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Carolina’s Air Force ROTC named best small detachment in Southeast

Detachment 590 received the honor based on the group's production, education, recruiting and retention, university and public relations, and cadet activities.

Air Force detachment in formation
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill honors veterans and active duty members of the armed services during an annual Veterans Day ceremony at a memorial devoted to alumni military members at 11 a.m. on Friday November 11, 2016. Dr. Bruce Cairns, director of the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Health Care, John Stackhouse Distinguished Professor of Surgery at the School of Medicine and Chair of the Faculty at UNC, will was the featured speaker at the ceremony. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)

UNC-Chapel Hill’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 590 was recently named best small detachment in the Southeast region for 2016-2017.

The Southeast Region encompasses 38 detachments in nine states and Puerto Rico, and is the largest region by cadet population in the AFROTC. Detachment 590 currently has 36 cadets.

The award, presented by the United States Air Force, was given based on Carolina’s excellent achievements in five assessment categories, including production, education, recruiting and retention, university and public relations, and cadet activities.

The department of aerospace studies and the Air Force ROTC are part of the College of Arts & Sciences and have been on campus since 1947, the year the U.S. Air Force was founded.

Carolina’s Detachment 590 has an award-winning history (winning No. 1 small detachment in the Air Force for 2012-2013 and back-to-back wins in 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 as best small detachment in the Southeast).

“I’m exceptionally proud of our cadets for their impressive academic, fitness and leadership achievements during academic year 2016-17,” said Lt. Col. Kenneth Cates, department chair and professor of aerospace studies and commander of Detachment 590. “Thanks to the well-rounded experience provided by UNC, Detachment 590 graduates are positively impacting the Air Force now and will for years to come.”