AFROTC cadet commissioned at White House

UD ROTC cadet Jeffrey Pierdomenico (circled in red) and other future military leaders are welcomed by President George W. Bush at the first-ever Joint ROTC Commissioning Ceremony held in the East Room of the White House on May 17.

Jeffrey Pierdomenico of Wilmington, who recently completed a three-year hitch in the University of Delaware Air Force ROTC Detachment 128 unit, was among more than 50 future military leaders welcomed by President George W. Bush in the first-ever Joint ROTC Commissioning Ceremony held in the East Room of the White House on Thursday, May 17, in Washington, D.C.

A graduate of Wilmington College, where he received a bachelor's degree in sciences and Internet networking on May 9, Pierdomenico was among those officially commissioned as a second lieutenant by U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

A graduate of Delcastle High School, Pierdomenico has been a member of the UD Air Force ROTC training program since 2004.

“I had been on active duty with the Air Force since 2000, and along the way I had taken some college courses,” Pierdomenico said. “I thought ROTC would be a great way to get a college education, so I came into the UD Air Force ROTC Program while a sophomore at Wilmington College.”

As invitees of the president, the group of newly commissioned officers also received a special tour of the White House, Pierdomenico said

“We were taken to parts of the White House that people do not get to see unless they are guests of the president,” Pierdomenico said. “Completing a degree and becoming a commissioned officer is something in itself, but when you add seeing the president, it's an electrifying, once in a lifetime experience.”

Pierdomenico was the UD Air Force ROTC's top graduating senior, finishing his undergraduate career at Wilmington College with a 3.96 GPA, Capt. Todd Walker, unit admissions officer and AS200 instructor, said.

Pierdomenico's first stop as a newly commissioned officer will be at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama before heading to Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, Okla., where he will serve as a communications officer.

Wilmington College has a cross-enrollment agreement program with the Air Force and Army ROTC departments at UD. Classes for the military science, or ROTC program, are instructed on a partnership basis on UD's Newark campus.

Article by Jerry Rhodes