My name is Rachel Williams, and I work hard. People on campus might know me as Audrey from Little Shop of Horrors or as “TA number 2” (the one with music on Fridays). Some of you prefrosh might know me if you went on a campus tour and remember Rachel. I was the one who made you promise not to let her fall down the stairs (since it actually is possible to be a complete klutz and a varsity fencer). However, I’m probably best remembered as that girl in uniform every Tuesday, Cadet (Rachel) Williams.

I’m an MIT student first (yeah course 16!), but being an AFROTC cadet comes in a close second in my life, because out of everything I do, it means the most to my future. I want to be a fighter pilot in the US Air Force, hopefully going on to be an astronaut on the next generation of space vehicles. As much as I love grading problem sets for 8.02 (I <3 TEAL), it is ROTC that will give me the power to make my dreams come true. This year is especially important because this summer I will be attending something called Field Training for a month at Maxwell AFB.

What is Field Training? Well, it’s a program that all potential Air Force officers must go through before they can commission into the military. It’s essentially AFROTC’s version of basic training and we get ranked against all the other cadets in the country. For those of us who want one of the few pilot slots, it’s a big deal. As such, a large chunk of my time this semester has been spent preparing for Field Training. Being a sophomore, this is our first chance to take charge and set the example for the rest of the detachment. This involves anything from leading Group Leadership Problems (GLPs) to organizing the workout at morning Physical Training (PT). All the while, we’re still p-setting, playing sports, performing, building igloos, and programming robots just like normal MIT students.

I often get asked (mostly by my hallmates who pretty much only see me for dinner) how I do it all. The answer is a combination of personal drive and great friends. I know what I want to do with my life, and I am working hard to get there. However, it takes people like my fellow Air Force cadets and course 16ers to provide that extra bit of motivation Thursday nights when the Unified PSet still isn’t done and we have several deadlines to meet for that Saturday Field Training Evaluation session. If there’s one thing you learn in the military it’s that you cannot complete the mission alone. In fact, some of the best friends I have here I met through ROTC.

When all of you prefrosh get to campus next year (or the year after!) I will have graduated Field Training and will be competing for a pilot slot. I’ll still be tour guiding, fencing…maybe TAing… and I’ll still be that girl in uniform every Tuesday. I’ll be that much closer to being an Air Force fighter pilot and accomplished one of the greatest milestones I’ve had to deal with so far. So say Hi, the camouflage only looks intimidating. =)

On Sunday, 25 October, the cadets of MIT's Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) Detachment 365, including myself, traveled over to Hanscom Air Force Base (about a 30 minute drive) for the fall semester's FLX, or Field Leadership Exercise. Over the past five weeks, we had been learning skills to help us in this exercise. From low crawling to how to challenge intruders, we had to know it all so that the FLX could test our leadership and problem-solving abilities.

But first, let me start with a little background. The question I get asked most often about AFROTC is "but what do you do every week?" Cadets in Det 365 have 1-2 hours of class every week, where we learn about the Air Force and its history, customs, and practices. Every year the focus shifts a little bit, focusing first towards Field Training between sophomore and junior year, and after that towards working and living as an Air Force officer. As a freshman, I'm in AS.100, and right now we're learning about team building. It's fairly low-key, but it covers topics we'll need to be comfortable with in future years.

On Tuesdays from 3:10-5:10 pm (or 1510-1710 hrs, as we like to say), we have Leadership Lab, or LLAB, which is where we really get to practice our skills. LLAB is run by the juniors, seniors, and fifth-years, and is designed to teach the freshmen and sophomores useful skills and to let the upperclassmen get practice leading a group. So far we've had a couple mini-field exercises (out on Briggs Field, if you see people in camouflage carrying fake rifles, that's us) as well as teaching us marching and ceremonial customs.

To top off all that excitement, two mornings and one afternoon a week we have required physical training, or PT, to keep us strong and looking sweet in our uniforms.

