Day in the Life of a Stanford Air Force ROTC Cadet

Physical Training (PT) and Typical Weekly Schedule

My day begins at the sound of my 0420 alarm. For just a second, before the rush begins, I lay in bed and mentally prepare myself for the day. I pull on my PT uniform and slip on sweats for the chilly morning. Some mornings, I offer a “Good night!” to my roommate who is just returning to the room to sleep, and I head out the door.

As a cadet at Stanford, myself and 8 other Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps (AFROTC) cadets have to commute to the host school of San Jose State University (SJSU) for all of our AFROTC training events. I pick up a couple of other Stanford cadets at their respective dorms, and we drive down to San Jose for accountability at 0545. We often have extra time to spare, which we use to bond with the SJSU, UC Santa Cruz, Santa Clara University, and local community college cadets (who are all part of our Detachment 045 schools) in the community room while we wait for Physical Training (PT) to begin.

Years of track and cross country in high school prepared me for early mornings and long days, but as an AS 250 (a term that defines a cadet that joins AFROTC during their sophomore year, just before Field Training), I have had to quickly adjust to the lifestyle associated with ROTC.

In a typical week, we commute to SJSU twice a week, on Wednesdays and Fridays. On Wednesdays, we only have PT scheduled for 0600-0700. But on Friday, our schedule is more full – we have one hour of PT from 0600-0700, followed by two hours of our leadership laboratory training (LLAB), 1.5-3 hours of aerospace studies class, and then we usually factor in another hour to complete any additional activities that must be taken care of in-person (counseling meetings, additional drill practice, morale events, etc.). During the rest of the week, our ROTC commitments are either over Zoom, such as Cadet Wing Staff meetings, or independent work depending on your leadership roles within the Wing.

AFROTC gives cadets many opportunities to develop leadership skills through assigned and volunteer positions. Usually, each cadet at Detachment 045 will have 4-6 major leadership positions throughout their time in AFROTC. You get increasing leadership responsibilities as you get more experience in the program, up until your AS 400 (senior) year, where you may get roles in charge of running all the training and logistic coordination for the detachment. Although it is just my second quarter in the program, I volunteered for and currently hold the role of General Military Course (GMC) Physical Fitness Officer (PFO). As GMC PFO, it's my responsibility to prepare Detachment 045 for the workout of the morning. I also assist the upperclassman Professional Officer Course (POC) PFO in any way that I can.

Despite the early mornings, PT is my favorite part of the day. I am able to bond with both older and younger cadets, whom I would not spend as much quality time around throughout the rest of the day, through the challenging workouts that push us to our physical limits. I enjoy racing other cadets, but even more so, I love cheering on a cadet that is struggling with a challenging workout and watching them finish with an energy that they didn’t know they had. The workouts can be difficult, but they are always rewarding. As our Detachment 045 Commander reminds us all the time, the exercises we perform at PT are more about teamwork than the actual workout.

Following PT is Reveille, a flag ceremony that was traditionally used to wake military personnel at sunrise. In the mornings, I make sure that the flag has been raised (Reveille), and in the evenings, I make sure that it has been lowered (Retreat). It is performed in a ceremonious way to honor the flag. On Fridays, along with other cadets, I rush to the bathrooms to change into my civilian equivalents (CE) uniform for LLAB.

Leadership Laboratory (LLAB)

At 0800, LLAB begins. LLAB can vary drastically week-to-week. Some examples of what we do in a typical semester include:

Touring nearby Air Force bases (AFB), such as Moffett Field, Travis AFB, Nellis AFB, or Vandenberg AFB, where we sometimes receive incentive rides in their planes and helicopters
Doing a morale hike at a local park, such as Mission Peak or Alum Rock
Drill & ceremonies training or leadership exercises on campus at SJSU
Combat and expeditionary simulation exercises at an airsoft arena or beach
Hosting a career day, where we invite local Air Force and Space Force officers to talk about their careers

On this particular day, our LLAB is on campus at SJSU, and all 70+ cadets in Detachment 045 gather in the auditorium to receive a few training briefings. We then split off into separate AS 100 (freshman) and AS 200 (sophomore) cadet groups to conduct our specific training for each class year.

As AS 200 and 250 cadets in our Field Training Preparation (FTP) year, we conduct this period with higher intensity to simulate what we will experience in the coming summer. Every cadet in AFROTC must undergo Field Training in the summer after their sophomore year, a rigorous boot-camp-style program at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, AL, with 2 to 3 weeks of leadership and teamwork training, weapons training, survival training, deployment skills, aircraft indoctrination, and physical conditioning. During LLAB, we hone our drill and leadership skills with Field Training in mind, and practice transiting around the campus with autonomy. Some things that we do can feel stressful, but afterwards, we laugh together as a flight about the mistakes that we made and plan for how to improve next time.

In the beginning of the school year, I feared holding a leadership position, especially among a class of cadets that already had a year of experience, but now I find myself eagerly volunteering for one. AFROTC has taught me that everyone is always learning – even the most experienced cadets. At the conclusion of LLAB, we all come back together to be dismissed as a crew and get ready for our Aerospace Studies classes.

Aerospace Studies Class and Voluntary AFROTC Organizations

Aerospace Studies (AS) class is not as it sounds – it is the kind of class that you can’t find readily anywhere else. These AS classes vary based on class year, but include topics such as Air Force heritage and history, effective communication, and national security in a seminar-style setting taught by our cadre (the Active Duty staff members at our Detachment). In my sophomore-year class, which is called Team and Leadership Fundamentals, we discuss topics ranging from effective leadership and ethical decision making, to more personal topics like how we manage the stresses in our lives outside of ROTC. We also have the opportunity to hear personal stories from our instructor about his time in the military, who is a Lieutenant Colonel (O-5) and has already served 20 years in Active Duty.

Air Force cadets in formation in main quad

After AS class, there are also voluntary organizations that you can participate in at Detachment 045, including Arnold Air Society (AAS) in the fall and Precision Drill Unit (PDU) in the spring. AAS is an honorary service organization dedicated to providing extra leadership training and service opportunities to AFROTC cadets. Many AAS members complete monthly service projects to volunteer with their local community. In addition, National Conclave (NATCON) and Regional Conclave (RCON) are conventions where cadets meet to discuss AAS legislation and the Joint National Project, the year-long nationwide service project. These conferences typically occur over a weekend in the fall and are excellent ways to meet cadets from other AAS squadrons. On the other hand, PDU is a select team of cadets dedicated to the skilled execution of precision drill. Our PDU team performs ceremonial color guards and exhibition drill competitions at large events banquets, including San Francisco 49ers games, military balls, and military personnel retirement ceremonies. Both AAS and PDU usually meet for weekly meetings on Friday evenings.

Life Outside of AFROTC

After AS class ends at 1200, I collect the two other Stanford cadets that I drove to SJSU to head back to Stanford’s campus for a 1230 Chemistry class. The bustle of the day dies down as I go to work, the last activity of my long day. Fortunately, it is a slow and quiet desk job where I can grab a meal and catch up on some physics homework.

A misconception that I held before joining ROTC was that I wouldn’t have time for other extracurriculars. However, this is far from the truth – many cadets are athletes, student leaders, and involved in different clubs on campus, while still performing very well academically. Because AFROTC training doesn’t take place at Stanford, many Stanford cadets feel like we have even more autonomy and independence than our SJSU peers. We get to plan our own workout schedule, classes, social life, clubs and extracurriculars – all independent of AFROTC. For example, in the evenings when I don’t have ROTC, I have time to go to Student Space Initiative (SSI) and Black Student Union (BSU) meetings where we work on projects and plan events.

After work is over, I eat dinner and head to my dorm to shower. I often stay in to watch a TV show or hang out with some friends and relax for the rest of the evening.

Although the days can be long, I always end my day with a sense of accomplishment. I joined AFROTC because I wanted to find a sense of purpose and disciplined people to surround myself with and that was what I found. It is often emphasized that success in the program is not just about commissioning into the U.S. Air Force or Space Force, but to grow as a leader.

Written By

CDT Sydney Bohles — C/3C Sydney L. Bohles