by Gail Bennett

 WUKY, the University of Kentucky's NPR station, is partnering with UK Army ROTC to present the Jack Kain Ford Bluegrass Mud Run.  This fun and exciting event will take place on the campus of the University of Kentucky Sept. 21, 2013.  This will be a 5K run starting at Commonwealth Stadium and proceeding through obstacles designed by UK Army ROTC.  These obstacles will be challenging yet fun and definitely get participants MUDDY! 

This Mud Run serves to promote a physically fit lifestyle, but it is appropriate for all levels of ability from pro-athlete or pro-couch potato! Participants are encouraged to have fun and even dress in their favorite or most bizarre costume.

Registration is open at 

video courtesy of UK Public Relations and Marketing

article by Jenny Wells

Planning and hosting a national conference is no easy task, but for the UK community, collaboration makes it all possible. The University of Kentucky will host the 2014 National Conference on Undergraduate Research, or NCUR, next semester, which will bring nearly 4,000 additional students from across the country to the UK campus. And as students, faculty and staff can attest -- it is something worth bragging about.

NCUR will take place April 3-5, 2014, all throughout UK's campus. The conference will give undergraduates a unique opportunity to present their research and creative endeavors, while meeting other like-minded students from all across the country. They not only promote their individual

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

*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

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