Air Force ROTC reinstates hundreds of cadets after backlash over cuts May 10 An Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps flight poses for a photo following their graduation of field training in July 2020 at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. (Senior Airman Alexa Culbert/Air Force) The Air Force has reversed its decision to drop nearly half its second-year ROTC cadets, reinstating hundreds of students in the program. Higher-than-normal officer retention rates during COVID-19 and 2019 end strength projections in excess of current authorizations led to the initial decision to select only 56 percent of cadets to attend field training, officials told Air Force Times.