The Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps has headquarters at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., and is part of the Jeanne M. Holm Center for Officer Accessions and Citizen Development.
Mission
Air Force ROTC's mission is to develop quality leaders for the Air Force.
Personnel and Resources Air Force ROTC includes four regional headquarters, 144 detachments and more than 1,200 cross-town universities. In 2010, ROTC commissioned a little more than 1,800 second lieutenants who entered active duty in the U.S. Air Force.
Organization
AFROTC is the largest and oldest source of commissioned officers for the Air Force. Its headquarters is located in Montgomery, Ala., at Maxwell AFB. The program recruits, educates and commissions officer candidates through college campus programs based on Air Force requirements. Students can attend classes through host or cross-town enrollment programs or consortium agreements. Cadet enrollments have ranged from a high of 23,605 in 1986 to a low of 10,231 in 1993.
Senior ROTC Program
There are two primary routes to an Air Force commission for college students through Senior Air Force ROTC: a four-year program and a two-year program. Students attend AFROTC classes along with other college courses and normally receive elective academic credit.
After successfully completing all requirements, the cadets are commissioned as Air Force officers with a four-year active duty service commitment. Pilots, combat systems officers and air battle managers have longer commitments upon completion of specialized training.
Four-Year Program The first two years of the four-year program, the General Military Course, consist one hour of classroom work, two hours of leadership laboratory and three hours physical conditioning each week. After completing the first two years requirements, cadets who wish to compete for entry into the last two years of the program, the Professional Officer Course, must do so under the requirements of the Professional Officer Course selection system. This system uses qualitative factors such as grade-point average, unit commander evaluation, aptitude and physical fitness test scores to determine a student's officer potential. After selection, students must successfully complete a four-week, summer field training unit at Maxwell AFB before entering the course.
In the Professional Officer Course, cadets attend class three hours a week, participate in a two-hour, weekly leadership laboratory and perform three hours of physical conditioning weekly. Cadets apply what they have learned in the general military course and at field training. Cadets conduct the leadership laboratories and manage the unit's cadet corps. Each unit has a cadet corps based on the Air Force organizational pattern of flight, squadron, group and wing. Classes are small, with emphasis on group discussions and cadet presentations. Classroom topics include leadership, communication skills and national defense policy. Once enrolled in the Professional Officer Course, all cadets are enlisted in the Air Force Reserve, assigned to the Obligated Reserve Section.
Two-Year Program The two-year program allows cadets to enter the last two years of the four-year program. Entrance into the Professional Officer Course is highly competitive. Two-year applicants must successfully complete an extended field training program to prepare them for entry into the Professional Officer Course. Two-year applicants are not committed to the Air Force until they return to school in the fall and make a decision to enlist through AFROTC.
Scholarships
Current emphasis in the AFROTC College Scholarship Program is to award scholarships to candidates pursuing undergraduate engineering or other scientific and technical disciplines. More than half of the scholarships are awarded to students in these disciplines. However, students in every degree program enjoy scholarship opportunities, as the Air Force seeks to engage students who excel both academically and militarily.
Scholarships are awarded in increments of two, three and four years. AFROTC offers several types of scholarships. Type 1 covers full tuition and most required fees. Type 2 covers tuition and fees, but is capped at $18,000 annually. Type 3 pays up to $9,000 annually and can be used at any university that offers AFROTC. Type 7 scholarships are normally designated for in-state tuition-level institutions. All types of awards provide an allowance for books, most required fees and a monthly nontaxable stipend.
All scholarship cadets are required to meet certain academic, military and physical fitness standards to earn and maintain scholarship benefits. Also, scholarship recipients must be younger than 31 as of Dec. 31 of the calendar year during which commissioning is scheduled.
Field Training Field training, in many cases, is a cadet's first exposure to a working Air Force environment and the Aerospace Expeditionary Force concept. The program develops military leadership and discipline and provides Air Force officer orientation and motivation. At the same time, the Air Force can evaluate each cadet's potential as an officer and entry into the POC.
Field training provides leadership opportunities, professional development, marksmanship training, team building, physical fitness and AEF orientation. Lodging, meals and transportation (from the cadet's home of record or school) are provided at no cost.
Medical Professions
Nursing majors may apply for an AFROTC scholarship and graduates agree to accept a commission in the Air Force Nurse Corps and serve four years on active duty after successfully completing their licensing examination. Cadet premedical scholarship recipients who are accepted to medical school within one year of graduating may be sponsored in their pursuit of medical degrees.
