Detachment 365, also known as Doolittle's Raiders, lives in the spirit of James H. Doolittle (1896-1993), who received his master of science and doctor of science degrees in Aeronautics at MIT. His pioneering flights, technological contributions to aviation, and famous Doolittle Raid on Tokyo in 1942, are an inspiration to all our cadets. They graduate from our program with confidence, self-discipline and integrity, and aspire to the great character and dedication to country of leaders such as General Doolittle.
At Detachment 365, we are proud to continually produce superior officers and leaders for our nation's Air Force and Space Force and to the overall benefit of society. We support the "citizen-soldier" concept, which contends that a military force created of the people will best support its people. It is this integration of military instruction in a civilian setting that brings the citizen and the soldier together and in tune with the other.
Though MIT is the main campus for Det 365, a portion of our 90 cadets also come from Harvard College, Tufts University, and Wellesley College. As a result, our graduates represent many of the nation's best and brightest in both technical and non-technical career fields. They are poised for exceptional service in the military as well as in the civilian sects, particularly in this age of technological advancement, medical breakthroughs and intense foreign relations worldwide.
In addition to academic excellence, the prestige awarded to our newly commissioned officers is also in part to the military precedence at MIT. Since the school's opening in 1865, military courses were compulsory for nearly a century, under the provisions of the 1862 Morrill Act requiring all land grant institutions to provide military science courses. The National Defense Act of 1916 brought this training under a single, federally controlled entity - the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), and MIT launched the nation's first ROTC program under the Army. It wasn't until the formation of the USAF in 1947 that Air Force ROTC was offered at MIT with the Navy following suit in 1956. All in all, over 12,000 officers have been commissioned from the tri-services, with over 150 attaining the rank of General or Admiral.
We invite you to learn more about Det 365 and the many benefits offered by Air Force ROTC—including scholarships and career-broadening opportunities. Contact us by e-mail or call 617-253-4475 for more information.
Apply for Scholarships on the Air Force ROTC website.
Alumni
Listed below are just some of the alumni that make us proud.
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Wellesley College Class of 1983
Colonel Pamela Melroy graduated from Wellesley College in 183 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics and Astronomy. Following her graduation and commissioning into the US Air Force, she received a Master of Science degree in Earth and Planetary Sciences from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1984.
Col. Melroy was commissioned through the Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program in 1983. As a co-pilot, aircraft commander, instructor pilot, and test pilot, Col. Melroy logged more than 6,000 flight hours in more than 50 different aircraft before retiring from the Air Force in 2007. She is a veteran of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm and Operation Just Cause, with more than 200 combat and combat support hours.
Col. Melroy was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in December 1994. Initially assigned to astronaut support duties for launch and landing, she also worked advanced projects for the Astronaut Office. She also performed Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM) duties in mission control. In addition, she served on the Columbia Reconstruction Team as the lead for the crew module and served as Deputy Project Manager for the Columbia Crew Survival Investigation Team. In her final position, she served as Branch Chief for the Orion branch of the Astronaut Office.
One of only two women to command a space shuttle, Col. Melroy logged more than 38 days (924 hours) in space. She served as pilot on two flights, STS-92 in 2000 and STS-112 in 2002, and was the mission commander on STS-120 in 2007. All three of her missions were assembly missions to build the International Space Station.
Col. Melroy was sworn is as the NASA Deputy Administrator on June 21, 2021.
Col. Fincke graduated from MIT in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics as well as a Bachelor of Science in Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences. Following his MIT education, he immediately attended a summer exchange program with the Moscow Aviation Institute in the former Soviet Union where he studied cosmonautics. Upon graduation from Stanford University in 1990, he entered the United States Air Force where he “washed out” of the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program and then was reassigned as a Space Systems Engineer and a Space Test Engineer at Los Angeles Air Force Base. As a Flight Test Engineer at Edwards and Eglin Air Force Bases, he flew in F-16 and F-15 aircraft. In January 1996, he reported to the Gifu Test Center, Gifu Air Base, Japan, where he was the United States Flight Test Liaison to the Japanese/United States XF-2 fighter program. Col. Fincke has over 1,900 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft types.
Col. Fincke was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1996. The Pennsylvania native is the veteran of three spaceflights, Expedition 9 in 2004, Expedition 18 in 2009, and STS-134 in 2011. For Expedition 9, Fincke served as Science Officer and Flight Engineer during his six-month stay onboard the International Space Station. While there, he performed four spacewalks. For Expedition 18, Fincke served as Commander, where he and his crew prepared the station for future six-person crews. For STS-134, he served as Mission Specialist and completed three spacewalks. Col. Fincke has logged more than a year in orbit, with nine space walks.
After working with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program to develop and bring two new crewed spacecraft online, the Space-X Crew Dragon and the Boeing CST-100 Starliner, Fincke was selected to serve as the Joint Operations Commander on the first crewed experimental test flight of the Starliner. Riding on the Atlas V launch vehicle, this will be Fincke's third rocket and spacecraft combination to orbit.