So anyways, back to this Sunday's FLX. After learning these skills (and having to read a 23-page document teaching us more skills), it was time to test them out. We drove (transited, in military speak) to Hanscom AFB where we met up with the AFROTC detachment from UMass Lowell. Hanscom already had a simulated forward operating base set up, much like a base that would be set up during wartime, complete with gates, tents, and a command center. The freshman and sophomore cadets were split up into teams and assigned various specialties, from Medical to Security Forces. Obviously, we didn't have to know every skill in those areas, but we were expected to make use of the ones we had been taught in order to complete our missions. After about 25 minutes, we rotated stations so that we could get a chance at everything.

The command "Begin exercise. Begin exercise." came over the loudspeaker, and we were ready to go. The upperclassmen, as well as the cadre (active duty officers that run the ROTC programs) acted as "shadows" to evaluate and assist us. Some cadets also role played by acting as members of the press, civilian contractors, injured people, or protesters, and thus forced us to make decisions about how to appropriately handle each situation.

For example, when I was on the Medical team, there was a simulated base attack, and some of the cadets were "injured" at various locations around the base. We only had two stretchers, which needed to be carried by four people, and so we had to split up into teams and make sure that every injured person was accounted for and "treated" according to their injuries. Sometimes we would be indecisive or get something wrong, and that's when an upperclass shadow would step in to give us advice on what to do. We kept getting calls on our one radio about people we needed to go pick up, so on top of having a lot of responsibility, we only had one source of communication between us and the command center. We had to collaborate and constantly assess our surroundings to make sure we could do the best job possible.

It's situations like this that are common to many of our leadership exercises, and it's definitely helpful to be able to practice handling stressful situations in a controlled environment before we confront them in the real world. So, even though it was pretty stressful at times, and at the end of the day I was exhausted, I can honestly say that I enjoyed it.

Air Force ROTC will test you by putting you in situations you probably could have avoided in any other case, but overcoming these challenges has been tremendously motivating to me and many of my fellow cadets. The general theory behind these challenges, big and small, from field exercises to making sure your uniform is perfect, is that if we can handle these things we can handle our jobs as future military leaders. It certainly hasn't been easy, especially on top of adjusting to the intensity of regular MIT, but by the end of my four years here I am 100% sure I will be ready for a career in the Air Force.

Every Air Force ROTC cadet has the opportunity to attend a 3 week base visit called "Ops Air Force" during the summer after their freshman year. This program is a Professional Development Training (PDT) program designed to give cadets a better view of Air Force life so that they will become better officers in the future.

I spent my summer PDT at Dyess AFB in Abilene, TX. Dyess is home to the 7th Bomb Wing with a fleet of B-1B bombers as well as the 317th Airlift group comprised of C-130s. Thirteen other cadets on the visit and I were split up among the different groups throughout the base and shifted around to different squadrons to get a broad view of base operations. I was lucky enough to be assigned to the B-1B Maintenance Group. I was able to get down and dirty in some jets and really get to know the enlisted side of the Air Force which keeps our planes airborne. During my three weeks I had some amazing experiences that few of my friends could ever dream of. I helped repair a damaged B-1 engine, replaced hydraulic components, brakes, tires, indicators, inspected bomb racks and worked on the ejection seats. During the last week I spent my days out on the flight line where I marshaled and launched a B1 and conducted engine tests.

In addition to our scheduled work rotations the base also had special activities planned for the cadets while we were there. We are able to get C-130 flights, B1-B simulator flights, Habitat for Humanity project, barbeque with the executive base staff and an Explosive Ordanance Disposal (EOD) demonstration. The other cadets and I had the opportunity to leave the base on nights and weekends: we went paintballing, saw a few movies and had some amazing Texas beef brisket!

Even though all of these things sound super cool I feel that the most important thing I took away from my trip was an appreciation for the enlisted troops that I'll one day have the opportunity to lead and how much they contribute to our Air Force. In ROTC, during the school year, we are only exposed to a very small sliver of what the real Air Force is like. The experiences I had working on real projects crucial to our nation's defense rejuvenated my enthusiasm in ROTC and I can't wait to continue in the fall!

This year, during spring break, Detachment 365 cadets Darlington, Ernst and Fuhrmann traversed the nation to a gathering of exceptional cadets from the Arnold Air Society (AAS). This event, known as the National Conclave (NATCON), was hosted in Chicago, IL this year and was dubbed CHICON. During the weekend these three intrepid cadets attended many AAS business sessions in order to pass resolutions and make decisions on behalf of the society.

During these sessions we had discussions with AFOATS Commander Major General Alfred K. Flowers as well as AFROTC Commander Colonel William R. Kunzweiler. We also witnessed a fantastic demonstration of the Air Force Drill Team, Hooahh! The Air Force Association hosted a luncheon for the cadets where we heard an incredible war story from a Vietnam Veteran Air Force pilot, and we watched our own Cadet Castonia receive the Northeast Region Outstanding Cadet of the Year Award. During the meetings we spoke with cadets from all over the country and swapped stories about our detachments and ROTC experiences. We gathered a lot of useful information and gained insight as to how we can improve our squadron and fulfill our goal as AAS cadets, which is to benefit society on behalf of the Air Force.

We voted on two issues of utmost importance while we were at CHICON. First, we voted for the Charles E. Yeager Squadron of West Virginia University to be the National Headquarters of Arnold Air Society for 2008-2009. This resolution passed after heated debate between those who admired the squadron for their aspiration and those who felt the squadron did not provide sufficient evidence of their ability to be an effective National Headquarters. Once the 2007-2008 National Staff unofficially endorsed the Charles E. Yeager Squadron, momentum swung in their favor, and they won the title of National Headquarters for the coming year. We also voted for the Arnold Air Society and Silver Wings National Conclave 2009 to be held in Phoenix, AZ. It will be known as FIESTACON and is sure to be every bit as fun and productive and a few degrees warmer than CHICON.

However, this trip was not all business. We had plenty of free time to spend as we pleased. Whether it was our exciting walk downtown in search of the best Chicago-style pizza place, or our jaw-dropping experience checking out Bentleys and Lamborghinis, we never felt like the meetings were eating up all of our time. Even during the times that we didn’t go out into the city we still had a blast. We regularly lounged around in our hotel room to watch the March Madness games, and watch our brackets get destroyed in the process. There was also a Conclave-wide on-site activity during which everybody got together to play all sorts of games and hang out. There was golf, basketball, music, a moon-bounce, arcade games, and much more. Overall, it was a fun and exciting experience that I wish everybody could have enjoyed.

It is 1200 on a Tuesday during IAP, and I have accomplished more than the average MIT student does in an entire school day. How have I achieved this? It all started with my alarm at 0530.

I might have woken my roommates, but it was early enough that I'm sure they all fell back to sleep. After a quick shave and a few stumbles over my roommates' chairs, I was out of the door of my fraternity and on my bike, riding through the cold and wet January air. I rode across the Harvard Bridge, and I sat down in front of the international phones of the MIT Entrepreneurship Center by 0615; just in time to catch the Polish after their lunch break.

After a few hours of inviting Eastern Europeans to the MIT Global Startup Workshop conference, I hopped back on my bike and headed to the Navy ROTC building. During IAP, I am working on a project to improve battalion communications through the installation of a web server. I worked for two hours before hurrying over to the Z-center to make an 11am Jiu Jitsu workout with the American Jiu Jitsu Club.

Now it is noon time, and I have already worked for five hours, and squeezed in an hour-long workout. With the rest of my day, I will work in my UROP lab for a few hours and then do some coding for 6.370, a java programming competition also known as "Battlecode."

You might ask how this relates to Navy ROTC, or why I am participating in so many activities during a month that many students use as a break from classes and work.

My achievements during IAP, and many of those during the semester, can be attributed to the skills I have learned as a midshipman in the ROTC program. The Navy stresses time management, planning, and pushing oneself to the limit. During my time in NROTC, I have learned how to budget my time efficiently and accomplish my goals, both in my navy life and my life at school. I have learned that getting an early start isn't always a bad thing, and that taking an hour out of the day to maintain a good level of physical activity can make me more productive.

The Navy ROTC program at MIT also encourages midshipmen to participate in on- and off-campus activities. It is understood by the staff and other midshipmen that sometimes the best leadership training can come from applying the skills learned in ROTC to other activities, and it is because of this that the NROTC program doesn't overwhelm midshipmen with time commitments. While my Navy commitments do take a significant amount of time, they do not prevent me from taking advantage of the amazing opportunities in clubs and UROPs on campus.

