After winning the Right of Line Award, UP Air Force ROTC competes nationally
By Enid Spitz Asst. Copy Editor spitz13@up.edu
UP's Air Force ROTC detachment will compete nationally after being awarded the 2011 Right of Line Award for the northwest region this summer.
The University's Detachment 695 beat out 33 other detachments in the northwest United States to win the regional award.
The detachment will now be judged on the national level against the other three regional winners, one from each quadrant of the U.S., with the winner announced in November.
The National Right of Line Award is an annual honor given to one of the 144 Air Force ROTC detachments nationwide, according to Colonel Paul E. Huffman, commander of UP's Detachment 695.
"This is big for us," Huffman said.
The award is based on how each detachment performed during the 2010-2011 academic year. It judges detachments based on criteria such as production of officers and relations with their university as well as cadets' activities and academic standings, the University's press release said.
According to Huffman, UP's Air Force cadets have the fourth highest average G.P.A. in the nation. With 120 cadets, Huffman said UP also has one of the nation's top detachments for per capita enrollment. Of the full-time undergraduate population at UP almost 4 percent are cadets.
"We have an extraordinary detachment," Andrew Berigan, a fifth-year senior in AFROTC, said.
Berigan explained that cadets try to find fun, interactive ways to train, like paintball, and cited the yearly Veteran's Day celebration as an example of the detachment's national spirit.
For Berigan, knowing UP had a good detachment was a big draw when choosing a college.
"The number one reason I was drawn to UP was that I heard of the reputation of UP ROTC," he said.
Sophomore Amy Gharring felt the same way when she toured UP two years ago.
"When I came to visit, the commander told me, 'this is pretty much the best detachment in the region,'" Gherring said. "I was like, 'OK I'm coming here!'"
In addition to student involvement and grades, Huffman thinks the detachment's success during last October's Unit Compliance Inspection helped it win the regional Right of Line Award.
Once every three years each university detachment is inspected, and last year UP's was the first to get the successful 'comply' mark, according to Michael Patterson, a class of 2013 cadet.
"That means, 'great job, keep it up,'" Patterson said.
"We pretty much set the bench mark for the nation with that inspection," Huffman said.
Winning this award for the region has boosted the hopes of some cadets like freshman Camille Wolfersberger, who said competition within the Air Force for spots at Field Training is intense.
"It makes me happy to be part of the detachment that's the best in our area," Wolfersberger said. "It's cool to be on top."
With the four regional winners in competition to win the national Right of Line Award, UP AFROTC has a chance to be best in the nation.
"Everybody is really happy, but it doesn't change how we'll act," Patterson said.
According to Huffman, Detachment 695 will continue as normal and wait for the November announcement.
"There are a lot of great detachments out there doing great things," Huffman said. "But we are certainly in the running."
Berigan, Patterson and Wolfersberger are all optimistic that UP could win the national award.
"But, I don't want to jinx it," Huffman said.
