AFROTC Unit Honored for Academic Achievement

Detachment 370, the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) unit based on campus, was ranked No. 6 of 145 detachments in the nation for academic performance for the 2017-18 academic year.

The ranking places the detachment at No. 2 in GPA for the 37 detachments in the northeast region, directly behind Harvard/MIT, and is the highest ranking since 2012, when the detachment earned honors as the No. 1 small detachment (fewer than 50 students) in the northeast.

AFROTC, a division of Air University in Maxwell, Alabama, operates satellite detachments at 145 universities, and has “cross-town” agreements with more than 1,100 colleges. AFROTC ranks detachments annually in academics, physical fitness and military performance.   

Lt. Col. Mark R. Guerber, commander of Detachment 370, told cadets in an email, “The fact that you’ve collectively crushed your academics in addition to all the service, fitness, community leadership and personal growth shows that you truly have what America and the Air Force need. I’m proud of the effort each one of you exerted to get this far; now keep studying, stay involved in your communities, find ways to experiment/lead/grow.”

Since 2016 the detachment, though just 48 cadets, has earned 13 full-tuition scholarships for enrolled students, produced 10 pilots, and garnered two of just 12 internships offered by the National Reconnaissance Office in 2018.

The detachment’s Arnold Air Society chapter, a service oriented honor society, was recognized as the most improved small detachment in the country for the 2016-2017 academic year. 

Detachment 370 is open to cadets from 11 “cross-town” colleges and universities in the Pioneer Valley. Most, 35, are from UMass Amherst. Western New England University has the second highest number, 7. About one-third are women.