Navy ROTC at MIT is the best of both worlds: I have the endless opportunities provided by the MIT community, and I have a professional Navy atmosphere to prepare me for my future as an officer in the fleet.

MIDN 3/c Robert Block is a sophomore at MIT in the Nuclear Science and Engineering Department. Feel free to contact him with questions about MIT or the Navy ROTC program via his email, reblock [at] mit [dot] edu.

"Sometimes after I take off, I wonder how I am getting paid to do this job... I should be paying them."

This quote came from an F-15 pilot who stopped by to speak to the AFROTC cadets a few weeks ago. It is statements like these that make me very excited to commission as an Officer in the United States Air Force, to have the chance to fly faster than the speed of sound, pull more Gs than any roller coaster, and gain an experience that very few people will ever know. I want to be a fighter pilot - that is why I joined AFROTC, for the chance (which happens to be very good coming out of MIT) to have an awesome and exciting life.

When I first signed up for ROTC, I thought of it simply as an avenue to become a pilot and to pay for school. I wasn't expecting to gain much in the program other than a commission. Now I am a year and a half into it and I have learned more from the ROTC program than from any other source here at MIT. Everyone at MIT is learning technical subjects: thermodynamics, differential equations, programming... ROTC has given me the opportunity to learn useful and immediately applicable skills. I have learned a considerable amount about management and about working with superiors and subordinates - and along the way I also learned how to lead.

This abstract concept of "leadership" seemed very generic to me as I filled out my college applications, making sure to include all of the "leadership positions" that I had held in high school. After only a year and a half at MIT, this concept of leadership has become much clearer to me, as it now stands to separate me from my peers. Having tangible leadership experience has been vital for many different applications and interviews that I have done since getting to MIT. From gaining other campus leadership positions, to competing competitively for scholarships, to getting internship offers, my ROTC experience has given me an edge. At MIT, sometimes you need something other than intelligence to make you stand out above the crowd. AFROTC did that for me.

The University of New Hampshire ROTC program recently organized a MOUT (Military Operations on Urban Terrain) training exercise. Twenty insurgents were holding five hostages in an abandoned prison, and they were to rescue them. Of course, they were not going to use live ammo - simply paintballs. I hadn't played paintball since I was in high school almost a decade ago. And when I played back then, it was an unorganized free-for-all, resembling an Unreal Tournament. So when UNH asked our battalion to supply people to act as insurgents and hostages, I jumped at the opportunity.

The prison is fairly far away from MIT, but UNH had arranged for us to travel in style - on a Chinook helicopter. As we boarded the bird at Endicott, I knew we were in for a bumpy ride. The weather conditions were far from ideal, and the ride was a bit shaky. The cadet next to me vomited up a Snickers bar that he had eaten during take off. But I was too busy focusing on the view out the window (and out the back door when it was open). The view was breathtaking - we were flying over the orange and red mountains of New Hampshire.

We landed at the prison, and quickly set up our defensive perimeter. We had 20 cadets, so we split into two groups. My team was stationed outside of the prison, patrolling the perimeter. I was in a small shack with another MIT cadet where we set up an ambush. It began to snow lightly and the scenery can only be described as being like that old Duke Nukem video game.

After a little bit of waiting, we saw a Chinook arrive and deposit a platoon of UNH cadets. The cadets were progressing towards the prison and walked next to our shack, and we opened fire. We lit up a few of them before they fell back and took cover. They then threw a paintball grenade at us, but they under threw it. It ended up rolling back to them. They then charged our position, and took out myself and my buddy. We were then searched and told to wait in a nice warm bus until everyone else was done.

After a little while, all the retired MIT cadets were resurrected and we were ordered to launch a counter-attack. We stormed the prison and retook a few rooms. However, we then stumbled upon a large group of UNH cadets who quickly demolished us. We found out that our insurgency group had managed to hold our position pretty well despite being outnumbered 4 to 1. However, in the end, they couldn't hold the position.

We cleaned up and went through an after-action review, where the cadre explained what we had done wrong. We then boarded onto a van and headed back down to Boston. What a way to spend a Friday!

