Introduction

Welcome to The Detachment Eye! This iteration covers the month of September going into the beginning of October. As you all know, the semester is in full swing and we hope that everyone is doing well both in school and outside. We’ll be keeping it short and sweet this time around with an interview with the IG, a recap of a couple events that have been going on, and a little section with some “behind the scenes” photos that didn’t quite make it into the weekly posts but are still fun to bring to light.

Interview with the Inspector General

As a Prior-E, what helped you the most when transitioning to AFROTC?

“I came in treating this as my next duty assignment. I didn't try to use experience or rank to get where I wanted. I wanted to earn the respect by adapting to the program and leading by example. I tried to humble myself and take in as much as I could in order to make the transition as seamless as possible. I think accepting that this wasn't what I was accustomed to. Being eager to learn and adapt to this environment helped the most.”

You’ve been in many positions within the POC corp, what job did you like the most and what has been the most challenging?

“I have been the Mission Support Group Commander, Field Training Preparation Squadron Commander, and now Inspector General. My favorite position was FTP because I had a direct hand in developing people, and being able to mentor them. The position that has challenged me the most is IG because it definitely has challenged me with the work load. Between the paperwork and cadet issues, it has shown me that I need to have a better work life balance between ROTC, School, and my personal life. Teaching me when to say I can’t do something, and when I need help.”

Finally, what’s a fun fact about you that most people don’t know?

"Fun Fact about myself is that I can squat roughly 4 C/Lt Col Smiths, or Bench-press approximately 2 3/4 C/Lt Col Smiths.”

C/Lt Col Coonrod attends the University of North Texas and is pursuing a major in Business Entrepreneurship. He recently got picked up to be a Finance Officer and is graduating this coming spring.

Events Recap

• Concessions! - During home games, cadets have the wonderful opportunity to volunteer to serve concessions for the fans that attend the games, ensuring people are fed and happy. These concessions also raise money for the Roger Ramey club, so we can continue doing fun morale events.

• Honor Guard - The Honor Guard has been putting in some good work presenting at the football games. This is another wonderful opportunity you have within the detachment and I, the editor for this publication, have personally done it for a few semesters and it’s been extremely rewarding. On top of the football games, the Honor Guard team has also been hosting the detachment judging at JROTC events, a way for College ROTC cadets to mentor and interact with High School JROTC cadets and providing them with an opportunity to learn more about our program and for ROTC cadets to practice some leadership. Most excitingly, coming up in about is a month is the Airlift / Tanker Association convention in Grapevine where cadets will have the opportunity to present and post the colors in front of hundreds of high ranking officials from the US Air Force and foreign militaries. Lots of pressure but a confidence booster for sure! Expect to see more coverage on the ATA convention in the November publication.

• Keep Denton Beautiful - Cadets have had the opportunity to participate in Keep Denton Beautiful, an initiative set up by Denton Parks and Recreation to clean up Denton and to, well, keep it beautiful! It’s a small amount of volunteer time that directly lets cadets have an impact on their community, and change that they can see happening right in front of them.

  

  Cadets help keep Denton beautiful!

• Lake Ray Roberts Storm Cleanup - On September 21st, Cadets had the wonderful opportunity and privilege to help out with some final cleanup from some storm damaged areas of the park from last May.

  

  Cadets cleaning up fallen trees after May storms ravaged the park.

Photos! Enjoy.

Lastly, C/Lt Col Smith’s fish tank. He was sad it wasn’t added to his senior post so we’re making up for it here.

Closing

Good luck with midterms everyone! Remember to use your resources such as the A1 staff and lean on each other if you need to. We’re looking forward to the October publication with some different topics for y’all, so keep an eye out for that!