Silver Wings Scholarship

Airlift and Tanker Association Scholarships for Arnold Air Society and Silver Wings

Mission:  The mission of the Airlift and Tanker Association (ATA) scholarship program is to foster interest and knowledge for the air mobility mission of the United States Air Force. The ATA has established its first named scholarship for late BGen Tom Mikolajcik.  In addition, the Arnold Air Society (AAS)/Silver Wings (SW) Board of Trustees wishes to honor two prior Executive Directors.  The AAS/SW Board of Trustee sponsored scholarships are named scholarships on behalf of the late BGen Ed Brya and the late Lt Col Bill Morley who both spent the majority of their military careers in the mobility mission and were long term members of the ATA.

1.0 Type: Five (5) ATA $4,000.00 scholarships will be awarded annually.  The AAS/SW Board of Trustee scholarships that are $2,000 each.

2.0 Eligibility:  Open to all AS 300 and AS 400 non-graduating cadets in good standing enrolled in AFROTC and are members of AAS.  The scholarships are also open to all members of Silver Wings that are Sophomores, Juniors and non-graduating Seniors.

2.1 Applicants must demonstrate financial need.  The selection committee will rely on the judgment of the nominating Detachment Commanders who must include a supporting statement as to the financial need of the applicant in his/her letter of recommendation.

2.3 Applicants must have a minimum 2.5 GPA.

3.0 Application Process:

3.1 Essay: Applicants will write a 3-page essay on an individual, event, campaign, innovative equipment, organization or any subject involved in air mobility that has made significant contributions to the history and/or technical advancement of the Air Force and Air Power.  This may include heroism, flying, ground and enroute operations, the advancement of mobility theory and doctrine, commercial aviation, aircraft and equipment engineering and design.  The essay must provide statement of the topic and supporting information substantiated by a formal bibliography.  Note: The bibliography is in addition to the 3-page essay limitation and must follow standard MLA or APA format.

3.1.1 Essay Requirements and Format:

3.1.1.2 Requirements: The essay must support the scholarship mission.  The subject must focus on the contributions of the stated subject topic and provide a strong supporting argument or evidence why it is significant.  Standard English grammar, spelling and language structure is required.  Acronyms must be spelled out on the first use after which the acronym may be used.

3.1.1.3 Format: The paper must be double spaced, with 1 inch margins.  The font for all text will be Times New Roman, 12 point.

3.1.1.4 Source Citing: The essay should be sourced in accordance with MLA or standards.

3.2 Nominations by the Detachment Commander: All applicant essays/bibliographies will be accompanied by a formal letter of nomination by the Detachment Commander.  Each AFROTC Detachment Commander may nominate one (1) member of the AAS Squadron from each academic class and one (1) member of the SW Chapter from each academic class to the AAS/SW Executive Management Center (EMC) (suspense and point of contact listed in paragraph 3.2.2).

3.2.1 Nomination Letter Content: The letter will be not more than one (1) page consisting of three (3) topics as follows:

Topic 1: A brief introduction to the applicant providing at least the college major and GPA (overall)

Topic 2: A brief statement of the applicant’s financial need.

Topic 3: A brief statement of the applicants academic and leadership achievements and role(s) and accomplishments in AAS and /or SW, and their extracurricular activities

3.2.2 Nominations and essays are to be e-mailed to the AAS/SW EMC at emc@arnold-air.org NLT 15 February of each year.

4.0 Selection: The EMC will distribute the essays NLT 22 February to the ATA & AAS/SW selection committee, comprised of at least five (5) members, who will select the top 7 papers to receive the scholarship awards.

4.1 Judging Criteria: All applicants’ packages will be reviewed and evaluated according to the following:

            1. Essay and Bibliography – Total of 85 points allocated as follows:           

                       

                        Conformation to format directions – 5 points

                        Conformation with accepted English composition and bibliographic standards (this includes grammar, punctuation, grammatical structures, etc) – 10 points

                        Content and strength of supporting arguments/statements – 40 points

                        Originality of thought/argument – 25

            2. Financial Need – 15 points

4.2 Presentation of Awards: The Detachment Commanders will be notified of the winning entries.  Presentation will be made at the National Conclave.  The scholarship recipients are encouraged but not required to attend the event.  Transportation and registration for the conclave will be at the individual or unit’s expense.  Scholarship funds maybe applied to these expenses.

5.0 ATA and AAS/SW Scholarship Topic Selection and General Guidance/hints:  The following are some general thought/hints on essay topic selection.  It is difficult to precisely define what constitutes a “significant contribution”’ but it typically involves some element of personal sacrifice, courage or risk, major campaign or operation, and innovation.  Below are some examples that are not meant to be directive, but to provide examples of the breadth of people events and issues that are part of the spectrum of responsibility of air mobility.

An individual act of heroism (i.e. C-5 aircrew that crash landed during Operation Baby Lift in Vietnam, AFA Tunner Award recipients)

A major mobility operation or event (i.e. Yom Kippur War, Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Iraq/Afghan Operations, the War on Terror).

Units that performed in an exemplary manner supporting mobility operations (i.e. enroute bases, Airlift Control Elements, security forces, tanker task forces, aerial ports)

A career of significant and sustained accomplishment in air mobility operations (i.e. Lt Gen Tunner, Gen Duane Cassidy, Gen Dutch Huyser)

A piece of equipment or innovation that had tremendous impact on improving our nation’s air mobility (i.e. the 60K Loader, the 463L pallet system, C-5 and C-17 aircraft, world wide command and control)

An organization or unit that made major contributions to the success of a mobility mission (i.e. The Tanker Airlift Control Center, Consolidated Airlift Operations Center, Director of Mobility Forces in the operational theater)

Do not submit a paper on the Berlin Airlift, Flying the Hump in World War II or aerial refueling.  These subjects have been thoroughly covered in prior year’s competitions.

A variety of source materials is recommended, e.g., pure “Wikipedia” citations as source material are not acceptable.