About Detachment 432

Air Force ROTC Detachment 432 was established at the University of Southern Mississippi in the Spring of 1971. In 1973, four cadets were the first officers from the detachment commissioned into the United States Air Force.

In 2021, the detachment commissioned its first officer into the United States Space Force.

Mission

The detachment’s mission is the same as the Department of Aerospace Studies’ mission:  to provide a high quality educational environment dedicated to developing leaders and readying them for post-college careers serving as an officer in the United States Air Force (USAF) or United States Space Force (USSF).

Core Values

• Integrity First: Integrity is essential. It is the inner voice, the source of self-control, the basis for the trust that is imperative in today’s Air Force. It is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.
• Service Before Self: Service in the Air Force is not just another job. It is an uncommon profession that calls for people of uncommon dedication. A leader unwilling to sacrifice individual goals for the good of the unit cannot convince other members to do so.
• Excellence in All We Do: Service to our nation often involves the risk of human life—and sometimes national survival. The obligation to excel is a moral obligation for members of the Air and Space Force.

Affiliated Schools/Crosstown Institutions

We are pleased to offer current students of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MGCCC) and William Carey University (WCU) the opportunity to enroll in the Air Force ROTC program, made possible by cross-institutional agreements recently renewed between our schools.  Students who choose to take advantage of this opportunity will need to travel to the Southern Miss campus, as the host-institution, to attend their weekly Aerospace Studies class and its associated Laboratory, as well as attend twice-weekly Physical Training (PT) sessions.  Additionally, we are pleased to announce that we are in the process of renewing our cross-institutional agreements with Pearl River Community College (PRCC) and Jones College (JC).  

Cadet Life

Students who are enrolled in the program are called “cadets”.  In addition to meeting the requirements of their academic major and/or minor, cadets will need to attend one AFROTC academic class and its’ associated leadership laboratory (LLAB) each semester – which does include physical fitness training (PT) twice a week.  

Aside from those specific obligations, cadets are college students and may participate in extracurricular activities, sports, or clubs.