The Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (AFROTC) program at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) held an enlistment ceremony on March 26 for its first group of seven cadets to have been contracted into the United States Air Force Reserve (Officers Training Corps).
UAH Operating Location 012A, the first of its kind in the country, was officially activated on Aug. 29, 2024, with Maj. Matthew Spinks and Capt. Brett Collins as its cadre officers. UAH is a part of The University of Alabama System.
U.S. Air Force Capt. Brett Collins, right, one of the Air Force ROTC cadre officers at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), swears in UAH’s first group of seven cadets to be chosen for enlistment on March 26, 2025, at Charger Union on the UAH campus.
Ann Marie Martin | UAH
Collins swore in the following cadets, listed with their academic majors:
- C/3C Madison Bipes, meteorology
- C/3C Dorian Cole, information systems cybersecurity
- C/3C Quan Davis, computer science, cybersecurity
- C/3C William Harper, business
- C/3C David Hays, computer engineering
- C/3C Gabriel Rice, mechanical engineering
- C/3C Jacob Padgett, Ph.D., cybersecurity
“The Air Force mission is to ‘Fly, Fight and Win – airpower anytime, anywhere,’” Spinks noted. “These students have worked tirelessly over the past nine months in a training environment that resembles conditions they will encounter on active duty.”
The students will receive a monthly stipend for participation in the program and other officer development training, he said. After they complete field training this summer, those pursuing an undergraduate degree will be eligible to receive a two-year annual $18,000 tuition scholarship or a two-year annual $10,000 scholarship for room and board.
The cadets went through a rigorous process to be selected for enlistment and to continue their training in Air Force ROTC, Spinks said. They were judged on grades, performance in ROTC training, physical fitness and standardized testing. Seven of 10 UAH cadets were chosen, slightly more than the national average.
Another rigorous challenge lies ahead for the UAH cadets this summer at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery – the leadership and development training exercise known as field training.
“They will put their UAH education and teamwork and leadership fundamentals learned in our program to the test,” Spinks said, “and they will use those skills to both work with and learn from hundreds of other young men and women in other AFROTC programs across the nation. The most exciting part of this training is the exchange of ideas and connections they will make with their flight members at Maxwell AFB.”
He describes field training as “a grueling 20-day immersive experience consisting of marching, leadership and command evaluations, obstacle courses, small-arms qualification, combat training, and leadership development and mentorship.”
Those who make it through will become UAH’s first Professional Officer Course (POC) cadets.
“This experience will challenge them to be the best future leaders they can be,” Spinks said. “With our future POC class of seven, the future looks bright for Operating Location 012A – and our nation’s Air and Space Force!”
For more information on what Air Force ROTC has to offer, contact afrotc@uah.edu.