Mission

ARFOTC Detachment 880 Airpower patchThe Department of Aerospace Studies is more than an academic department; it is a unit of the U.S. Air Force. We are designated Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) Detachment 880, and serve under the Air University with Air Education and Training Command. AFROTC has its headquarters at Maxwell AFB, Alabama.

Our mission is to develop cadets into professional leaders passionate about service in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force.  We accomplish this through a rigorous combined program of classroom instruction, leadership laboratory, and field training experiences.

Our faculty and staff are active-duty commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers who have been specially selected for duty at VMI.

Cadets, meeting requirements, earn a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force or U.S. Space Force upon graduation from VMI.

 

Air Force ROTC cadets raise hands and take their oaths during commissioning ceremony where they will become Second Lieutenants.
Air Force ROTC Detachment 880 cadet staff holds flag while organizing cadets.
AFROTC Det 880 cadets participate in field training exercises at Virginia Military Institute.
Air Force ROTC cadets review notes before their turn on a helicopter flight over Virginia Military Institute.
AFROTC cadet with notebook.
Air Force ROTC cadets pose before their commissioning ceremony where they will become Second Lieutenants.

VMI: Forging 21st Century Leaders