The Air Force ROTC detachment at California State University, Fresno – one of the nation’s oldest – will commission seven cadets as officers in a ceremony at 4 p.m. Friday, June 1.
The traditional pinning ceremony will begin with an F-16 flyby by the California Air National Guard’s 144th Fighter Wing, based in Fresno.
The event, held in the The Leon S. and Pete P. Peters Educational Center located in the Student Recreation Center (Shaw and Woodrow avenues), marks the conclusion of the university’s 2007 Commencement activities.
The officer candidates and guests will gather in front of the Rec Center for the National Anthem and the flyby, than move inside.
The new officers who will be commissioned as second lieutenants and their first Air Force assignments are: Paul Arner, 23, of Chowchilla, space and missiles officer at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California; Justin Beltz, 23, of Clovis, contracting officer at Beale AFB in California;Todd Early, 22, of Vacaville, pilot training at Kirtland AFB, N.M.; Amanda Huffman, 22, of Fresno, civil engineer at Holloman AFB, N.M.; Andrew Lewis, 22, of Modesto, pilot training at Little Rock AFB, Ark.; Steven Shultz, 22, of Bakersfield, navigator, Randolph AFB, Texas; Joshua Vasquez, 23, of Tehachapi, contracting officer at Hanscom AFB, Mass. He was the detachment’s cadet commander in the spring semester.
In 1948, just one year after the Air Force became an official branch of America’s military, then-Fresno State College established an Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps unit, making it one of the nation’s oldest AFROTC detachments. The curriculum is designed to provide education and training for men and women who want to become Air Force officers while completing a degree.
Public parking for the commissioning ceremony is available free in the North Lot at the Save Mart Center.
For more information contained in this release, call 559.278.2741.
For more information contained in this release, please go to the following Web site(s):
Aerospace Studies / AFROTC
