Six UNC ROTC cadets accepted into Air Force

Fellow ROTC students congratulate Jessica and five others. ROTC ceremony where future pilots and one future combat system operator found out the training track that they will pursue after commissioning. Lt. Col Paul Holst presented six ROTC students with a pin to represent their training track. Junior, Political Science and Global Studies major, Jessica Trawick will be a combat system operator (everyone else will be pilots). "Its been a rewarding experience. I am very relieved and excited for this day," she said. Next year, Jessica will find out where she will be based and when she will leave for training.

This year, UNC’s Air Force ROTC beat the odds.

All six of the program’s applying cadets were accepted into the U.S. Air Force.

Typically, only 50 to 70 percent of UNC’s applicants, who apply as juniors, are accepted, said Lt. Col. Paul Holst, chairman of the department of aerospace studies.

Three freshmen also won scholarships, available if they decide to commit to the Air Force.

“This is a phenomenal year” Holst said.

The cadets found out Monday afternoon that they were accepted during a ceremony at the Old Well.

Holst had each cadet hold out a hand and look away, and said he would place a set of wings if the cadet had been accepted, and a marble if not.

Each cadet suppressed as smile as they felt the wings placed in their hand.

Five of the cadets will become pilots: Jonathan Daniels, Kyle Swartz, Michelle Vanvliet, John Blackmar and Jason Pennington.

Jessica Trawick will become a combat systems operator.

Holst said he was very proud of the cadets.

“It took a lot of hard work for them to get where they are now,” he said.

The Air Force only accepts 500 candidates annually. This year, 900 applied, Holst said.

The cadets all said they were happy to have their hard work pay off.

“We get to fly planes instead of sit behind a desk after college,” Blackmar said.

Swartz said he joined the program late as a sophomore and encouraged others to consider the program.

“It’s never too late if you’re a sophomore, or even a junior,” he said.

“I wanted to do something more exciting, to go on an adventure,” he added.

Vanvliet, who comes from a military family, said she has wanted to join the armed forces since she was a kid.

She said she hopes to fly C-130 bombers.

Despite the cadets’ acceptance, success was not always so certain.

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Last year, two of the cadets were told by the Air Force that they could not join.

But it turned out to be a clerical error, Blackmar said.

“Its been a bumpy road,” he said.

Richard Elliot, a senior who was accepted into the program last year, said this was one of the major moments during his time with Air Force ROTC.

“This is the determinant of your future,” Elliot said.

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