Matthew Suber isn’t one of the recent graduates of universities across the nation facing unemployment during the recession.

Instead, Suber’s job allows him to meet new people while making use of his leadership and decision-making skills – things he picked up at the University’s Air Force ROTC Program.

Air Force ROTC is a four-year program, with the first two years focused on general military corps and the latter two years aimed at utilizing leadership skills.

Suber, now a 2nd Lieutenant with the U.S. Air Force, was one of many students who has participated in the program as a cadet – an officer in training. He is stationed at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas, training to be a military intelligence officer.

“I started my senior year and did ROTC for two full years [after that],” he said. “I learned a lot about leadership.”

Leadership is the basis of Air Force ROTC, said Major Douglas Lomsdalen, director of the University’s Air Force ROTC program.

A typical week for a cadet involves physical training on Mondays and Thursdays for an hour, leadership lab on Tuesdays for two hours with classes in between, he said.

“The whole focus is to teach about [the] Air Force and train leaders through practical exercises,” he said. “We teach everything to be successful on the field.”

Students can join at any point in their academic career, provided they meet the stipulations, Lomsdalen said.

“You need to have at least one semester before field training and three semesters after field training to commit to the program,” he said.

One opportunity students have to gain experience in is cadet field training.

“I like to characterize [field training] as a 28-day under-the-microscope leadership lab,” he said.

Nathan Smithers, a cadet with the Air Force ROTC, said in cadet field training, you have to know a little bit about everything.

“It basically tests how you do under training pressure,” he said. “The root of it focused on leadership.”

Field training has three stages: General Military Corps, Blue Thunder and Camp Shelby Joint Force Training Center.

“The first stage tests a student’s leadership ability, and the second and third stages get into a more realistic environment. They are designed to test leadership abilities in any situation,” Smithers said.

Once cadets successfully complete field training, they carry the title of Professional Officer Corps, which are in charge of leading the entire detachment, as well as training first and second year cadets.

Once cadets make it through the [ROTC] program they are commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant for the U.S. Air Force and they can be in any type of career field,” he said. “If you can think of any type of civilian career, we have it in the Air Force.”

Aside from the field training, students who choose to join ROTC may enjoy the benefit of Air Force ROTC sponsored scholarships for “fully qualified” cadets, Lomsdalen said.

He said to be fully qualified cadets must be a U.S. citizen and pass the Air Force ROTC physical training test, among other requirements.

“They are very competitive and they compete at the headquarters against peers,” he said, adding the program has been successful with scholarship recipients.

“[During the scholarship process], we look at the whole person,” Lomsdalen said. “We want people who are good academically, but have a life outside of ROTC.”

Though field training teaches cadets about real world events that occur during war, Lomsdalen said many do not go to war.

“After graduating from [the University], there is a period of time where graduates don’t go to active duty,” he said. “We’re not going to send someone out without knowing their job first.”

For Suber, the training he received in Air Force ROTC gave him the opportunity to lead, and provided him with effective decision-making skills, he said.

“The big thing for me was to see the Air Force modeled for us, but in an instruction environment,” Suber said. “Air Force ROTC gives exceptional knowledge for learning how to make decisions and gives you the opportunity to meet new people. Air Force is a small world, so I do appreciate networking and meeting people.”