United States Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) Detachment 90 at Colorado State University is proud to announce that beginning in August 2023, qualified cadets will receive a new scholarship – the AFROTC Charles McGee Leadership Award (CMLA) – that will provide tuition or housing assistance to all cadets who demonstrate the ability and intent to commission into the Air Force or Space Force.
The CMLA is a 2-year scholarship to allow all qualified cadets to focus on their academic and leadership development. Eligible cadets are granted a two-year tuition award of up to $18,000 per year, or the scholarship can be converted into a housing benefit of up to $10,000 per year provided the cadet resides in university-provided housing.
This new scholarship will be available to all cadets who have successfully completed field training and entered the Professional Officer Course upon the start of their junior year of college.
Colonel Gregg Johnson, commander of AFROTC Detachment 90 at CSU, is energized by the intended effects of the new scholarship. “The Charles McGee Leadership Award is a game changer for our Air Force ROTC program allowing our junior and senior level cadets to focus on the application of leadership skills and teamwork, ultimately developing and inspiring future leaders of our Air and Space Forces.”
Named after Brigadier General Charles McGee, a fighter pilot and Tuskegee Airman during World War II, CMLA marks a significant change in how scholarships are awarded to qualified cadets who had not previously received a scholarship upon entry into the program.
Historically, only approximately 40% of AFROTC cadets within the program were on some form of AFROTC scholarship. In addition, over 95% were awarded to promising high school seniors with the remainder allocated to in-college freshmen and sophomore cadets. There were virtually no opportunities for cadets to obtain a scholarship after the sophomore year.
With CMLA, now 100% of all qualified cadets in their junior and senior years will be eligible for this scholarship.
CSU students interested in joining AFROTC Detachment 90 should contact the recruiting officer at 970-491-6476 or by email at afrotc_recruiting@mail.colostate.edu.