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Cornell AFROTCDetachment 520Ever Upward
A 1918 photograph captioned Airplane Laboratory, U.S.S.M.A. at Cornell University, showing biplanes and trainees inside the Barton Hall drill deck.

Detachment 520Cornell University

About Detachment 520

History of ROTC at Cornell

A concise timeline of Cornell ROTC milestones, from the start of military instruction in 1868 to the founding of Detachment 520.

Read Cornell's ROTC overview

Supported milestones

Detachment 520's historical record holds that Cornell graduates have served with distinction in every major conflict since the Spanish-American War. It states that Cornell commissioned more officers in World War I, and inducted more officers and service members in World War II, than any other single institution, and that a group of Cornell volunteers became the first U.S. unit in combat under fire in the First World War.

  • 1868

    Military instruction at Cornell

    Cornell traces the beginning of military instruction at the university to 1868.

  • 1914–1917

    Barton Hall built

    Cornell records that Barton Hall was constructed as an armory and drill hall and was renamed in 1940 for Colonel Frank A. Barton, Class of 1891 — recorded by the Detachment as the first Cornellian granted a commission, and twice Cornell's Professor of Military Science and Tactics.

  • 1917

    Formal ROTC unit

    Cornell records the establishment of a formal Reserve Officer Training Corps unit in 1917.

  • 1950

    Detachment 520

    The Air Sciences and Tactics Division, founded under Army ROTC in 1947 alongside the establishment of a separate United States Air Force, formally transitioned into Air Force ROTC Detachment 520 in 1950 under the command of Air Force Colonel George T. Crowell.

From the archive

Barton Hall in 1918

Project-owner-supplied period images show the building's early military-aviation era, when the U.S. School of Military Aeronautics trained at Cornell. The prints are captioned and dated on their faces; the airplane laboratory photograph is dated May 28, 1918 and credited to John P. Troy of Ithaca.

Barton Hall and Cornell's military community today

Barton Hall currently houses Cornell's Army, Naval, and Air Force ROTC programs, including Detachment 520. Cornell's military-community and veterans-memorial resources provide broader public context beyond this concise timeline.