The University of Memphis Air Force ROTC program will commemorate the 55th Air Force birthday with a cake ceremony behind Hayden Hall Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. All students are invited to the ceremony.
Maj. T.J. Downing, a 1991 Air Force Academy graduate, said, “We would like to do more to honor the Air Force’s birthday, but it is not fiscally possible. We also try not to overtax the cadets’ studies.”
The group will perform the annual ceremony of cutting a cake with a saber held by the oldest and youngest members of the detachment.
The Air Force uses their birthday to celebrate and reflect on past accomplishments and look forward to their future, according to a press release by Col. Douglass E. Kruelen, 314th Operations Group Commander in Little Rock, Ark.
Downing also said the cadets and U of M Air Force ROTC staff are invited to attend the celebration at Little Rock Air Force Base.
Currently, 62 cadets are enrolled in the Air Force ROTC program on campus. The detachment maintains a permanent staff of five active duty members whose rank ranges from staff sergeant to the commanding officer, Lt. Col. Charlie R. Young.
The ranking cadet is Wendell Morgan, a senior with a dual major in criminal justice and psychology. He said, “Being the youngest of the military services, we sometimes struggle for recognition. Hopefully this is a time where we can make people more aware of the Air Force.”
Maj. Downing echoed Morgan’s sentiments.
“This is a time where we would like to raise the awareness of the Air Force among students and the general public,” he said. “People look at movies or watch something like JAG on TV. That’s just not the military.”
