This university has many different activities to get involved with and members of the Jewish community have pursued outside interests. Two Jewish students, senior mechanical engineering major Tzvi Meth and freshman aerospace engineering major Yoni Wolf, are both airmen in the Air Force ROTC program at this university.
Both hope to serve as pilots in the Air Force after graduation and are currently the only Jews in this university’s Air Force detachment. They are both Orthodox Jews who attended Jewish day schools and observe Shabbat and other Jewish holidays. If both land their dream job they would serve 12 years in the Air Force. The first two years would be training and the other ten years would be active duty.
Meth’s journey to the military and ROTC was a long process of applying for both the Navy and Air Force academies, getting rejected from both. Meth started his college journey at the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) before transferring to UMBC for his sophomore year of college. He then got involved with ROTC, commuting the 23 miles one way from Baltimore to College Park multiple times a week to pursue his dream. Meth ended up transferring to this university this semester to relieve some stress from his life.
“I always loved America, it would have been like a pipe sort of dream serving but then I realized this is doable,” Meth said.
For Wolf, his interest in aviation and flying came at a young age, so he joined this university’s detachment right away.
“In high school, I realized I wanted to fly but I also wanted to do something more service oriented and the military does really cool flying,” Wolf said.
It’s easier to be Orthodox Jewish in the Air Force compared to the Navy or Army. This is because airmen get weekends off allowing Jewish airmen to observe Shabbat.
There can be some conflicts with ROTC activities and Jewish holidays. Some of the ROTC field training exercises, which only occur once or twice a semester, take place off-campus on weekends. Both Wolf and Meth do not drive on Shabbat so they are unable to participate. Other aspects prohibiting them from doing ROTC exercises on Shabbat include not writing, carrying objects and using electronics.
This university’s Air Force ROTC detachment is very accommodating to religious holidays and is willing to work with cadets to provide exemptions and work around religious schedules. Wolf mentioned that this university’s Air Force ROTC regiment is working to accommodate Muslim cadets who observe Ramadan. Cadets are required to be at the Reckord Armory at 5:30 a.m., but sunrise has been later in the morning due to religious exemptions surrounding Ramadan restrictions.
“Continually the answer is yes, I’ve never gotten a no,” Wolf said. “In the Air Force, unless it is a mission priority, religious accommodations are expected to be fulfilled…Everyone’s super graceful and understanding.”
ROTC cadets do not have missions so this is never an issue cadets experience. Wolf attributes his positive experience to Meth who has already made the chain of command aware of the Jewish religious observances. The one thing Jewish airmen need to show is commitment.
“The biggest thing is you have to show that you are 100% committed and you are into it,” Meth said. “They’ll [the cadres] work with you to make sure you get stuff done.”
One of the ROTC’s main goals is building leadership skills. Cadets do physical training in the morning a minimum of three days a week. Cadets can choose between different options such as swimming, weightlifting and calisthenics that include push-ups, sit-ups and running.
One day a week they have specialty training that simulates a military environment. Cadets are required to be in uniform at the Reckord Armory by 5:30 a.m. and start training at 6:00 a.m. Underclassmen participate in training exercises in which they learn accountability and problem-solving. Upperclassmen learn more about the Air Force as a whole and further develop their leadership skills to be used after graduation. Then airmen have an ROTC class where they learn more about the Air Force’s specific processes and bureaucracies. .
Cadets are typically assigned to different positions after their first semester. Positions are given out based on what airmen put on their dream sheet, and they are subject to change each semester, ensuring airmen experience many different roles. Depending on their position, airmen might have an additional meeting later in the afternoon. Some positions include Alumni Historian, Deputy Inspection General, Operations Group and Maintenance Group.
ROTC is all about leadership training where cadets learn how to manage people so they get the job done on time and work on communication skills.
“It’s really the same sort of training, just not as intense as you get in the academies because in the academies it is 24/7 you are in a military atmosphere versus here you are in a military atmosphere once a week,” Meth said.
The ROTC teaches important life skills that cadets can use in their future Air Force jobs, but also in their own lives outside of the military.
“There’s a lot of focus on working together with the training we do so being able to work successfully and hyper-effectively as a team has been something I’ve learned,” Wolf said.
