Air Force accessions program celebrates 10 years

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jason Lake
  • Air University Public Affairs
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. (AFPN) --  Three of the Air Force's leadership training programs -- ROTC, Officer Training School and Junior ROTC -- were joined together in 1997 to create what is now the Air Force Officer Accessions and Training Schools, or AFOATS.

Earlier this month, members of the AFOATS staff celebrated their organization's 10th anniversary with a series of events and festivities.

The AFOATS community kicked off the week-long celebration with a formal retreat and visit to Prattville High School's Junior ROTC AL-951 unit. Throughout the rest of the week staff members also visited Tuskegee University's ROTC Detachment 15 and held a picnic for all staff members to enjoy.

"The anniversary celebration was a great success and couldn't have gone any better, said Capt. Alejandro Rangel, chairman of anniversary activities. "Everyone in AFOATS is so busy and many of us don't have an opportunity to see how our efforts truly impact a young person's life. During our anniversary week our AFOATS staff had several opportunities to see firsthand how important their work really is. Whether it was a Junior ROTC cadet, a ROTC cadet, or an officer trainee attending OTS, we had it all for them to see."

Brig. Gen. Alfred Flowers, who took command of AFOATS in January, said one of his most ambitious goals is to educate and inform not only the general public, but Airmen worldwide, about what the organization provides for the country.

"Our goal is to increase awareness (about our organization) and educate people about what we bring to the nation," General Flowers said. "Last fiscal year, AFOATS commissioned approximately 75 percent of the Air Force officers through OTS and ROTC."

Over the past 10 years, more than 22,000 college students and 11,000 basic officer trainees have been commissioned through the ROTC and OTS commissioning programs respectively. Additionally, more than 13,000 medical professionals, chaplains and legal officers have been trained through OTS' commissioned and reserve commissioned officer training programs.

"AFOATS is truly a total force contributor," General Flowers said. "These (young officers) will be the fighters of the next war."

The AFOATS "leadership arm" also extends to high school students under the Junior ROTC program. Since its merge under AFOATS in 1997, the Air Force Junior ROTC program has expanded from approximately 600 units worldwide to nearly 900 today.

"It's our goal to create leaders and citizens of character," said Col. Norman Balchunas, Junior ROTC director. "There are some people who mistake the Junior ROTC program as a military training and recruiting program, but that is not the case. We provide high school students with leadership opportunities and show them how they can better contribute to society."

General Flowers said that combining the three pillars, OTS, ROTC and Junior ROTC, under one roof has proven very beneficial for sharing ideas and expertise with tomorrow's leaders.

"It's amazing how AFOATS has evolved into a more shared common experience for officer trainees and America's youth," the general said. "One of the key pillars of AFOATS is the curriculum department, which is charged with providing all instructional materials for OTS, ROTC and Junior ROTC."

Looking ahead to the future, General Flowers said there are plans for implementing more shared common experiences between ROTC and OTS officer development courses with the creation of an Officer Training Center of Excellence.

One of the earliest steps of this process will be the consolidation of all Air Force ROTC field training to Maxwell Air Force Base by the summer of 2009. Field training ended at Tyndall AFB, Fla., last year and next fiscal year will be the final year for training at Ellsworth AFB, S.D.

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