Five Orlando College of Osteopathic Medicine students complete U.S. Air Force training

The moment Orlando College of Osteopathic Medicine students Emmagrace Brock, Sebastian Morales-Campoamor, Radhika Vatsa, Guillana Socorro Fajardo and Joseph Sundling stepped onto Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, they knew they were in a different world. 

The five students were there for a five-week U.S. Air Force Officer Training School, which took place Tuesday, June 2, to Thursday, July 2. 

Morales-Campoamor happened to be wearing sunglasses, and he was ridiculed instantly and given the nickname Slim Shady.

On the first day of the five-week training school, the students were tasked with reading hand-sized books for hours. They had to hold it out in front of their faces and weren’t allowed to take their eyes off the pages. One time, Brock’s eye went to the side and made eye contact with one of the cadres, who immediately came to her and asked if he should test her right then. 

But through the five weeks of 4 a.m. wake-up calls, 9 p.m. bedtimes and the rigid Air Force training, the five OCOM students relied on one another as they completed their OTS, which ended in them earning the rank of second lieutenant. 

“First of all, (Joe, Sebastian and I) somehow got put in the same group,” Brock said. “There’s 12 groups. How that happened, I have no clue. Joe and Sebastian were roommates. … It was so nice to see Guillana and Radhika here and there, just a friendly face, a little like a breath of fresh air to separate a little bit from the seriousness that’s going on every minute of every day.”

During OTS Socorro Fajardo kept saying, “We got so lucky to go together,” because there are about 600 to 1,000 applicants every year, and only 40% are accepted. They were required to have a minimum 500 MCAT score, 3.4 undergrad GPA, a letter of acceptance into medical school, college transcripts, three letters of recommendation and an applicant questionnaire. 

And, of course, they had to achieve top physical and medical clearance to serve. 

TRAINING DAZE

Rather than the traditional eight-and-one-half week OTS, medical students do a shortened program called OTS-A, consisting of three modules instead of five. 

Module one adapted them to the military environment, learning how to salute, march in their flights and all the basics. Socorro Fajardo said that’s where they were yelled at the most, because they wanted them to adapt. It tested them emotionally and mentally. 

Module two focused on academics, sitting in a classroom most of their days and learning about leadership qualities as well as presentations on modern American wartime themes. Brock said it gave them more freedom to get to know everyone in their flights and helped turned them into more of a family, which is what OTS wanted them to be. 

Module three brought them out to the field and physical exhaustion. They spent three days on a campsite in the unrelenting Alabama heat —97% humidity and a heat index of 102 degrees — testing their ability to withstand the heat and physical challenges. 

Socorro Fajardo began to experience the early stages of heat exhaustion with rapid breathing, intense thirst, light-headedness, vomiting and the inability to focus. Her flight members noticed she was out of balance. 

Photo by U.S. Air Force photo by Brian Krause

Vatsa, too, fell sick. At the campsite, she had a 102-degree fever for two days. She also had strep throat and tore her adductor. 

The hardships made closing day and ceremony, where they took the oath again to be second lieutenants, even more special for her. 

“Being able to get through all of that and to see my family was the best feeling, because I didn’t think I could get through OTS,” she said. “I truly thought I was going to get kicked. … Being able to stand with my flight, the people I went through this with, and with my OCOM classmates was so surreal. It was one of the best days.” 

Morales-Campoamor said many in their OTS class — even those with prior military experience — had to apply many times to the school before they were accepted. Seeing their joy from others graduating made the experience even more meaningful to the OCOM students, who were lucky enough to be enrolled together. 

They already had their rank months before OTS when they were commissioned, but graduating and taking the oath again made it all feel real. For Brock, going through training gives her the feeling of substance behind her rank. 

“Before, people would ask me questions about the military and say thank you for your service, and I had no clue what to say,” she said. “I just felt uncomfortable. But now, it feels like it has something behind it, and we can call ourselves second lieutenants and take with us what we learned.” 

RETURN TO OCOM

They’ll take their lessons on structuring their days and discipline with wake-up times back with them as the four Class of 2029 students Morales-Campoamor, Vatsa, Socorro Fajardo and Sundling begin their second year at OCOM. 

“There were times when they would throw us in these either really hot or really cold lecture halls and give us the most boring lectures ever, and like you just had to fight to stay awake and pay attention,” Sundling said. “I will never take a med school lecture for granted ever again, because they’re so much more interesting and have so much more depth behind them. I learned a lot about how much I can withstand.” 

Class of 2028 student Brock, who is in her third year and already has passed the classroom learning and is onto rotations, said the OTS experience has prepared her well for any hardships that might come in the future.

“I’m going to get yelled at, and it’s not going to affect me,” she said. “I’m going to take feedback, and it’s not going to make me upset.” 

They all still have many years before they will go active duty with the Air Force again. 

After finishing medical school and passing all of their board exams, the students will complete a residency — either in the military in a civilian environment. After residency, the students will go active duty again, and once they complete their contract, they’re free to do as they please. 

Morales-Campoamor said he plans to do a military match, meaning he won’t increase the number of payback years he owes to the Air Force.

Serving his country always seemed like an “attractive option” to him, but once he was accepted into medical school, he figured it was off the table. After attending a Zoom meeting with one of the financial aid staff at OCOM, she mentioned the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program. 

HPSP pays for their full tuition, required fees and books for four years of medical school, and commits students to serving a year of active duty for each year of their scholarship support. 

“It was just amazing to me how I could do both,” he said. “Still become the doctor I want to be — but then also serve my country while I do that. It’s like the perfect storm. Sign me up.”

His OCOM peers also are on the HPSP scholarship. 

Brock discovered the HPSP scholarship after her first year at OCOM, struggling with the finances to pay for her education, it was the perfect outlet for her to fund her second year. But it’s given her so much more than that. 

“The core values (in OTS) are service with core self, integrity first and then excellence in all we do,” she said. “That pretty much aligns with the values of being a physician. Those are three things that I’ll definitely take with me the rest of my life and can be more glad that I made the decision to find money in a place that gave me so much more than that.”

Socorro Fajardo also was attracted to finishing school with minimal financial burdens, but she also realized she loved being part of a course that challenged her and taught her growth and how to make quick decisions under hard circumstances. She also enjoys the opportunity to work as a doctor for a specific population and within a team that encourages and looks out for one another. 

Sundling and Vatsa were inspired by their grandfathers.

Sundling always looked up to his grandfather, who followed a similar path he’s taking now. His grandfather graduated from medical school then joined the Air Force as a captain, living a successful and happy life made Sundling want to follow in his footsteps. 

Vatsa’s grandfather served in the Indian Army and was shot 60 times in his chest during a war. Her grandmother was the first working woman in their whole family. The two inspired Vatsa’s dad, who took the stories when he immigrated to the United States with her mom, and shared the stories. 

“(My grandfather) was such an amazing man and how he would put himself first before his soldiers,” she said. “He was in the highest rank in the Indian Army, and he actually wanted to do the patrol check instead of making his men go, and he ended up passing instead of his men passing. That speaks volumes of what kind of man he was for his people. He was such a big inspiration to my sister and me. My sister is the first woman to ever join the military in our family. She’s in the Air Force. She’s a captain.”

The year after Vatsa graduated from undergrad in 2024, she knew she wanted to be a doctor and soon realized she wanted to join the Air Force to follow her grandfather and sister. 

Now, the five OCOM students with their varying backgrounds but unity through OCOM and completing OTS together will continue on their journey to graduation and residency before they enlist with the U.S. Air Force to serve the United States.