Two recent MTSU graduates were among four commissioned as U.S. Air Force second lieutenants during the recent spring 2021 ceremony for Air Force ROTC Detachment 790 held at Middle Tennessee State University.

The outdoor, in-person event sponsored by MTSU’s Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center took place Saturday, May 15, at the Veterans Memorial adjacent to the Tom H. Jackson Building, with the newly commissioned officers  experiencing  a formal sendoff as they await their Air Force careers.

Family and friends attend the annual Air Force ROTC Detachment 790/Tennessee State University spring 2021 commissioning ceremony May 15 at the Veterans Memorial outside the Tom H. Jackson Building at MTSU. Four recent graduates, including two from MTSU were commissioned as second lieutenants. Detachment 790 includes MTSU and nearly a dozen other Middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky colleges and universities. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

Detachment 790, with a long history of being housed in Kean Hall at Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee, includes students from MTSU and other Middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky colleges and universities.

“The Air Force just got better,” said Lt. Col. Nick D. Callaway, professor of Aerospace Studies at TSU, who provided opening and closing comments. “The leadership shown by these young men and women in their time here was nothing short of extraordinary. They will make great leaders and phenomenal officers.”

MTSU Department of Aerospace alumni Kendra Pomeroy of Milford and Paxton, Massachusetts, and Jack McPhersonof Sharpsburg, Georgia, who graduated May 8, and two more commissionees were joined by family and friends at the ceremony, which included Oath of Office, First Salute, presentation of the new lieutenants and introduction by cadet Danyssa Diseker.

Recent MTSU aerospace aviation management graduate Kendra Pomeroy, center, has her U.S. Air Force second lieutenant bars placed on her uniform by her mother, Jean Aubin, left, of Charlotte, North Carolina, and grandfather, Larry Weidenhamer, of Tennessee, as her father, Craig Pomeroy, of Sterling, Mass., holds the bars for her flight cap during the Air Force ROTC Detachment 790/Tennessee State University spring commissioning ceremony May 15 at the Veterans Memorial outside the Tom H. Jackson Building. The event was sponsored by the Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

Pomeroy, who had a 3.3 GPA, earned her degree in aviation management. She commissioned as an aircraft maintenance officer. Her active duty will begin in Charleston, South Carolina.

“It definitely was a challenge, trying to balance school and traveling to TSU once a week,” she said. “I learned a lot — what I needed to learn to be a leader.” Pomeroy left Massachusetts to pursue MTSU’s aerospace program.

McPherson, who had a 3.58 GPA, earned his degree in the professional pilot concentration. He commissioned as an intelligence officer and his active duty will start in San Angelo, Texas.

“This has been amazing,” he said. “The camaraderie. Amazing cadre (Air Force faculty). When COVID hit, I was comforted that I had a job with the Air Force. I got to meet generals and high-ranking personnel, things a normal college student would not get to do.”

Recent MTSU aerospace professional pilot graduate Jack McPherson, center, has his U.S. Air Force second lieutenant bars placed on his uniform by his mother, Sherry McPherson, left, and father, Todd, during the Air Force ROTC Detachment 790/Tennessee State University commissioning ceremony Saturday, May 15, at the Veterans Memorial outside the Tom H. Jackson Building. Partially hidden, Ben McPherson pins the bars to his older brother’s flight cap. The MTSU Daniels Veterans Center hosted the event for the detachment based at Tennessee State University. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

Also commissioned were:

• Erich Brundage of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, a recent Tennessee Technological University graduate with a degree in civil engineering (transportation engineering concentration). He commissioned as a remotely piloted aircraft pilot.

• Asia Grant of Atlanta, Georgia, a recent Vanderbilt University graduate with an English degree and minor in Japanese language and cultural studies. She commissioned as a cyberspace operations officer.

For more information, contact Air Force Maj. Christan White at 615-963-5931 or visit https://www.tnstate.edu/afrotc/.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)

Recent Vanderbilt University graduate Asia Grant, left, of Atlanta, Ga., and Tennessee Tech graduate Erich Brundage of Bay St. Louis, Miss., take part in the First Salute during the May 15 Air Force ROTC Detachment 790/Tennessee State University spring commissioning ceremony held at the Veterans Memorial outside the Tom H. Jackson Building on the MTSU campus. The TSU detachment includes MTSU and about a dozen Midstate and southern Kentucky colleges and universities. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)