The Future of our United States Air Force - Lt Col Doherty

"The Future of our United States Air Force" - A Note from AFROTC Det 440's Commander, Lt Col Wayne E. Doherty

Ask any leader in today's Air Force what our most important asset is and each would undoubtedly answer "our people." Our technology is state of the art, and our capabilities are more diverse than ever before in our history. Our day to day missions are global and are carried out in the domains of air, space, and cyberspace with tremendous speed and precision. But none of these claims would mean anything in and of themselves were it not for the amazingly talented men and women who operate our systems and execute these missions minute to minute, hour to hour, and day to day. Our Airmen are our greatest strength. We are fortunate today to have an all-volunteer military, and our Airmen understand what a true honor it is to serve our country and to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. Through military members' dedication, sacrifice, and hard work every day we all continue to enjoy so many freedoms.

I have great news for anyone wondering about the future of our Air Force. In my opinion, our future looks incredibly bright because of the absolutely spectacular next generation of officer leaders currently coming up in today's Air Force. It is my honor and privilege to work with and train some of this next generation of Air Force leaders as the AFROTC Det 440 Commander here at the University of Missouri. As the Det 440 commander I am responsible for recruiting, training and commissioning all AFROTC cadets on the MU campus as well as cadets from 6 other "cross-town" colleges in the mid-Missouri region. I'm here to tell you that these officer candidates are incredibly impressive young men and women who are accomplishing remarkable things as part of AFROTC's 440th Cadet Wing here at MU! These officer candidates have me truly excited about our Air Force's future, and I'd like to share a little of that excitement with you here now.

So far this academic year (2009-2010), the 440th Cadet Wing cadets have participated in well over 100 training, recruiting, fundraising, volunteer, and charitable events...all with great results. Through their innovation and creativity, they have managed to spark new life into their physical training program and managed to crack the top 20 nationwide with their collective physical training scores. While Det 440 was ranked 18th out of 144 detachments as of January 2010, they improved upon their average scores by more than 2 additional points since then and I believe they have cracked the top 10 list for all of AFROTC! Additionally, the cadet wing is currently training more than 30 cadets in preparation for summer 2010 officer candidate field training at Maxwell AFB in Alabama. This is one of the largest and most impressive training classes in recent Det 440 history. This class is full of cadets with great grade point averages, top notch physical training scores, and overall stellar leadership skills - due in no small part to the great training and discipline being fostered by our cadet wing leadership.

But this class is not the only one achieving great things. We've recently had members of all our classes selected for special programs and honors. Four of our cadets were just chosen as new pilot and navigator candidates, a few of our seniors were just chosen for outstanding active duty opportunities, and several freshmen recently found out they will attend special training programs this summer. All competed extremely well against their peers across the country for these limited slots. Finally, through outstanding events like the cadets' 24-hour Veterans Day vigil, the annual Relay for Life fundraisers (literally thousands of dollars raised for cancer research), and the cadets' Air Expeditionary Force (AEF) training (to name just a few events), the 440th Cadet Wing has set new standards of excellence here at MU and at our cross-town colleges and universities that I am sure will be the high marks for future events for some time to come.

Along the way this year our freshmen have worked hard developing their personal leadership skills, the sophomores have more fully developed their peer leadership skills, the juniors have become superb team leaders, and the seniors have mastered the basics of organizational level leadership. This is the essence of our training focus at Det 440 as we look to create leaders of character for the Air Force who are self-reliant achievers.

Our projections for fall 2010 enrollment look to be up significantly due in no small part to the cadet recruiting efforts and the high standards of excellence being set across the wing in each of the described areas. We have already commissioned two new outstanding Second Lieutenants for the Air Force from Det 440 this year. We are also already preparing another 13 cadets for that honor this spring and summer. We invite you to come out to "Mizzou" to see this happen at our 2010 Joint Service Commissioning Program scheduled to take place on 16 May 2010 at the Mizzou Arena. We at Det 440 will join our sister services in commissioning more than 40 new officers total this year for our armed services.

Therefore, I once again proudly report to you that our Air Force future looks incredibly bright and will remain in remarkably good hands. The officer leaders being developed here at MU's AFROTC Det 440 and across all of AFROTC, along with the rest of this next generation of officer leaders being produced across all of our Air Force officer accessions programs, are ready and willing to meet the vast and diverse challenges that await them upon entrance to active duty. As new Air Force officers, I know they will be up to those challenges and more, and I look forward to seeing them all serving their country very soon!!!




