It's about strength and endurance. It's about concentration and power. It's about individuality working to earn a place in the group.
Over the weekend, the 890 members of the University Air Force ROTC detachment held their annual Battle Dress Initiation. Airforce members are not permitted to wear their camouflage attire until after the initiation in the spring of their first year.
"They used to have to wait until they became cadet officers," second-year Engineering student Eric Ormes said. "But since the policy was changed a few years ago, the initiation process was created to ensure that members were still earning the privilege to wear their uniforms."
Until initiation, members only are permitted to wear physical training gear, characterized by sweatpants or shorts and a sweatshirt.
"I'm glad to finally be allowed to wear my Battle Dress Uniform," first-year College student Cassandra Broffitt said.
Despite the cold weather at 7 a.m. Saturday morning, members met their cadet officers on the steps of the Rotunda without much knowledge of what to expect.
"I had no idea what we were going to do," Broffitt said. "All I knew was that it was going to be hard because everyone made such a big deal about it and wouldn't tell us what we were going to do."
Second-year College student Daphne Rankin, who was initiated last year, said the participants were blindfolded so they could learn to trust each other.
"Cadets tried to intimidate us so that we would have to work together to achieve our goals," Rankin said. "Afterwards I felt more like part of the group."
This year, Broffitt said the first years were divided into flights and instructed to find a fallen pilot hidden in the woods behind Observatory Hill.
"We had to pass physical or air force knowledge tests to get past check-in stations," Broffitt said. "The push-ups on rocks were hard on our hands because it was so cold out, but there were a lot of fun parts too."
Broffitt also said the energy of her fellow flight members was very motivating.
"It hyped me up to see everyone so energetic and excited," Broffitt said.
At the end of their mission, the entire detachment met up and crawled through the sand in the volleyball courts.
"Everyone was cheering, and it was a lot of fun," Ormes said.
So the next time you see a cadet clad in camouflage, you'll know they earned their BDU.
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