As the newest employee in my role as the Department Manager, I have found myself warmly welcomed by this ROTC community with the Cadre and Cadets. The community is so strong among the students that I have been drawn and begun attending morning physical training (PT) sessions with our team. My attendance has been well received, and many of the cadets tell me how they feel that our entire Cadre and staff team is extremely connected, and that this is very encouraging to them. We train our cadets to lead with strong emphasis on values & ethics, personal development, officership, tactics & techniques, critical thinking, and problem solving within the ROTC program. The cadets spend much of their time building a team environment, and working together to accomplish the goals of this program. We strive to engage them in a learning environment focused on being strong leaders and building lifelong personal and professional development. Our cadets are sharp and focused. We have students in our program with exceptional academic achievements, and this program encourages them to be lifelong learners and educators. Detachment 290 is a team, we are a community, and most importantly we are family, and I could not be more proud to be a part of this unified force.

At the University of Kentucky, and more specifically, in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Air Force ROTC functions as the Department of Aerospace Studies and is located in Barker Hall, also known as the Buell Armory. Barker Hall is the second oldest building on campus, and we share the facility with Army ROTC, dance studio, and the UK Rifle Team. The UK Air Force ROTC program consists of roughly 100 cadets with about 40% in Engineering majors, 10% in Nursing, and the other 40% is a blended representation of various studies across campus. Our ROTC program serves as the Central Kentucky detachment allowing our Institution to accommodate students from crosstown locations such as, Georgetown College, Midway, Centre, EKU, KSU, and Transylvania. ROTC programs began in 1862 under the Morrill Act (Land-Grant Act), allowing students to train to become military officers while attending college, with the goal to provide training and education for all commissioned cadets to succeed. We strive to instill that all cadets need to be engaged in their studies which is emphasized by our Commander, Lt Col Ard, with his outspoken mission of "education first".  The ROTC is a great way to help students earn scholarships, as well as launching his/her professional career. Overall, the program is a community of driven individuals that will have many opportunities post-graduation, and also have the honor of being a member of the United States Air Force. The Air Force is committed to, “integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do,” and I can honestly say in my time here I have seen nothing but these things in all of our Cadre members and Cadets. I am privileged to be a part of this team. Above all, WE fly, WE fight, WE win together, and even I - a staff member - feel very much a part of this and could not be prouder!