Army and Air Force ROTC to commission 11 second lieutenants in joint ceremony

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November 30, 2020

Clemson University’s Army and Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps units will hold a joint ceremony to commission 11 second lieutenants at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, December 16. The ceremony, with limited attendance, will occur in Tillman Hall Auditorium and be broadcast via Facebook Live. Five students will receive commissions into the U.S. Army and six students will receive commissions into the U.S. Air Force.

Clemson University graduating senior and newly-commissioned U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Rebecca Kretzer receives her first salute from her brother and sister, David and Anna Kretzer, who are U.S. Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets at West Virginia University, on Clemson University’s Military Heritage Plaza, Dec. 14, 2016.

The ceremony will feature guest speaker Air Force Maj. Gen. Leah G. Lauderback, a 1993 Clemson graduate. Gen. Lauderback is currently the director of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for the U.S. Space Force. Her career as an intelligence officer spans the strategic, tactical and operational levels of war throughout the Pacific, Central and European theaters of operation. She served as the senior military assistant to the undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and as the director of intelligence for Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq. She is also a graduate and former instructor of the U.S. Air Force Weapons School.

Following the commissioning ceremony, the newly appointed lieutenants will participate in a “silver dollar salute” on Military Heritage Plaza. The ceremony marks the first salute received by an officer from an enlisted service member. As a sign of mutual respect, the officer presents the enlisted member with a silver dollar.

The commissioning candidates for the December ceremony are:

United States Army: