Welcome to Detachment 425 at
Mississippi State University
Where OUR Mission is dedicated to commissioning the best Second Lieutenants in the Air Force
Detachment Info
Det 425 gives students attending MS State, or one of our crosstown schools, the chance to commission as an officer in this great nation's Air Force. We are looking for those students willing to excel physically and academically, while training to become a leader.
DET Events
- Sep 7, 2013
2013 MSU Football Schedule
Link - Nov 16, 2012
LLAB
Read More - Oct 26, 2012
Possible Career Day
- Oct 17, 2012
Interservice Competition
Read More - Oct 15, 2012
Physical Fitness Test (PFA)
Read More
Information for Applicants
You can try AFROTC without any obligation, but you will need to meet certain eligibility requirements in order to receive or become a contracted cadet. Each semester you will take military education courses, Leadership Laboratory, and weekly PT. It will be a challenging experience and not everyone will finish, but it will be extremely rewarding once you make it through.
- ROTC Courses
- A. For incoming freshmen, or if you are able to spend 4 years in ROTC, sign up for AS1012
- B. If you only have 3 years left in school, then during your first year as a cadet you will need to enroll in both AS1012 and AS2012. Contact the Det if you only have 2 years remaining and you are interested in joining the Air Force.
- Scholarship Information
- C. You can start the application for the High School Scholarship Program (HSSP) the summer before your senior year of high school, but the deadline to apply is December 1st. This scholarship includes a fitness test and an interview, so come prepared.
- D. In-College Scholarships!!! AFROTC recently revived the emphasis on in-college scholarships and you may be eligible to compete for the In-college Scholarship Program (ICSP) during the Spring of your 1st, or the Fall of your 2nd year as a GMC (see Eligibility Requirements).
- E. If you are majoring in one of the Critical Technical Majors, which include Nursing, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Meteorology, you may have a higher chance of being awarded an in-college scholarship.
- F. AFROTC also offers language scholarships and MSU offers eligible degrees in the following languages: Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish.
AFROTC Detachment 425 History
Military tradition at Mississippi State University, as at all land grant colleges, is deeply rooted in the history of the university. Mississippi received federal assistance in 1878 in order to found a state college. This assistance, provided under the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862, obligated the institution to provide military training. Thus began the legacy of military tradition at the Mississippi Agricultural & Mechanical College.
General Stephen D. Lee became the first president of the college and he had a strong military background. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point and served the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He introduced the spirit of the West Point curriculum to the college.
The Military Department at Mississippi A & M was divided into two areas of instruction: the theory of tactics and their practical application. Students often staged mock battles to apply what they had learned. Instructors were frequently inspected by higher headquarters to insure their teaching was satisfactory and well founded.
Prior to World War I, the service academies were unable to meet the growing need for military officers. In order to supply the needed officers, Congress passed the National Defense Act of 1916 which established Reserve Officer Training Corps units at various colleges and universities nationwide. In the spring of 1917, an ROTC unit was founded at Mississippi A & M. The program required two years of military training for all students. At the end of the two years, students could apply for the advanced course and receive a commission upon completion of their academic study.
During World War I, emphasis upon the campus’ Military Department increased significantly. The school resembled a training camp as the demand for combat officers tripled. Yet after the war, military activity was curtailed as the college experienced many changes. However, a second war loomed on the horizon.
During the Second World War, the college again increased its production of officers. This war brought the concept of air power into the students’ study of military tactics. In 1943 the college became a participant in the Army Air Forces Training Program. This was the real beginning of Air Force ROTC. A senior division Air ROTC was established in 1943 as a branch of Army ROTC. Under the National Security Act of 1947, however, the Air Force became a separate service and Air ROTC units were officially detached from Army ROTC.
AFROTC Detachment 15 was activated 11 July 1949 at Mississippi State. This unit was later re-designated Detachment 425 on 1 August 1952. Since this date, Detachment 425 has commissioned hundreds of Air Force officers. Its tradition is firmly seated and its members consider themselves “a cut above” the rest. We are hopeful that Mississippi State University’s AFROTC heritage will press on into the 21st Century.