Trine ROTC program up 100 percent

Trine ROTC program up 100 percent

ANGOLA, Ind. – Trine University′s Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) has doubled in number since last year, and will add an additional cadet in the spring to raise total enrollees to 13, said adviser and Department of Engineering Technology chair Tom Trusty.

Trine cadets travel to the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. weekly for training that will allow them to enter the Air Force as commissioned officers upon graduation from Trine. AFROTC scholarships of up to full tuition, plus books and living expenses, offset the cost of education for those enrolled in the program.

The Trine AFROTC program has enabled sophomore Annalisa Krug, the detachment′s Cadet of the Year, to achieve her lifelong goal. "I′ll be commissioned in 2013 and begin the dream I′ve always wanted," she said.

Krug had the support she needed to earn the honor from among cadets at other schools such as St. Mary′s, Bethel and Holy Cross colleges, Valparaiso University and Indiana University at South Bend. "The camaraderie of the long drive together to Notre Dame from Trine really allows us to connect with each other. Notre Dame has always been there for us with advice and pointers. And the faculty here understands when I sometimes miss class for AFROTC. They are very supportive of the program," she said.

The campus support is strong and immediate. "You put on the uniform and it′s like a new world," Krug said. "Everybody—from faculty to friends to Georgia in the dining room—all ask how it’s going."

She and other cadets join adviser Trusty at Trine visit days for prospective students to get out the word on the value of the AFROTC program. Trusty then works with newly admitted students to inform them of program requirements from the faculty viewpoint. "He′s my go–to for paperwork and flyers," Krug said.

The cadets have a lot to tell the prospects. Krug is working to establish the AFROTC′s own flagpole for military ceremonies on the campus, and to start Trine′s own Arnold Air Society, which provides a community outreach for cadets through the Air Force.

Trine juniors Michael Winkler and Heath Anderson were selected for field training at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala., last summer, and completed the course in five weeks. "Now they′re leading us in marching and calling," Krug said. "We have lots more in store."

"Being a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, it is an honor to be the AFROTC adviser on the Trine campus," Trusty said. "The education program is excellent at developing young leaders who will become the guidance systems that direct our job force and nation."