This will be a longer newsletter because we have had so much going on this semester.
Near the bottom of the newsletter, I have placed the image of our new patch design. If you are interested in ordering our new heritage-based patches, continue reading so you can see how to get one or ten yourself.
Where are the Seniors Going?
The Seniors are ready to commission! They are very excited to start their careers as officers. Here is where they are heading:
Now, let me catch you up on what’s been going on the last few months as we prepare to commission the Air Force’s newest officers.
The 445th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron took our cadets on an orientation flight and even let a few Navy Midshipmen join them. During the flight, cadets acted as patients for the flight nurses, interacted with the load master, and some got to sit in the cockpit for takeoff and landing. It’s great to be so close to Wright Patt.
Thanks to the generous gift of Colonel and Mrs. Siler, we were able to send 17 cadets to Hurlburt Field and Eglin AFB over spring break. During the base visits, cadets interacted with active duty and civilian members spanning across 17 Air Force Specialty Codes (AFSCs). Cadets had a sit-down with the 96th MSG Deputy Commander and Squadron CGOs. They also met with three Miami Alumni during their trip. Additionally, they learned about the Command and Control of Space Forces radar operations. Finally, Cadets visited the past while touring the Air Force Armament Museum that emphasized the great men and women who came before us.
The Diplomacy Lab reached out to me in the fall and asked if we had any cadets who would like to conduct research for the State Department and Cadets Kent and Quick, along with a Midshipman named Halter, sent in a proposal to determine threats and warnings of hostilities in the Indo-Pacific. The program was cancelled, but the Diplomacy Lab, which is led by Dr. Arceneaux, managed to raise financial support for our team and they traveled to D.C.
They presented their findings to a panel at the National Defense University and were lauded as the most professional and prepared group of presenters. They toured the White House, the Norwegian Embassy, and the Serbian Embassy. They also met with countless Miami Alumni in the D.C. area to include Maj. Gen. Bannister. They did a great job and I am sure their findings will help our strategic leaders and policymakers avoid war.
Finally, the detachment designed and voted on a new unit patch. Two main patch designs with five variants were presented to the cadet wing. We aimed to include a few quintessential elements that alumni, as well as current and future cadets, could all identify with to ensure the patch embodied Det 640 as part of Miami University.
Images of the patch in OCP and flight suit versions are below. If you are interested in receiving a patch, a donation of $20 can be made by visiting the Air Force Friends Giving webpage. Once you donate, please email me at umholtrm@MiamiOH.edu and inform me of how many patches you want and an address where I can send them. At this time, we are only offering the Flight Suit version because the OCP order needs to be returned and remade due to an error in the final product. Once we have an OCP version, I will add it to the next update.
Thank you for your time and keep fighting the good fight. Remember, you are always a RedHawk, and I appreciate all you have done for our country. God bless.
