Harbert graduate’s journey from cadet to commander

There are 185 Auburn University students preparing to become officers in the United States Air Force, and a Harbert College of Business graduate has the job of overseeing the training and mentorship required to get them there.

Lt. Col. Meredith Young (finance ’07), a Dadeville native and herself an Auburn alumna, has come full circle by returning as the new commander of the same Air Force ROTC program from which she graduated to begin her military career.

The Reserve Officer Training Corps is traditionally a strong program in each of the military branches at Auburn, including the Army and Navy units. Air Force Detachment 005 is the unit Young commands, and it includes four officers, two enlisted Airmen and one university administrative assistant.

Building on a solid foundation

Harbert played a big role in Young acquiring many of her organizational and management leadership skills.

“My experience at Auburn University, both as a student and as a cadet in Air Force ROTC, certainly laid a strong foundation for my Air Force career. As a student and cadet, I strengthened values already instilled in me by my parents: discipline, integrity and work ethic, which are all essential to military service,” Young said.

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“The Harbert College of Business’s academic environment and curriculum fostered critical thinking and problem-solving skills, which have carried with me throughout my 18 years of military service, and have certainly contributed to my successes in the Air Force."

Lt. Col. Meredith Young

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Her military career includes an aviation background and plenty of air time.

“My core Air Force Specialty Code is Combat Systems Operator, and my journey through ROTC helped solidify my desire to fly and become a military aviator,” she said. “I have more than 2,000 hours flying in reconnaissance aircraft and that profession has allowed me literally to travel the globe and see parts of the world I otherwise would not have.”

It continues to be an interesting ride, Young said.

“I graduated from Dadeville High School in 2002. I was awarded an Air Force ROTC scholarship out of high school and easily decided to attend Auburn University, as I grew up attending football games and was very familiar with the Auburn area,” she said.

After earning her finance degree and being commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force in 2007, Young attended Undergraduate Navigator Training at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, and has been loving each assignment since.

“Talk about full circle... Auburn-Texas-Georgia-Nebraska-Alabama-Texas-Georgia-Germany-Auburn,” she said, referring to each of her assignment locations.

Auburn ROTC ‘truly the nation’s best’

What comes next after her Auburn ROTC command remains to be seen, said Young, who expressed an equal love for Auburn and for the Air Force and is weighing whether to retire from her current role and settle in the Auburn/Lake Martin area or continue to serve and take another assignment with the Air Force.

“I am retirement eligible in 2027, so I have another year or so to decide. Auburn and the Air Force have treated me very well, and for that I am grateful to both organizations for how they have enriched my life, personally and professionally,” she said.

She also recommends it to students considering the same type of route via the military, especially at Auburn’s ROTC programs, with a similar nod to Harbert College of Business.

“Harbert and Auburn taught me how to critically think, and how to have sound judgment, therefore I suggest that students or cadets are only going to be better people, citizens and officers given they are graduates from Harbert or Auburn University.

“Auburn’s ROTC programs, to include Army and Navy, are truly the nation’s best,” Young said. “There is no doubt in my mind that all three of the programs here are producing true ‘leaders of character’ who will be ready to courageously and ethically defend our great nation if and when duty calls.

“Auburn Air Force ROTC recruits the best and top talent, and then produces the sharpest, smartest, and most well-rounded officers for the Air Force and Space Force. The cadets in this program have always been, and continue to be, intelligent, self-motivated, disciplined, and display characteristics of upstanding citizens,” she said, “and for that I am both proud and grateful.”

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