Dominic Rodriguez, Zach Falter, and Titus Townsend are senior cadets in Miami University's Air Force ROTC program. They recently became the first Miami cadets selected for positions in the U.S. Space Force.

They are projected to commission in the spring, said Air Force Capt. Benjamin "Snapper" Durdle, an assistant professor of Aerospace Studies at Miami and operations flight commander for Air Force ROTC Detachment 640.

AFROTC Det 640 — in the College of Arts and Science — recruits, educates, trains, and commissions officer candidates for the Air Force and Space Force. The Space Force is a separate branch of the armed forces, organized under the Department of the Air Force in a way that is similar to how the Marine Corps is organized under the Department of Navy.

“We have a long history of producing high-performing officers for some of the services' most competitive career fields,” Durdle said.

Rodriguez is studying Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies and will be commissioned into the Space Force as an intelligence officer.

Falter is studying Software Engineering and will be commissioned into the Space Force as a computer systems engineer, and Townsend is studying Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering and will be commissioned as a space operations officer.