| Centurions at the University of Texas
In the days of the Roman legion, a centurion commanded warriors in battle. A centurion was a warrior leader. Fast forward two thousand years and you can still find centurions leading other warriors.
On this April day, it’s 0600 and the sun is barely peeking above the horizon at Clark Field on The University of Texas (UT) at Austin campus. Longhorn Airmen of Detachment 825, Air Force ROTC are already well into their physical training regimen. This particular morning is special, however, because cadets will learn who earned recognition as modern-day centurions.
 The Centurion Award is presented each semester by the Detachment Commander and honors the cadet class with the strongest commitment to fitness and fitness training. This year, Norm King, President of the AFA Austin Chapter, joined Colonel Chris “Mort” Bowman in presenting the Centurion Award to AS 300 (Junior Class) cadets for the Spring Semester. In addressing the winners, Col Bowman said, “these centurions have embraced one key aspect of the warrior ethos—fitness and endurance—and more importantly, they have set the example for all of us to follow.”
King also presented scholarships to Cadets Kevin Stout and Sean Zarsky for their outstanding contribution to the Detachment. “The Longhorn Airmen are grateful to the Austin AFA for recognizing some of our best,” said Col Bowman. “And, it was awesome to have the AFA President out here so early. It was a great leadership lesson for the cadets.”
The Austin AFA Chapter is a strong supporter of both the UT AFROTC Detachment and local high school JROTC units. Each semester, the chapter presents the two scholarships to UT cadets, as well as AFA National Outstanding Cadet medals to local Junior ROTC units.
Return to the Table of Contents or go to the Next Article
The Air Force Association (AFA) is an independent, nonprofit IRS 501(c)(3) organization.
This newsletter is published monthly via e-mail. Submissions or comments should be sent to AENewsletter@afa.org. |
