Yale Bowl Offers New Opportunities

  • Published
  • By Maj. Cathy Royster
  • State Public Affairs Office
YALE UNIVERSITY - New Haven, Conn. --  Recruiting and Retention teamed up with the Yale Reserve Officer Training Corps Saturday, November 2, to honor local veterans at the Yale-Columbia football game in New Haven, Connecticut. The invitation for veterans and their families offered free admission to the game, but also a recruiting opportunity for the Connecticut Air National Guard.

Col. Scott Manning, Air Force ROTC Det-009 commander, reached out to the Air National Guard as a joint venture to reintroduce the military to the Yale community.

"The Air Force left Yale in 1957. The Navy departed in 1972," said Col. Manning. "This is the second event since ROTC returned to campus 15 months ago."

The new cross-town ROTC program allows not only Yale students to participate, but also other local university students as well. Col. Manning said the focus of Saturday's event was to not only honor veterans and current military members, but to tie together state assets such as ROTC and the National Guard. "This was an incredible opportunity for military units in New England to showcase their personnel and equipment and gain more 'touch time' with the civilian population," he added.

The event was a first-time presence at Yale University for the Connecticut Air National Guard. Showcasing a new 5-Ton truck and HUMVEE from Orange Air National Guard Station as well as the Civil Support Team mobile command vehicle, team members from the CST and recruiting fielded questions regarding the Air National Guard capabilities. Students, families, university employees and ROTC cadets alike visited the booth and vehicles.

"Our goal was public awareness and the benefits the Air National Guard can offer. The event was a success," said Senior Master Sgt. Dan Jenkins, Recruiting and Retention superintendent.

Beyond the recruiting booth, a pre-game flyover by a North American B-25 Mitchell, an honor to military aviation pioneer Gen. Henry "Hap" Arnold, was coordinated by both the Air National Guard and ROTC leadership. The experience added to the already positive exposure to the Yale community and event attendees.

"The event helped us better our relationship with the ROTC unit at Yale. We look forward to working with them at future events," said Sergeant Jenkins.

Airmen who are interested in participating in future recruiting events such as these should contact Master Sgt. Regina Major, with permission from their commander, at 860-292-2758.