Legal Professions Both first-year and second-year law students can apply for AFROTC scholarships. Students complete either a one-year or two-year AFROTC program while attending law school.
Additionally, second-year law students can pursue an Air Force commission through AFROTC's graduate law program. This program guarantees judge advocate duty after a student completes all AFROTC, law school and bar requirements. After graduating from an American Bar Association-accredited law school, the student must be admitted to practice law before the highest state court of any state or a federal court. The new lawyer is then commissioned into the Air Force in the grade determined by the laws and directives in effect at the time of call to active duty.
Airman Commissioning Opportunities
AFROTC has four programs in which Air Force enlisted members may pursue a commission.
Scholarships for Outstanding Airmen to ROTC, or SOAR, allows commanders to recognize outstanding Airmen by nominating them for an AFROTC scholarship in any major. The Airman Scholarship and Commissioning Program, or ASCP, lets Airmen compete for AFROTC scholarships while coordinating their application package with the AFROTC unit they are interested in attending. Although any major may be selected, technical areas and nursing are usually considered more favorably. Both SOAR and ASCP are available in two- to four-year lengths. To be eligible for a scholarship, Airmen must be working on their first bachelor's degree and cannot exceed age limits as prescribed by public law.
The Professional Officer Course Early Release Program is available to Airmen who may not be eligible or competitive for a scholarship due to age, degree program or grade-point average. Individuals compete for allocations while coordinating their application package with the AFROTC unit they are interested in attending.
These programs require the selected Airmen to leave active duty to complete their degrees and Air Force requirements necessary to earn a commission.
AFROTC also manages the Airmen Education and Commissioning Program. This program allows selected Airmen to remain on active duty while pursuing a baccalaureate degree at a college or university affiliated with AFROTC. After graduation, they attend Air Force Officer Training School, Basic Officer Training and receive their commission as a second lieutenant.
In addition, enlisted servicemembers interested in becoming a registered nurse can apply for the Nurse Enlisted Commissioning Program, or NECP. NECP is a two-year program that provides an advancement pathway for enlisted Airmen to receive an active commission through the Nurse Corps. NECP is an opportunity for enlisted Airmen to complete a full-time bachelor's degree in nursing at an accredited university while on active duty. Contact the chief nurse at the nearest active duty, Air National Guard or Air Force Reserve medical treatment facility for more information and guidance. Upon graduation and after passing licensure requirements, they attend Officer Training School, Commissioned Officer Training as a second lieutenant.
More information about these programs can be obtained from a base education office, an Air Force ROTC unit or the Web, http://www.au.af.mil/au/holmcenter/AFROTC/EnlistedComm/EnlistedCommissioning.asp
History ROTC was established with passage of the National Defense Act of 1916. The first Air Force ROTC (then called Air ROTC) units were established between 1920 and 1923 at the University of California at Berkeley, Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Illinois, the University of Washington, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College.
After World War II, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, chief of staff of the War Department, signed General Order No. 124, establishing Air ROTC units at 77 colleges and universities throughout the nation.
Women were accepted in the Senior Program, starting in 1969. Eligible Air Force enlisted men and women pursuing a college degree who are interested in becoming commissioned officers are given that opportunity through competition in the AFROTC Airman Scholarship and Commissioning Program, established in 1973.
In 1978, Air Training Command assumed responsibility for AFROTC programs. On July 1, 1993, Air Training Command merged with Air University to form Air Education and Training Command and AFROTC realigned under Air University.
In February 1997, Air Force ROTC and Officer Training School merged under the newly parent organization, Air Force Officer Accession and Training Schools. This restructuring placed oversight for three-quarters of Air Force officer production under one organization and facilitated the sharing of manpower and expertise with minimum affect on the day-to-day operations of either organization. In June 2008, AFOATS was renamed the Jeanne M. Holm Center for Officer Accession and Citizen Development Center, or Holm Center.
For More Information
Contact Air Force ROTC, Recruiting Branch, by mail at 551 East Maxwell Blvd, Maxwell AFB AL 36112-6106, by phone at toll-free 1-866-4AFROTC (1-866-423-7682) or on the Web at www.afrotc.com.
Point of Contact
For information on Air Force ROTC other than scholarships or commissioning programs:
Air University, Public Affairs; 55 LeMay Plaza South; Maxwell AFB, AL 36112-6334; 334-953-2014/2015 or DSN 493-2014/2015.