The night still hung in the air at 0630 as the sun struggled to illuminate the lifeless region. In the center of the only hub of activity for miles, I waited. I was crouched, poised to act, my eyes focused directly forward. Out of my periphery I could see my comrades and I could sense that their resolve matched my own. A shrill tone broke the silence and my adrenaline spiked. In a frenzy, we coordinated a flanking attack of the enemy. They fought valiantly to repel our assault. Air strikes were effective in taking out a large number of opposing forces. I stayed back off the front line to provide ground support to my fellow soldiers. The fighting lasted for 15 minutes and I grew soaked with sweat and determination. I was lucky to still be alive. Several of my comrades had not been similarly fortunate. At long last, a joint attack decisively took out the last enemy unit.

The whistle blew. "The score of the Tri-Service Field Meet dodgeball competition is 1-0...Navy." Every year, the Army, Navy, and Air Force duke it out in sports like soccer, ultimate frisbee, water polo, track and field, tug of war, and my personal favorite, dodgeball. The event is run entirely by Midshipmen and Cadets and trophies are presented to the victorious service.

Though I am fiercely proud of being in the Navy, when push comes to shove I knew that the guys on the other side of the court were definitely on our team. We are a group of people who will have to hang together, and there is a great sense of camaraderie because we all have each other's back. In the fleet, the Navy will always back up the Marine Corps in projecting power ashore. Ground troops can always count on air support, and nobody is going put forth less than 110%. Some day soon, many of us will have to offer our support to comrades on the battlefield, just as we did that morning in dodgeball. It is a notion which is both sobering and uplifting.

The strength of the US military rests in its people. Leadership and excellence combine with selflessness and sacrifice and each soldier and sailor knows he can count on his fellow men and women. It took a competition like that to remind me of it so vividly.

As he walked up to us and stretched out his hand, the first thing that Col Wallen told the Det 365 Air Force ROTC Color Guard was something along the lines of, "You see that man over there? Make sure you show him your full respect, he's the top Senior NCO in the Air Force." Both men instantly had my respect.

One of the many reasons why I enjoy ROTC so much is that there are so many opportunities available to me that I wouldn't have anywhere else. The world's best leadership training is probably somewhere at the top of that list, but that's a completely different story. Instead, I'll discuss my fascination with color guard. I'm not completely sure why I enjoy color guard so much. I think it has a lot to do with my appreciation for the tradition and dignity of the military, and for me, color guards symbolize each of those qualities. Or it just might have to do with the fact that being able to slap around a rifle (even if it has been decommissioned) is just flat-out awesome. At any rate, I volunteer whenever I have the time, and that's how I ended up being a part of Col Wallen's retirement ceremony.

When the four of us arrived at the Dave Powers Room in the Constitution Inn in Boston, each of us immediately felt a little out of place. We were standing in the middle of a room full of colonels. As one Army officer pointed out to us later on, "Sure is a lot of brass in here isn't there?" When I finally saw a shoulder with a pair of shiny stars on it, I giddily tapped the shoulder of the cadet next to me and said, "There's a general in here!" He just nodded with a sorta "I know, let's not screw this up" attitude.

As we began setting up, the officers in charge of the ceremony started playing a video. The video was of Col Wallen thirty years younger, when he was in fact an ROTC detachment commander. It was actually really interesting to watch just because I could relate to a lot of the cadets that were being inspected in the video. However, what shocked me the most was that the 20something-year-old wing commander in the video was actually the narrator for the retirement ceremony. The 20-year-old cadet, so eager to begin his career in the United States Air Force, was now standing ten feet away from me a 50-year-old colonel, well respected and full of experience. I was blown away, probably more than I should've been, but for the rest of the ceremony I was thinking about the cadet in the video and how it related to my future in the Air Force...

The last half of the ceremony was extremely entertaining for the officers in the room were exchanging funny stories about Col Wallen and handing him gifts. My personal favorite was a t-shirt that read, "You're different today, I noticed the improvement immediately." One of the last gifts to Col Wallen was presented by the same Senior NCO that Col Wallen had pointed out to us earlier. It was a small statue of a man on horseback. The NCO explained that the statue was normally given out when a member of the enlisted corps retired, and symbolized a job well done, and that it was time to ride off into the sunset.

