{"669684":{"#nid":"669684","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech ROTC Cadets Experience Summer Training \u2014 Space Force Style ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhile most rising third-year cadets from Georgia Tech\u2019s Air Force ROTC program spent part of their summer learning about airpower or other traditional U.S. Air Force activities, two spent much of their time instead looking toward space.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECollege of Engineering student Sonia Thakur, a third-year aerospace engineering student from Lawrenceville, and Georgia State University student Amir Goziyev attended the first-ever U.S. Space Forces-specific field training program for ROTC cadets held at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cInstead of partaking in deployed environment scenarios outside of the base, we were mostly in an academic environment in Maxwell, focusing on understanding the Space Force mission, our assets, and future roles, and were assessed on more space-oriented scenarios with a focus on mission planning,\u201d Thakur said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESpace Force is a separate branch of the U.S. armed forces but is organized under the Department of the Air Force, similar to the U.S. Marine Corps\u2019 relationship with the U.S. Navy. As Navy ROTC does with Marine-option cadets, Air Force ROTC trains future Space Force officers attending civilian colleges.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThis summer was the first time space-related specialties were emphasized for Space Force cadets during summer field training that all ROTC cadets must graduate from to move on to the final two years of the program and, eventually, an officer\u2019s commission.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech is a natural destination for future Space Force officers, given its strong emphasis on the engineering and computing skills crucial to the branch\u2019s mission to defend U.S. and allied interests in space.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe cadets we train are highly motived, technically proficient, and well on their way to being prepared to help secure our nation\u2019s interests in, from, and to space,\u201d said Lt. Col. Kelly Sharbel, commanding officer and professor of the practice in Georgia Tech\u2019s Air Force ROTC program.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWargaming exercises are among the many classroom activities and exercises Thakur, and Goziyev participated in while at field training.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe would be given a wargaming scenario and a set number of resources, which would be satellites, cyber teams, jammers, etc. to assess the situation, plan a mission, allocate resources, and make decisions that would benefit the mission in the end,\u201d Goziyev said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThakur said the amount of knowledge the cadets were expected to absorb was breathtaking.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEvery day was something different,\u201d Thakur said. \u201cLearning everything from orbital mechanics to navigating through virtual reality, I loved how we were exposed to a wide variety of knowledge.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBecause Space Force is so small, the two often participated in activities together and even co-led one scenario, Thakur said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s almost guaranteed that I will see some of the cadets I trained with in the future,\u201d Thakur said. \u201cOverall, it felt really special to get to be one of the first few cadets to be a part of the Space Force field training experience.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s ROTC programs are housed in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETwo Georgia Tech Air Force ROTC students participated in the first-ever Space Force-specific summer training exercise for ROTC cadets this summer.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Two Georgia Tech Air Force ROTC students participated in the first-ever Space Force-specific summer training exercise for ROTC cadets this summer."}],"uid":"34600","created_gmt":"2023-09-15 14:59:18","changed_gmt":"2023-09-15 15:11:51","author":"mpearson34","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-09-15T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2023-09-15T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"671720":{"id":"671720","type":"image","title":"Georgia Tech AFROTC cadets Sonia Thakur and Amir Goziyev at field training this summer.","body":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech AFROTC cadets Sonia Thakur and Amir Goziyev at field training this summer.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1694790039","gmt_created":"2023-09-15 15:00:39","changed":"1694790039","gmt_changed":"2023-09-15 15:00:39","alt":"Two AFROTC cadets wearing Operational Camouflage Pattern uniforms.","file":{"fid":"254826","name":"Space Force field training cadets.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/09\/15\/Space%20Force%20field%20training%20cadets.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/09\/15\/Space%20Force%20field%20training%20cadets.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":780634,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/09\/15\/Space%20Force%20field%20training%20cadets.jpg?itok=suWOeOL_"}}},"media_ids":["671720"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/news-events\/features\/georgia-tech-space-force-members#:~:text=Georgia%20Tech%27s%20first%20Space%20Force,D.","title":"First Georgia Tech Students, ROTC Officers, Join U.S. Space Force"},{"url":"https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/news\/2019\/12\/20\/georgia-techs-air-force-rotc-ranked-one-nations-best","title":"Georgia Tech\u2019s Air Force ROTC Ranked One of Nation\u2019s Best"}],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:michael.pearson@iac.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EMichael Pearson\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nIvan Allen College of Liberal Arts\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["michael.pearson@iac.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}