangers, a run through the obstacle course, land navigation training, and air-base defense training. Additionally our detachment has started sponsoring some very popular paint-ball outings for our cadets. [ [http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~afrotc/ Purdue University Air Force ROTC - Detachment 220 ] ]

cholarship

References

External links

* [http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~afrotc/ Official website]