ROTC prepared Lieutenant for military life

After four years of the Air Force ROTC at Utah State University, 1^st Lt. Casey Chappell left the familiarity of Logan, Utah and went to fulfill his obligation as an Air Force officer.

His first duty station, Hurlburt Field, located in Mary Esther, FL.

With a fleet of V-22 Ospreys, Hurlburt Field is home to the 1^st Special Operations Wing.

Chappell is the officer in charge of maintenance for this fleet of aircraft. Using the skills of leadership he gained in the ROTC, Chappell supervises the daily work of his Airmen.“Though it’s not what I expected when I was in ROTC, it was good preparation for military life," Chappell said.

Chappell, a 2010 graduate of USU has been active duty for the last two-and-a-half years. Now working on his master’s degree, he takes advantage of the time management he learned through ROTC. “It gives me a lot of time for education,” Chappell said. “I am three classes away from having my master’s.”

Chappell will leave on his first deployment to Kandahar, Afghanistan in Jan. 2011. After this upcoming deployment, he will have two years left on his contract. ”I am undecided on whether I will stay in the military after my time is up,” Chappell said.

Air Force ROTC’s main focus is on the military in general and does not focus on a cadet’s chosen military occupation. “It was more of a training basis, but it taught me the basics of leadership and gave me a base to grow from," Chappell said.

In his service, Chappell has seen a contrast in the officers that come from a ROTC background and those that went through the Air Force Academy or that commissioned through Officer Training Course.

“I would recommend ROTC to anyone wanting to be an officer. Academy guys are so limited to what they see. They see a lot less of the real world and don’t really have that college experience. OTC officers are still figuring out customs and courtesies and learning the rank structure,” Chappell said.

ROTC is preferred by some seeking to commission because of the freedom it gives them. They are in a military environment twice a week, whereas an academy cadet is in that environment every day.

When officers get to their unit, regardless of the route they took to commission, the responsibilities they are given are the same.

 1^st Lt. Chris Carillo, a graduate of the Air Force Academy currently stationed at Hill Air Force Base, Utah works with officers who are both ROTC and Academy trained. “There is no difference, we are all Lieutenants,” said Carillo.
(J.Dunford)