Commissioning Warren NCO selected for AECP

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Alex Martinez
  • 90th Missile Wing Public Affairs
FE WARREN AFB, WYO. --  A Warren Airman was selected into the Airman and Education Commissioning Program in May and is set to leave within the next two weeks to start school. 

Staff Sgt. Scott Farray, 90th Maintenance Operations Squadron, applied for the program in February and found out he was selected in May. 

The AECP is a program that allows enlisted Air Force members to separate from their active duty obligations, attend school full-time at a school that has a ROTC detachment, allows the member to retain their active duty pay, and offers free tuition up to $15,000 per year. The selectee must earn a bachelors degree in one of the seven degrees pre-selected degrees:
- Meteorology
- Nursing
- Foreign area studies
- Mathematics
- Physics
- Computer Science
- An accredited engineering major 

Sergeant Farray is pursuing a degree in meteorology -- a field that has always interested him. 

"I've always been fascinated with the weather," Sergeant Farray said. "Anything that deals with the weather and the atmosphere is amazing. It seems like there is always something to do because the weather is never the same." 

Sergeant Farray will be attending the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo., beginning this fall semester, and expects to receive his degree in December, 2010. 

In order to meet all the prerequisites for the program, Sergeant Farray has been taking classes for the past two years, and said he has used help from the Warren Education Center who were able to offer information and guidance about the different commissioning programs. 

He said the education was very helpful and if they didn't know the answer to something, they would find someone who knew. 

Sergeant Farray said to Airmen who are interested in a commissioning program, "Do not procrastinate." 

"If I would have started going to classes when I first enlisted, applied for the program and was accepted, I would be a captain by now," Sergeant Farray said. "I used the Air Force as a gateway to learn what I really wanted to do. Whether you stay in the Air Force for two years or 20 years, make sure you take advantage of what's available to you and leave with something." 

For more information on enlisted commissioning programs call the education center at 773-2117.