By Benjamin Goirigolzarri

For 75 years, San José State University, the College of Health and Human Sciences (CHHS) and its Department of Aerospace Studies, and the United States Air Force have worked in close partnership to develop leaders of character who are equipped to lead our nation’s military. The Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) at San José State University was established shortly after the inception of the U.S. Air Force in 1947 and has since seen its graduates lead across the private and public sector. Through the College of Health and Human Sciences’ unwavering support and rigorous curriculum, Detachment 045 has produced Air Force Senior Leaders, Air Force Wing Commanders, leaders in academia and industry, and U.S. Representatives committed to serving American interests both domestic and abroad.

On Thursday, May 4, San José State University’s President Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson joined Air Force Senior Leaders to celebrate 75 years of committed partnership. The event featured remarks from SJSU’s President, Moffett Field’s 129th Rescue Wing Vice Wing Commander, Colonel Jeremy Guenet, Air Force ROTC Commander, Colonel Corey Ramsby, and Detachment 045’s Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Joshua Sullivan. The event also included former Detachment 045 Commander, Lt Col (Retired) Kirk Brown, whose father was the very first Commander in 1947. They collectively highlighted the countless benefits shared by SJSU, CHHS, AFROTC, and the local community even in the honest light of historical challenges. Lieutenant Colonel Sullivan echoed this with, “Our student population is small, but they are mighty, and will become immediate ambassadors carrying the values they learn at SJSU and Air Force ROTC across the world.”

Detachment 045 graduates will immediately tackle increasingly complex and demanding challenges that the world poses to its leaders. SJSU, CHHS, and its AFROTC program continue to prepare future leaders with the requisite critical-thinking skills, leadership experience and preparation, and the core values needed to navigate wicked problems and to ethically and morally command our nation’s military. The success of the AFROTC program extends beyond retention rates, graduation rates, or the impressive titles held by countless Det 045 graduates. It is measured by producing leaders of character whose “Spartan Airmen core values are so essential to who they are that they overflow into every interaction, changing our community and world for the better.”

Toward the end of the evening, AFROTC cadets and their families gathered alongside SJSU and CHHS leadership, Air Force Leadership, and the community leaders in attendance for a photo. The stage light lit up their faces, as if to recognize the illustrious lives of Det 045’s graduates and announce the promise of greatness among the attendees. Even after 75 years, the relationship between Air Force ROTC, the College of Health and Human Sciences, and San José State University continues to grow, galvanized by their shared commitment to integrity, service, and excellence. Here’s to 75 more years.

“The society that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting by fools.” – Thucydides

By: Captain Victor Salum and Staff Sergeant Dat Trinh

Moffett Airfield Visit

Early in the semester, Detachment 045 (SJSU) and Detachment 085 (UC Berkeley) AFROTC cadets had the opportunity to visit the California Air National Guard’s 129th Rescue Wing (RQW) located at Moffett Airfield in Sunnyvale, CA.  The primary purpose of the visit was to learn about the 129th RQW mission and how they support both the California Governor and the President of the United States in times of emergency.  The cadets had the opportunity to speak to some of the military members that call Moffett Airfield home, learning about their primary career field which range from pilots, medical officers, intelligence officers, security forces, special operations, aircraft operations, finance officers, contracting specialists and more.  The cadets were excited to visit and learn about the 129th RQW but the highlight of the day were the incentive flights where cadets had the opportunity to fly on one of the two aircrafts stationed at Moffett Airfield, the HH-60G Pave Hawk and the HC-130J Combat King II aircraft.  The pilots of the aircrafts gave a tour of the Bay Area with the flight path going over SJSU, Stanford University, UC Berkeley and even historical landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz.  This visit was possible due to our Detachment Commander & Aerospace Studies Department Chair, Lt Col Joshua Sullivan, relationship with the 129th Rescue Squadron Commander, Lt Col Rudolph Taute.  Both graduated and received their commission from the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO, went through undergraduate pilot training in 2004, and have been friends ever since.  The relationship that they have built over the years helped to further enhance some of the AFROTC training objectives we are required to meet each academic year.

Active Shooter Training

With the increase of mass shootings over the past decade, the cadets of Detachment 045 at SJSU had the opportunity to partner with SJSU’s University Police Department and the 129th Security Forces Squadron from Moffett Airfield to receive active shooter training.  Cadets learned through in-class briefings provided by trained specialists what an Active Shooter is, the unpredictability and quick involvement of an active shooter situation, and how individuals must prepare both mentally and physically to deal with an active shooter situation.  Shortly after, cadets went through multiple active shooter scenarios and applied what they had learned in the classroom.  Active shooter training is important training that does not stop after cadets commission into the Department of the Air Force, it is required training they must receive even when they enter active duty.  An overview of the active shooter training may be viewed in the following video link. https://www.dvidshub.net/video/837585/129th-security-forces-train-afrotc-cadets