| The Early Years |
| 1862 | Passage of Morrill Act (Land-Grant Act) established military training at land-grant colleges and universities. |
| 1916 | Passage of the National Defense Act created both a formal Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and Junior ROTC. |
| 1920-1923 | Army Air Service establishes separate Air ROTC units at the following colleges with strong engineering departments: Texas A&M, University of California-Berkeley, University of Illinois, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Washington, New York University and Georgia Institute of Technology. |
| 1932 | Air ROTC purchased out for budgetary and other reasons; last until discontinued in 1935. |
| 1946 | Seventy-eight Air ROTC units were established by War Department General Order No. 124, signed by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Army Chief of Staff - a few months later on 15 November, Army Air Force Headquarters transferred Air ROTC from Air Training Command (ATC) to Air Defense Command (ADC). |
| 1947 | Arnold Air Society founded at the University of Cincinnati. |
| Air Force ROTC in the 1950s |
| 1952 | Air University assumes responsibility for Air Force ROTC with 188 units and 145,000 cadets. |
| 1952 | Angel Flight founded at the University of Omaha. |
| 1956 | Flight Instruction Program authorized. |
| 1956 | Experimental Women's Air Force (WAF) ROTC inaugurated. |
| Air Force ROTC in the 1960s |
| 1961 | Initiation of crosstown and consortium agreements with the Air Force ROTC host institution. |
| 1964 | ROTC Vitalization ACT of 1964 authorizes the two-year program. |
| 1969 | ROTC program established for women at four selected universities. |
| Air Force ROTC in the 1970s |
| 1970 | Air Force ROTC women cadet program expanded on a national scope. |
| 1975 | 14 Air Force bases designated permanent Air Force ROTC Field-Training sites. |
| 1978 | Air Force selects Air Force ROTC women cadets to take part in a test program in undergraduate pilot and combat systems officer program. |
| 1978 | Air Training Command assumes command responsibility for Air University and Air Force ROTC. |
| Air Force ROTC in the 1980s |
| 1981 | Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training and Undergraduate Pilot Training Helicopter programs implemented. |
| 1982 | First publication of the Air Force ROTC Leader newspaper. |
| 1987 | Air Force ROTC began offering three-year scholarships to high school seniors. |
| 1988 | Four-year Nursing Scholarship Program initiated. |
| 1989 | Private Pilots License Screening Program initiated - allowed selected cadets to obtain a private pilot's license and provided screening to determine if necessary flying aptitude existed to proceed to undergraduate pilot training. |
| 1989 | One-Year College Program offered - program was designed to attract qualified students in the fields of nursing, meteorology and law on either a scholarship or nonscholarship basis. |
| 1989 | Cadet Laree K. Mikel of Wright State University was selected as National Commander CommanderThe officer in charge of running an Air Force unit's day-to-day operations. of the Arnold Air Society; she was the first woman to hold this position. |
| Air Force ROTC in the 1990s |
| 1990 | Pilot active-duty service commitment increased to ten years and combat systems officer active-duty commitment increased to six years. |
| 1993 | Air University becomes a direct reporting unit under Air Education and Training Command. |
| 1997 | Air Force Officer Accession and Training Schools created, realigning Air Force ROTC and Officer Training Schools under one organization. |