Lieutenant Colonel Wayne E. Doherty
Commander, AFROTC Det 440
Professor of Aerospace Studies

Recruiting Corner - Captain Provolt

All of you received this information when Cadet Sides gave you a briefing on recruiting during LLAB, but I wanted to touch on a couple of key areas. First of all, why do we want you to recruit? That’s simple, you are living the college/ROTC life right now and interested students want to know how you handle it. They also want to talk to someone who is much closer to their age. They can relate to you much better and feel more comfortable talking with you instead of one of the cadre. Second, what can’t you talk about? I think all of you have done a great job with this. The only area you really can’t discuss is the details of scholarships, i.e. the different types and amounts and saying they can definitely get one. What you can talk about is if you are on scholarship and how you got one and explain what your scholarship pays for, if it goes much beyond that, please direct them to see me or look at the national web site at www.afrotc.com.

I have been very impressed this semester with the many volunteers we have received for recruiting events. You all have shown great prided and dedication to the Wing and we really do appreciate it. As most of you know, this is my last semester with Det 440. I am coming up on 4 years here which makes this my longest assignment in 18 years and also the most rewarding assignment I have ever had. I still don’t know where I will go from here (I am still patiently awaiting that news—or should I say impatiently) but I do know that I hope to see all of you again one day as Second Lieutenants. Again, it has been a great 4 years with all of you and I look forward to the rest of this semester!

Captain Nicole Provolt

Unit Admissions Officer
Assistant Professor of Aerospace Studies

Full Circle - Major Dennison

When General Douglas MacArthur ended his military career he closed his farewell speech with a line from an army ballad: "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.” I think about that line more often as my military career comes to an end within a few months.

I started my career as an officer training at Crowder Hall at the University of Missouri 20 years ago. I came from a military family where my father, brother and sister all served as enlisted. I was the first in our family to achieve membership into the officer corps and felt proud as my father and wife pinned on my gold bars as the rest of my family looked on.

As a young man, I wanted to serve my country, see different places, and meet new cultures. I was honored to do all three. I have served in four different career fields, been to many countries, and have made friends in each. As time went on my desire to see new places waned and my desire to go home to Missouri grew. As a reminder of my love of home, I would swap out my wing patch from my flight suit and replace it with the state flag of Missouri during missions onboard the Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) aircraft.

I appreciate being an American where I have enjoyed the opportunity to serve my nation while simultaneously achieving my personal goals. I am also fortunate to be working as cadre at Crowder Hall at this institution of higher learning where I started my career many years ago. I feel the strength of our military is the people and the training they receive. While our technological advances are many, some of the lessons we teach today, integrity first, service before self, excellence in all we do, and situational style leadership, are no different than when I was a cadet.

My career has come full circle and brought me back to where I started; now it is time for me to fade away. Rest assured, the young men and women we are training at Crowder Hall will be more than ready to take my place.

Major Charles Dennison

Education Officer
Assistant Professor of Aerospace Studies

Words from the COC - Captain Anderson

Great strides have been made this academic year in wing fitness. As you know, the wing average for the fall semester was over 91. This semester, that has increased to an astonishing average of over 93. I am amazed and proud of the job this wing has done with fitness. However, this will be wasted effort if you don’t continue your fitness over the summer. For the non-seniors, it’s very easy to become a couch potato over the summer and not do anything, but this will make your job that much more difficult when you return in the fall.

I will continue to provide unique training opportunities when I can, and attempt to make LLab an enjoyable experience. We are sometimes limited in what we can do in AFROTC, but if any of you have an idea about something you’d like to see or do, please come see me. Even if you think it might not work, I would like to hear about it. I am always willing to listen to new ideas and I will try to constantly improve the program while I am COC.

Captain Anthony Anderson

Commandant of Cadets and Associate Professor of Aerospace Studies

LLAB 23 - Operation Tenderfoot - 23 March 2010

This week was Operation Tenderfoot. It is a yearly extended march through the trails of the Mizzou campus that is designed to give the cadets going to Field Training this summer practice commanding a marching flight while under pressure from trainers, as well as to help break in the combat boots for those same cadets. It was a nice day in Columbia for a several-mile march through the woods.

The cadets separated into their four squadrons while the FTP cadets were rotated into different positions: element leaders, road guards, and the flight commander. The marching route took us from Stankowski Field, across Stadium Boulevard, to the off road bike and walking trails south of campus.

