Fresno State’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 35 won the High Flight Award for AFROTC’s Southwest Region. The award honors the best unit of the year in the region, which extends from Mississippi to Hawaii, including all of California and Texas.

“This honor is a direct reflection of the hard work our cadets put toward their dreams of becoming Air Force lieutenants and future leaders for our nation,” said Lt. Col. Sam Vandiver, commander of the Fresno State detachment.

Fresno State won for mid-sized detachments that have 60 to 99 cadets, and will now compete against three other detachments for best mid-sized unit in the nation. That award, the Right of Line national award, is presented at the ROTC Commander’s Conference in Atlanta during the last week of October. All 144 detachments are represented there along with senior leadership and staff from various headquarters.

Fresno State’s Class of 2008 sent five new Air Force lieutenants to pilot training, three each to personnel, logistics and financial officer billets, two to navigator training and one each to medical school, USAF Nursing Corps and intelligence officer school.

In May, the detachment also won its fifth-straight annual championship in field day competitions against Berkeley, San Jose State and Sacramento State.