Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Tech. Sgt. Timothy, 334th Training Squadron combat control instructor, briefs Air Force ROTC cadets on Keesler’s battlefield Airmen training at Matero Hall during Pathways to Blue April 15, 2016, Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. Pathways to Blue, a diversity outreach event hosted by 2nd Air Force, the 81st Training Wing and the 403rd Wing, included more than 180 cadets from Air Force ROTC detachments from various colleges and universities. Cadets received hands-on briefings on technical and flying operations and an orientation flight in support of the Air Force's Diversity Strategic Roadmap program. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kemberly Groue)Pathways to Blue shows ROTC cadets the way
                        
                        
                        A 334th Training Squadron combat control instructor briefs Air Force ROTC cadets on battlefield Airmen training during Pathways to Blue at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., April 15, 2016. Pathways to Blue, a diversity outreach event hosted by Second Air Force, the 81st Training Wing and the 403rd Wing, included more than 180 cadets from Air Force ROTC detachments from various colleges and universities. Cadets received hands-on briefings on technical and flying operations and an orientation flight in support of the Air Force's Diversity Strategic Roadmap program. (U.S. Air Force photo/Kemberly Groue)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        Airman 1st Class Devin Harris, 81st Aerospace Medicine Squadron bioenvironmental technician, helps De’Terris Fox, University of Mississippi Air Force ROTC Cadet, test his finger dexterity while wearing a hazardous material suit at the Keesler Medical Center during Pathways to Blue April 15, 2016, Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. Pathways to Blue, a diversity outreach event hosted by 2nd Air Force, the 81st Training Wing and the 403rd Wing, included more than 180 cadets from Air Force ROTC detachments from various colleges and universities. Cadets received hands-on briefings on technical and flying operations and an orientation flight in support of the Air Force's Diversity Strategic Roadmap program. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kemberly Groue)Pathways to Blue shows ROTC cadets the way
                        
                        
                        Airman 1st Class Devin Harris, a 81st Aerospace Medicine Squadron bioenvironmental technician, helps De’Terris Fox, a University of Mississippi Air Force ROTC cadet, test his finger dexterity while wearing a hazardous material suit during Pathways to Blue at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., April 15, 2016. Pathways to Blue, a diversity outreach event hosted by Second Air Force, the 81st Training Wing and the 403rd Wing, included more than 180 cadets from Air Force ROTC detachments from various colleges and universities. (U.S. Air Force photo/Kemberly Groue)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        Gabriela Valle-Ramos, University of Alabama Air Force ROTC Cadet, receives M-4 weapon operating instructions from Senior Airman Caleb Gilliard, 81st Security Forces Squadron combat arms instructor, at the 81st SFS combat arms training and maintenance building during Pathways to Blue April 15, 2016, Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. Pathways to Blue, a diversity outreach event hosted by 2nd Air Force, the 81st Training Wing and the 403rd Wing, included more than 180 cadets from Air Force ROTC detachments from various colleges and universities. Cadets received hands-on briefings on technical and flying operations and an orientation flight in support of the Air Force's Diversity Strategic Roadmap program. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kemberly Groue)Pathways to Blue shows ROTC cadets the way
                        
                        
                        Gabriela Valle-Ramos, a University of Alabama Air Force ROTC cadet, receives M-4 carbine weapon instructions from Senior Airman Caleb Gilliard, a 81st Security Forces Squadron combat arms instructor, during Pathways to Blue at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., April 15, 2016. Pathways to Blue, a diversity outreach event hosted by Second Air Force, the 81st Training Wing and the 403rd Wing, included more than 180 cadets from Air Force ROTC detachments from various colleges and universities. (U.S. Air Force photo/Kemberly Groue)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Pathways to Blue shows ROTC cadets the wayPublished April 20, 2016
                    
                    By Airman 1st Class Travis Beihl
                    
                    
                    81st Training Wing Public Affairs
            **KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. (AFNS) --**More than 180 ROTC cadets from 22 colleges and 31 active-duty enlisted Airmen attended the second annual Pathways to Blue initiative April 15-16 hosted by Second Air Force at Keesler Air Force Base.Cadets and Airmen learned about job opportunities, toured aircraft and sat down with officers for one-on-one mentorship and varying perspectives on commissioned life in the Air Force.“Cadets can gain a lot from the perspective of mentors actually performing the mission,” said Maj. Gen. Mark Brown, the Second Air Force commander. “What we hope to achieve is to explain what really happens when you choose a specialty and join the Air Force; to show what it’s really like to be a cyber operator or a remotely piloted aircraft pilot. The ‘art of the possible’ inside the Air Force is what we are talking about here.”Pathways to Blue aims to help build future leaders in the Air Force, as well as highlight different routes to becoming an Air Force officer. The target audience is freshmen and sophomores along with enlisted members who may be undecided about various career fields once they get commissioned.The event kicked off with an introduction to the mentors then quickly moved to hands-on demonstrations with various career fields ranging from aerospace medicine and cyber operations to battlefield Airmen, space and missiles, aviation, medical, and a mixture of support fields.“This is my second Pathways to Blue and it’s been very engaging and hands on,” said Kayla Davis, a Tuskegee University Air Force ROTC cadet. “I’ve wanted to be a nurse since I was little because my mother was a nurse. The mentors have helped me better understand the different paths I could take to become one in the Air Force.”As an event designed to showcase the Air Force’s mission diversity and commissioning options, Pathways to Blue mentors also appreciated the event’s scope.“To see something like this 20 years ago would have been mind-blowing,” said Maj. Sarah Abel, an 81st Medical Operations Squadron clinical nurse specialist. “I’ve been in the Air Force for 16 years now and this would have been a game-changer for my college’s ROTC program.”Brown also offered his personal take on opportunities in the armed forces for cadets attending Pathways to Blue.“I can be what I want to be in the Air Force,” he said. “Regardless of my background, zip code, gender, race or economic standings, I can rise based on my capabilities in the Air Force. That is exactly what we want these cadets and all others to know.”cadet 



ROTC 



Keesler AFB Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                SecAF, CSAF, CMSAF begin Indo-Pacific trip focused on ACE
                    
                    DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fightInnovation
                F-16s arrive to be modified for autonomous testing
                    
                    AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalistsMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil