The Air Force ROTC has just launched a new incentive scholarship program geared toward junior and senior cadets.

The Professional Officer Course Incentive Scholarship Program offers $2,000 scholarships to full-time students enrolled in the course. Eligible students must meet military retention standards and cannot be 25 years of age or older as of June 30 in the year the scholarship is granted.

The new program will be funded initially through the 1994-95 spring term. Cadets will receive $1,000 a semester to cover the cost of tuition, books and fees.

The program will be offered to more than 1,900 cadets from 138 ROTC programs nationwide and is estimated to cost $1.9 million in its first year of operation.

The scholarship program was devised to encourage cadets to continue with ROTC. Cadets who are granted the scholarships will be commissioned upon graduation and generally will incur a four-year committment to the Air Force, depending on their major and career field.

In a press release, Brig. Gen. Robin Tornow, commandant of Headquarters ROTC, said the scholarships are positive proof the Air Force is hiring cadets.

“Our search for the right kind of people to carry the Air Force into the next century is continuing, and our goal is to keep them on board with quality retention programs such as the incentive scholarship,” Tornow said.

USAF Captain Alfred Spencer said the Air Force needs quality men and women. “The management and the job experience (gained through service) would be a plus that could be transferred to the private sector.”

Future funding and the effectiveness of the program as an incentive and retention tool will determine the future of the program beyond 1995.

Anyone interested in the program can contact Spencer or Meyer at (312) 567-3525 or 567-3526 for more information.