Crossing campus was good practice for using road guards. They are cadets in bright orange safety vests who march in front and behind the flight and block traffic so the flight can march safely through the intersection. The flight commander first enters the intersection to block traffic then deploys his or her road guards into position so that he or she can focus on marching the flight safely through the intersection. The flight commander is the last to leave the intersection once everyone else under his or her command is safely out of the road.

In addition, there were three stations where the flight stopped and practiced additional Warrior knowledge. The first station involved the familiarization of the inspection of vehicles in a hostile environment. Deployed military personnel who work in checkpoints must thoroughly inspect vehicles to protect from the threat of car bombs.

The second station involved reacting to heat stress. A serious problem in the military, heat stress is caused by not drinking enough water and the internal body-cooling system being overworked and includes symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness, loss of coordination, low blood pressure, among others. "Hydrate or die", as the saying goes. Not knowing it was a planned event, cadets were expected to take appropriate action in order to assist and to get the sick cadets help.

Cadet Shirley fell out of formation and pretended to be suffering from heat stress. Her acting was so good, I briefly thought she was seriously ill even though I knew she would be acting sick at some point.

The third station involved being confronted by local hostiles, pretending to be friendly. Flight commanders were expected to identify a possible threat and take action to protect his or her flight from harm.

Cadet Wagner impersonated a local hostile at one of the stations. I believe Cadet Wagner watched the Borat movie several times in preparation for his role.

POC trainers insured the FTP flight commanders were traveling the correct route while correcting invalid marching commands and adding stress in order to fluster the cadets. At Field Training, the cadets will be in a training environment 24/7 and must not let the added stress affect them. Operation Tenderfoot is always good practice for this.

LLAB 22 & Base Visit Impressions - Cadet Porter

On Tuesday March 9, 2010 the wing at DET 440 went on a base visit to Whiteman Air Force Base. There were many things to see and do. Aside from touring the base we got to see different kinds of aircraft. One aircraft we got to see was the B-2 bomber, we got to look at it very close and ask many questions about the bomber.

Some of the cadets were chosen to go fly in a B-2 simulator which is basically the most advanced video game ever. Another aircraft we got to see and talk about was the T-38 which is the plane used for advanced pilot training. Four very lucky cadets were chosen to fly in a T-38. Whiteman Air Force Base is very diverse in military branches; it has Navy, Marines, and the Army. That being said, the next aircraft was the Army Apache helicopter. We got to look around it and ask the pilot questions about it. One of the places we got to go was the chow hall for lunch. All in all it was a good day and a good learning experience for the cadets to see was active duty would really be like.

Cadet Third-Class Christopher Porter

Learning to be a cadet - Cadet Crandell

Here recently, Cadet Gruening has challenged the members of the wing via email to look back on there first days as an AFROTC cadet in effort to develop a background for the pending new student orientation program (NSOP). This program would be used as a guide to help Cadets learn the ropes of being a cadet in AFROTC. For some, the distance of time may have stored those memories away with a lesser amount of clarity; however, for me (freshmen, IMT) it was just last semester and my memory has yet to dissolve the finer details.

I remember the barbecue we had for the parents and the new students, it was a brief hour or two of running back and forth between time with our parents and being briefed through power point on the rules and regulations. It was a lot to take in at the time, I wasn’t really sure how I was going to lock all this information into my brain. About a week or two (and a few hair cuts for the boys) later, the opportunity to wear my uniform for the first time presented itself; it just so happened a three star and a one star general were visiting the wing for the first time in a few years (which is not intimidating at all…).

I live in an ROTC learning community and luckily happened to make friends with a few Marine Options out of the NROTC detachment who taught me how to shine my shoes. Once that was taken care of, I proceeded to suck the life out of the few upper level Air Force cadets on my floor using questions on how to get my uniform ready. The several responses I received went something to the tune of “The UOD is service dress, so wear your LSB’s and your tie tab, and don’t forget to IP your uniform.” My initial thought: can I get some English please? After my brief phase of feeling pity for Webster and the act of turning his elaborately organized language into a series of acronyms, I did what was needed and ultimately made it through that Saturday morning without making a complete fool of myself.

With time, each and every one of these tasks became easier and easier to maintain, handle, and execute. However, the moral of the story is, I feel that a new student orientation program would be highly beneficial to the wing and it’s incoming cadets. It would most definitely eliminate some of the initial distress associated with these simple tasks and take a little bit off the edge of confusion for the future IMT. Through this program I feel that cadets will have more of an understanding of what ROTC entails and what is required of them as a Future Officer of the United States Air Force.

