Commander's Corner

Howdy!

The commander’s corner is my chance to personally give you a little insight into
what Squadron 8 is really all about. Every outfit has its own identity, it’s own
personality. When you’re comparing outfits it’s helpful to think about them as if
you were to compare fraternities. There’s a lot to be said about the hard facts about
what each outfit does- it’s PT scores, it’s average GPA, the average GPA of freshmen
specifically, and any awards it has. What is probably more important to you though
are the intangibles of each outfit, the little quirks of each that really distinguish them
from each other.

In fact, often times it is these little differences that will either make you fall in love
with your unit or be a serious contributor to you not feeling like you fit in, and
possibly quit as a result. Thus, it’s very important that you take this into account
when you make your decision of what unit to join at your New Student Conference.

I’ll start off with listing some of the key facts about Squadron 8. We were awarded
the Professor of Aerospace Science Outstanding Unit Award at the end of last year.
That means we are the number one Air Force outfit in the Corps of Cadets, period.
We have the highest grades among all outfits in the corps that were formerly
designated “technical major-specific” outfits. We have the highest physical fitness
scores of any integrated squadron in the wings. We’ve done very well in our unit
drill and running, which you can see from our awards in those categories as well.

What you should take away from that is we have the highest combined grades
and physical fitness scores with an emphasis on the military and the Air Force
specifically. We have very high standards in these categories and have been very
successful as a result.

Now I’ll get started on describing our outfit’s intangibles. We are very military
oriented- 46% of our upperclassmen currently have a contract, and almost all are
still pursuing contracts with the military. We have the highest successful contract
rate among cadets pursuing Air Force contracts for the first time. We also have
multiple cadets contracted with the Army and Marines. The vast majority of the
cadets in our unit want to serve in the military.

We have a somewhat informal style of interacting within the unit. We like to go by
the spirit of the rules rather than the letter of what’s written. Our way of operating
is very similar to what you will find in an Air Force squadron or private business-
generally relaxed and yet focused on producing results. This general attitude has
developed our cadets to be very successful in the ROTC detachment. Outlaws have
held the Wing Commander for the past 2 consecutive leadership rotations as well as
many key leadership positions.

The one exception to that is how we approach our physical fitness. We work
out hard and often with a mix of weight training, cross fit, obstacle course, and
marathon style work outs. Our training has led us to be very successful in all
physical fitness events in the corps. For the past 3 years our unit has done marathon
training in addition to our normal training in preparation for running the Armadillo
Dash half marathon. We take our fitness on the field as well by playing all corps
intramural sports as well as having members of the school lacrosse, rugby, and
water polo teams.

From all this hard work, Outlaws really have a sense of family. At lunchtime when
most outfits are separated by class, you’ll be able to find the Outlaws all at the same
table eating together. Class lines are not hard and fast for us, and you will make
very good friends in the classes above and below you. We don’t claim to have a
family atmosphere like most outfits, because it’s not something we work at creating-
instead it’s something that comes natural to us by our way of operating and the
personalities of the cadets that are drawn to us.

With that, please look around the site more and if you have any questions do not
hesitate to contact me- I am more than happy to talk with you about anything
related to the school or the corps. I look forward to meeting and working with you.

Dane Richards
Commander, Squadron 8
Texas A&M University