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ROTC cadets tour Dover AFB

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jared Duhon
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Cadets with the Air Force reserve officers` training corps from Worchester Polytechnic Institute in Worchester, Mass., visted Dover Air Force Base, Del., March 6, 2013.

Non-scholarship cadets that join the ROTC are allowed to try the program until the end of their sophomore year, then must make the difficult decision of picking a job at the end of their junior year.

"They have limited knowledge of all the career fields open to them, they can read the officer classification directory but all they see is a bunch of numbers and words," said Lt. Col. Cynthia Provost, commander AFROTC Detachment 340 (Worchester Consortium) Department Head, Air Force and Aerospace Studies Professor of Aerospace Studies Worchester Polytechnic Institute. "But, they don't know what those words mean. So, by going to a base the cadets get to see Airmen doing the jobs that the cadets are interested in and are reading about."

Provost and Capt. Vito Bussmann, recruiting flight commander and assistant professor of aerospace Studies, and 14 cadets traveled to Dover AFB to participate in a base tour to allow the cadets to see more than just the detachment or local Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.

"Since many of our cadets major in engineering and we are located near Hanscom AFB, which has many engineers, I wanted to ensure the cadets received a broader exposure other than just the engineers and pilots that we have as guest speakers," said Provost. "I also wanted to ensure the cadets were able to see an active duty base with an operational airfield with military aircraft. Hanscom has an airfield but it's mostly commercial corporate traffic."

Some cadets go in to AFROTC program not having any military background.

"I never grew up in a military family and searching something on the internet can only show me so much," said Samantha Reeves, freshmen cadet with the AFROTC Det 340 Worchester Polytechnic Institute. "Seeing actual people doing real jobs is definitely important to me, because all I see in our detachment is the cadets doing small jobs. Seeing how it turns into something bigger is very motivational."

Cadets in their final year have already been picked up for jobs and just want to see a broader Air Force.

According to Cadet Col. Rinaldo Izzo, commander for the 340th Cadet Wing, Goddard Wing, he signed up to be a project engineer and has been assigned to Los Angeles Air Force Base.

"The base tour helps us get a better idea how it is on the enlisted side,"said Izzo. "That gives us invaluable information."

Dover AFB has a unique mission processing a plethora of cargo consisting of anything from rations to medical supplies. They feed their cargo to six C-5M Super Galaxy's and 13 C-17 Globemaster III's capable of delivering supplies to oversea locations which the cadets were able to learn about first-hand by visiting the Port Dawgs. Even during the cadet's visit the base was conducting an Operational Readiness Exercise.

"Dover AFB turned out to be an amazing experience for all the cadets and also for Bussmann and myself," said Provost. "There was so much more happening there than any of us expected. I would absolutely encourage any AFROTC cadets to visit Dover AFB for the breadth of operations and the tremendous hospitality we received from everyone at the base."