To infinity and beyond
Posted by Velvet Hasner
Cory Chafin’s parents, Philip and Gayla Chafin, pinned on his ranks after he took his oath of office in the ceremony to commission into the U.S. Space Force. Philip Chafin served in the U.S. Air Force as an air traffic controller. Photo by Amber Headings.
Cory Chafin has become the first S&T graduate to commission into the United States Space Force, the sixth branch of the U.S. armed forces.
Chafin, from Willow Springs, Missouri, commissioned into the Space Force on Dec. 19, 2020, as second lieutenant and one of fewer than 100 cadets entering the new military branch as an officer during its first year. Chafin was a member of S&T’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 442 Cadre and graduated in December 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics.
The Department of Defense notes Space Force is a separate service under the Department of the Air Force, and like the Marine Corps to the Navy, it will look to the Air Force for support. The entire Space Force will be about the same size as a Marine Corps division.
Posted by Velvet Hasner
