Detachment 520Cornell University
About Detachment 520
Cadre
Meet the officers and non-commissioned officers who lead Detachment 520.
Detachment 520 team
Meet the Detachment 520 cadre
These summaries were checked on July 12, 2026, with the staff listing rechecked against the public cadre page on August 12, 2026. Cornell's current catalog confirms the four officer and instructor names and ranks, and Detachment 520's public cadre page supports the role labels. Follow each biography link for the source record.
Commander · Professor of Aerospace Studies
Lt. Colonel Nicholas G. Brougham
Detachment 520's commander and Professor of Aerospace Studies. A master navigator with more than 3,000 flight hours in C-130 variants, he previously served with Allied Special Operations Forces Command in Belgium.
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Assistant Professor · Recruiting Officer
Major John J. Novotny
A prior-enlisted intelligence officer whose career began as an airborne cryptologic linguist and went on to include intelligence training and operational leadership assignments.
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Assistant Professor · Operations Flight Commander
Captain Robert B. Rauff
Enlisted first as an F-22 crew chief, commissioned through the U.S. Air Force Academy, and led aircraft-maintenance teams before joining Detachment 520.
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Officer Accessions Instructor
Technical Sergeant Jalen J.A. Gayle
A civil-engineering structures Airman whose assignments included structural supervision and construction leadership before he took on cadet accessions at Detachment 520.
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NCOIC, Administration Management
Staff Sergeant Samantha M. Ehlers
A personnel and force-support NCO since 2017, with commander support staff roles and a deployment coordinating reception and accountability for hundreds of Airmen across multiple countries.
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Administrative Assistant
Ms. Jessica Hammond
Detachment 520's Administrative Assistant. No public biography is published for this role.
Official external source · Cornell University
Cornell Officer Education catalog
Cross-check the officer and instructor names and ranks against Cornell's current Officer Education listing.
Cornell Officer Education catalog
Documentation disclosure
Source and privacy note
Personnel information changes. The cards above summarize each biography, and the full public biographies are preserved on their own pages. This site omits direct contact details, personal information, cadet counts, financial figures, and detailed administrative processes. Portraits are published with the consent of the members shown.
Personnel questions
Confirm current personnel details with Detachment 520
Assignments rotate. Use the published contact information to confirm who currently fills a role before relying on it.