Cadet First Class Meaghan Crandell

FTP Impressions: Cadet Drue

This year has been challenging for me. The transition from being a freshmen cadet (IMT) to a sophomore cadet (FTP) was substantial. ROTC was much more laid back as an IMT cadet. I got to sit back and watch the FTP struggle with trying to work as a team among other pressures put upon them, knowing next year that was going to be my class.

Cadet Drue and her fellow FTP peers sit at attention, while their Field Training Preparation trainer addresses them. The sophomore year of AFROTC emphasis peer leadership, attention to detail, and self discipline.

Now that I am FTP I find myself given more responsibility and leadership roles. At the beginning of my sophomore year I was nervous for the obstacles I knew were to come. Marching, memorizing, and being a peer leader were all things that I was once uncomfortable with. Although these aspects of being FTP are challenging in their own rights the biggest challenge of FTP year lay in the fact that I had to find the courage to rely on and to become a team with my fellow FTP cadets. That, above all else, is the greatest obstacle of any individual throughout their FTP year.

In regards to my own accomplishments I can proudly say with every quote I have been given, every time I get the chance to stand in front of my flight and direct them as need be, and when I am given roles of being a true leader, I gradually get more and more confident in myself. In pertaining to being an FTP cadet of a group, the transition was not so smooth. In the beginning working together seemed an impossible goal. So many frustrations and problems arose until I found myself and others attempting to see through our own ideas and plans to accomplish objectives. Needless to say we never got anywhere. Then, somewhere along the way a point came when differences stopped and cohesiveness emerged. It was not until we became a single unit, one entity, that we started improving and conquering our goals.

Working together is the most important part of FTP year and for me it is one of the most rewarding. It is gratifying to walk away from a hard day of events in ROTC knowing that my fellow cadets improved and that I improved. Granted I still do make mistakes, tons of mistakes, but every mistake and chance to lead gets me closer and closer to my goal. The goal of becoming an officer in the United States Air Force.

Cadet Third Class Rachel Drue

LLAB 21 - 2 Mar 10

Part of ROTC includes community service and charity. In addition to adopting a highway for cleanup, this year the cadet commander, Cadet Swartz has led the way to the creation of a Relay for Life team. Relay for Life is the main fund-raising effort for the American Cancer Society, the leading charity for the cure of cancer.

As part of our fund-raising effort, the Wing is taking part in the Miss Relay contest. In it, each Relay for Life team has a male representative participate in a cross-dressing beauty pageant involving a "walk" contest as well as a talent show. To select our Peageant contestant, the wing is voting for POC males as well as our commander, Lieutenant Colonel Doherty and our NCO Staff Sergeant Kanoy. Each vote costs $1, and will potentially raise a lot of money for the American Cancer Society.

For more information, please visit http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?pg=entry&fr_id=23699

This week, the FTP cadets participated in the second half of Operation Job Shadow. In it, some FTP cadets took over and led a tournament of a marching game called Tank, others met with Key Staff and wrote Operation Plans for various events.

In Tank, two flight commanders attempt to march their flights into each other. If they make a "hit" on the side or back, they score a point.

Cadet Roberson commands his flight in a pre-match warm up.

Cadet Pund makes for sure that everyone in his flight is on the same page when it comes to marching maneuvers.

Cadet Cherry, Porter, and Hurley planning and filling out an Operations Plan for an AEF skills event.

Operation Job Shadow - Cadet Flach

Last week at DET 440 the FTP took charge. Operation Job Shadow was meant for the FTP cadets to get a feel for how the wing operates.

The cadets had a wing commander, group commanders, squadron commanders, and flight commanders. Each cadet was shadowed by the POC who actually held the real job they were standing in for that day. We went into the SRC for Lab, and the group staff were given tasks to accomplish. While group staff was hard at work on various tasks, they were also in charge of the rest of the wing. The rest of the wing was on the court playing "tank" (which is a drill competition between flights.)

The FTP who were in charge had many things on their plate, but hopefully they now realize how actual Field Training will be. Field Training operates as a wing with cadets in charge. This exercise was designed to give them the opportunity to see how the wing works, and also to provide them some insight to Field Training. Overall the day went pretty smooth, and the FTP were able to put themselves in places they will use during Field Training and in their years as a POC here at the DET.

Cadet First Lieutenant Taylor Flach