Troy University’s Student Government Association recently made a $5,000 donation to the Air Force and Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs in honor of Giving Day 2024.

SGA President Betsy Bennett said beginning in 2021, the organization began raising money by selling t-shirts and challenge coins to support troops overseas. With the retirement of longtime Director of Student Involvement Barbara Patterson earlier this year, Bennett said it was time to put the funds to good use.

“We decided that since that money was originally raised for troops overseas, we thought what better way for the Student Government Association to give back to those future Army and Air Force leaders and the military?” she said. 

The Air Force ROTC is an educational program designed to give men and women the opportunity to compete to become an Air Force or Space Force officer while also obtaining their degree. 

Lt. Col. Kedem “Splinter” Alon, Commander of Detachment 017 and Professor of aerospace studies, said the Air Force ROTC plans to use the funds to support their “warrior-focused training” efforts.

“We’re trying to reform the lag we had in some of our efforts as far as fulfilling our mission of producing Officers of character. We expect to fight and win our nation’s wars, and that involves really getting to that warrior side of things,” he said. “We want to get them into programs to get them excited about the Air Force, while also getting them real experience with operations around the Air Force as well.”

Army ROTC provides cadets with the tools, training and experience they need to become Officers in the U.S. Army. Army ROTC is an Equal Opportunity program, welcoming all full-time students.

Captain Jeffrey Gregory, Chair of the Army ROTC program, Mustang Battalion, and Assistant Professor of military studies, said their funds will be used for trips, transportation and resources for training events.

“Annually, our cadets go to summer training at Fort Knox, so we will move them around from Fort Novosel and also Fort Benning,” he said. “They’ll participate in other required necessities for their education so they can be prepared to pass the cadet summer training event, which will give them leadership program expertise and also tactical training to make sure they’re capable of being Army leaders in the future.”

To make a donation to the ROTC programs, click here.