As graduation approaches each year, seniors at universities across the nation are filled with anxiety and anticipation as they leave college behind to embark on their post-graduate careers. For nineteen seniors at the University of Kentucky this spring, those feelings were amplified by their commissioning as active duty officers in the United States Air Force just a few days before graduation.

On May 3rd, 2013, the United States Air Force welcomed nineteen highly capable and motivated new second lieutenants from Air Force ROTC Detachment 290. The pride and dedication of each new lieutenant and the confidence the cadre and cadets who remain at Detachment 290 have in these individuals foreshadows their future successes. UK President, Dr. Eli Capiluto, sent his blessings to the new officers when he spoke at the commissioning ceremony, saying he was "proud

By Sarah Geegan

Per University of Kentucky tradition, a student speaker will represent his or her class at both undergraduate Commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May 5. The speakers for the 146th UK Commencement Ceremonies are Mercedes Rosado and Luke Glaser.

Mercedes Rosado, from Marquette, Mich., is graduating with a degree in kinesiology from the College of Education. A pilot candidate in Air Force ROTC, she will be commissioned after graduation and begin pilot training in February at Columbus Air Force base in Mississippi. She will deliver the Commencement address at the 1 p.m. ceremony.

Rosado joined the Air Force ROTC program at UK partly because of her father'

On Valentine’s Day 2013, seven University of Kentucky students and proud cadets of Air Force ROTC Detachment 290 received a huge surprise and gifts to go along with it!  These seven cadets have given it their all and worked diligently in their studies and training and can attest their efforts are starting to pay off.  Each year, cadets are selected to become potential “Rated officers” in the Air Force.  Becoming a rated officer identifies that once a commission is earned as a Second Lieutenant these cadets will attend training to become a pilot, a Combat Systems Officer (CSO), Remotely-Piloted Aircraft operator (RPA), or an Air Battle Manager (ABM).  On February 14, 2013 HQ AFROTC at Maxwell AFB, AL released information identifying those cadets who had been selected to become a rated officer upon commissioning.  Detachment 290’s selection rate was one for the record books.  Out of

by Keith Hautala

The University of Kentucky has been named a 2013 Military Friendly School by Victory Media, publisher of G.I. Jobs magazine. This is the fourth consecutive year that UK has earned this recognition.  

"We are very proud to once again be designated a Military Friendly School," said Anthony Dotson, coordinator of the UK Veterans Resource Center. "The University of Kentucky has made a commitment to serving those who have served our country, and this designation reflects how we live up to that commitment."

The 2013 Military Friendly Schools list honors the top 15 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools in the country that are doing the most to embrace America’s military service members, veterans, and spouses as students and ensure their success on campus.

"Inclusion on the 2013 list of Military Friendly Schools shows UK’s

*This article first appeared in the U.S. Air Force Leader

By Cadet Brittney De Jaco

The morning was cloudy but bright, ominous of the fight that lay ahead, as young men and women from the detachments of the University of Kentucky, University of Cincinnati and University of Tennessee stepped onto the fields of Lexington, Ky. Cleats, gloves and jerseys were garnered as each individual began to prepare for the events to come. 

At 8:00 a.m. on April 14, cadets from the Universities of Kentucky, Cincinnati and Tennessee formed up on the fields for the colors to be presented and the National Anthem to be sung, officially signaling the start of the first annual Boone and Crockett Cup: "The Long Rifle" field day competition. 

The

Originally published on February 12, 2012 in the Kentucky Kernel

By Luke Fegenbush

Twelve UK ROTC cadets received rated slots in the Air Force.

The Cadets were honored on Friday in an impromptu awards ceremony at Buell Armory. This ceremony started as a surprise because the results came back a week earlier than expected.

Receiving a rated slot in the Air Force means that a cadet has been selected for training in a position involving frequent flight. A limited number of these slots are given to applicants based on their grades, test scores and physical fitness.

“A lot of people, when they go into the Air Force, want to fly,” said Maj. Jesse Hedge, ROTC Operations Officer. “But it’s really hard to be selected to fly.”

Applicants who receive a slot are then sorted into one of four groups — Pilot, Combat Systems Officer, Remotely Piloted