Members of the Army ROTC color guard present the colors at a Cowboy football game.
“As juniors and seniors, they are really leading the program, and we as faculty evaluate them and provide constant feedback on what we’re seeing,” says Lt. Col. Tay Johannes, UW Air Force ROTC department head. “The juniors and seniors run the lab. They have a mission and certain objectives. It’s a very comprehensive program between academics and leadership lab—all designed to prepare them—because as soon as they graduate from here, they’re commissioned, and people are looking to them to make decisions.”
“It’s been an incredibly rewarding experience,” says Belen Quillen, a senior German major from Powell, Wyo. “If you’re looking for a program that will help you grow as a person and a leader, this is a great place to do it. I gained confidence in myself in this program, and I will carry that forever. That’s not something you learn through a textbook or from lecture. In ROTC, you learn important lessons that you can carry on with in life.”
Fellow ROTC cadet Gabriella Vann, who was a military child herself and graduated high school in Cheyenne, agrees. “This program has helped me to gain leadership skills as well as learning what it means to be a part of something bigger than myself. This has by far been the best part of my college career.
“This program has given me a future to look forward to,” she says. “Today the workforce can be hard to enter into, and this program has given me the security of having a job after college.”
In addition to serving in the U.S. Air Force, many of the program’s graduates are commissioned into the Wyoming Air National Guard. Both Vann and Quillen could see themselves returning to Wyoming in the future.
“Many will decide to settle back in Wyoming,” McKee says of the program’s graduates. “You’re bringing in that international experience and different perspectives from around the country. I think the ROTC program facilitates this because we’re developing these officers here, and many of them will come back and influence the state.”
ROTC members from both programs, as well as other enrolled students, serve the community as part of the Posse Club. Posse Club volunteers join the Albany County Sheriff’s Office on search and rescue missions and aid in disaster relief situations.
“Members get training in search and rescue, navigation, first aid and employing different techniques, all of which help cadets and students gain competence and confidence,” says Lt. Col. Mitch Day, UW Army ROTC department chair and professor of military science. “Our Posse Club is 40–50 members strong, and the majority are ROTC cadets—both Army and Air Force. It has been involved with and credited with saving numerous lives when they’re called out.”
University of Wyoming Army and Air Force ROTC cadets are in high demand to present the colors at sporting events and community events.
“Here at UW, we have the opportunity to do color guard at the games,” says Capt. John McKee, UW Air Force ROTC recruiting flight commander. “A lot of students take great pride in that.”
The programs also are asked to present the colors at community events in Laramie and beyond.
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