The reason I chose to write about my time at Col Wallen's retirement ceremony is because it really helped to put things into perspective. About halfway through, I jokingly whispered to the cadet next to me, "That's gonna be you someday." He laughed it off, but I could tell that he was seriously thinking about it. I truly hope that I have a retirement ceremony similar to Col Wallen's at some point in my life, being presented a statue of a man on horseback symbolizing a career of respect and honor, and finally riding off into the sunset. But that's just the end of the road. For now, I plan on focusing on where I am now, a hard working student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a proud cadet at Air Force ROTC Det 365, and hopefully someday, a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. I have too many great things going on now for me to worry about things that far down the line. I just hope nobody notices my improvement today.

For the second time in my life, I had the chance to ride in a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter. My first experience was nothing short of incredible, so I jumped at the opportunity. Before I knew it I was 500 feet above Boston catching a glimpse of the Red Sox practice. Pretty damn cool if I may say so.

I was acting as an escort to Dean of Student Life Benedict and Dean of Undergraduate Education Hastings, Distinguished Visitors (DV) for the event. Lieutenant Reyes and I picked up the Deans and drove them to Briggs field where the flight demonstrations were already underway. As we approached the landing zone, the Blackhawks were coming in low over New House. It was an awesome sight; definitely not something that I ever expected to see at MIT.

Tagging along with Distinguished Visitors has a number of benefits, to include skipping the long line of students who had signed up to fly. The Deans were given a short safety brief and we were on our way. We were all strapped in by the flight chief and the door was shut. While closed doors don't impede the view, it is truly another experience to fly with them open (as I did on my first flight).

As a Blackhawk revs up for takeoff, you can feel the power surge through you. It's fantastically loud - the kind of stuff that gets your adrenaline pumping. It's not hard to get caught up in this experience and miss the whole takeoff. I, however, was not going to let myself miss anything. The pilot brought it up slowly off the ground, got level and then let it rip. Strapped in, looking out the window, you get the sensation of flight, like you are a part of the aircraft. It can really feel like you are flying.

We came up over Killian court and then crossed the Charles in Beantown. Not many people ever get that view of Boston, which is a shame. We could see everything: the Constitution, Fenway, the Hatch Shell, Fanuiel Hall, the State House, the Commons, the BPL, MIT, everything. After flying around for a bit we came back down over New House and touched down on Briggs field. We unloaded, and I thanked the Deans for coming out. After a few quick pictures (which found their way into The Tech - booyah), Deans Benedict and Hastings went on their way. I stuck around to watch the Blackhawks take off a few more times.

What makes military service attractive to us? Some reasons include access to advanced vehicles, systems, and technology, the chance to assume a challenging leadership role early on, and an opportunity to serve our country. A scholarship usually accompanies involvement in ROTC, though there is an application process whether you are in high school or have already started as a student here.
 
My classmates and I graduated from MIT on a Friday morning in June and received our commissions that evening, making us active duty officers in the US military. From there, we'll go on to diverse assignments, such as an R&D job in an Air Force laboratory, infantry officer school followed by command of an Army or Marine Corps platoon, flight school for the Navy or Air Force, or the nuclear reactor training required before serving aboard fast-attack or ballistic missile submarines.

In fact, the Institute has quite an established tradition of preparing students to serve as officers in the military; since its founding, more than 12,000 officers have been commissioned from MIT, of whom more than 150 have attained the rank of general or admiral.
 
Many ROTC students are also active in varsity sports, fraternities and sororities, academic clubs and honor societies, music groups, UROP (undergraduate research)... one great advantage of the ROTC program is you'll have a chance to live a balanced college lifestyle.
 
To provide you with a window into the everyday lives of our cadets and midshipmen, this blog will highlight six MIT students: two Air Force cadets, two Army cadets, and two Navy midshipmen. They'll provide regular accounts of ROTC courses and events, in addition to information about their backgrounds, MIT classes, extracurriculars, and future plans. We hope you enjoy reading!
 
- Ensign Evan Karlik, MIT '07