Every fall semester, VMI’s AFRTOC cadets gather for their Fall Field Training Exercise (FTX), a weekend designed not just to test their skills but to forge lasting bonds and build the kind of leadership that can only come from a shared challenge.

Each year, the Air and Space Forces Association (AFA) hosts the prestigious Air, Space, and Cyber Conference, coinciding with the Air Force Birthday. This year, a distinguished group of cadets from Virginia Military Institute's Air Force ROTC Detachment 880 had the honor of attending the conference.

AFROTC Field Training at Maxwell AFB, AL, is a mandatory, boot-camp-style summer program for Air Force ROTC cadets. Cadets from AFROTC, Detachment 880 served as Cadet Cadre at the Air Force ROTC’s Field Training Event for Summer 2025.

Cadets from VMI's Air Force ROTC Detachment 880 completed specialized officer development training programs at the Air Force Academy during Summer 2025.

What started out as a foggy, misty morning, warmed into a bright afternoon as nearly 170 Virginia Military Institute cadets commissioned into the armed services in Cameron Hall, May 15 at the annual Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) joint commissioning ceremony.

Detachment 880 cadets enjoy their first time in the cockpit, thanks to the You Can Fly Scholarship.

Seventy cadets from Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine ROTC programs competed in a series of challenging tasks attempting to earn a German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge (GAFPB).

Cadets were selected to attend the AFA Airpower Symposium at Langley Air Force Base, in Hampton, Virginia where they received unparalleled insight into the technological and tactical contributions of ACC to the Department of the Air Force and other service branches.  

Detachment 880 AS400 cadets have recently received their Air Force Specialty Codes (AFSC), determining the career fields they will enter upon commissioning.

Detachment 880 AS400 cadets earned their jump wings at the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) Freefall Parachuting course. Each summer, cadets are given the opportunity to attend the 12-day parachute training program conducted at USAFA, Colorado Springs, Colorado.