Aerospace Studies
Commander: Stephen Cash, Lt. Colonel, USAF
Air Force ROTC Detachment 790, Kean Hall
(615) 963-5975
General Statement
The Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) is the largest and oldest source of commissioned officers for the U.S. Air Force. AFROTC is also responsible for commissioning officers into the U.S. Space Force (USSF). AFROTC’s mission is the following: Develop Air and Space Force leaders of character who we expect to fight and win our nation’s wars. AFROTC headquarters is at Maxwell Air Force Base, AL. We teach our students the same curriculum that future officers learn at the U.S. Air Force Academy and Officer Training School. Additionally, planners have designed the AFROTC program to recruit, educate, and commission college students based on the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and U.S. Space Force (USSF) requirements. As of December 2023, 145 ROTC detachments are located on college and university campuses throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
Through cross-town or consortium agreements, students from various universities and colleges in Middle Tennessee participate in AFROTC at Detachment 790. Students may enter in their freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior academic year. We also have opportunities for graduate students. Please consult our website at URL: http://www.tnstate.edu/afrotc/ for a list of schools that we service, scholarships, and other information concerning our program.
Minor
General Military Course (GMC) Overview
For students who enter as freshmen, the first two years of AFROTC, the General Military Course (GMC) consists of one hour of classroom work and two hours of leadership laboratory each week. Note that your institution may accept two courses in Aerospace Studies in place of two courses in Physical Education. Please consult your counselor for details. Any full-time student can participate in AFROTC GMC, provided they meet age requirements. Non-scholarship GMC cadets are under no service obligation upon completion of GMC requirements. Cadets who wish to compete for entry into the last two years of the program, the Professional Officer Corps (POC), must do so under the requirements of the POC selection. This process uses qualitative factors, such as grade-point average, cadre evaluation, aptitude, and physical fitness test scores, to determine a cadet’s potential for service in the USAF or USSF. After selection, students must complete a three-week field training encampment at an assigned USAF base the summer before entering the POC.
Aerospace Studies Minor
The following courses are required:
AERO 1020 DAF: Heritage and Values (1)
AERO 1021 Freshman Leadership Laboratory (1)
AERO 2020 Team & Leadership Fundamentals (1)
AERO 2021 Sophomore Leadership Laboratory (1)
AERO 3520 Air Force Leadership Studies (3)
AERO 3521 Junior Leadership Laboratory (1)
AERO 4520 National Security Affairs (3)
AERO 4521 Senior Leadership Laboratory (1)
Professional Officer Course (POC) Overview
The final two years of the program are comprised of the Professional Officer Course (POC). It consists of three hours of classroom work, two hours of leadership laboratory, and two hours of physical training each week. POC cadets earn a monthly stipend and tax-free subsistence allowance during the academic year and incur a military obligation after graduation. To be accepted into the POC, students must pass the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT), a physical fitness test, meet certain academic standards, and be medically qualified. Cadets must compete for an enrollment allocation for field training, normally administered the summer before POC entry.
Return to: