First ‘mustangs’ among Cornell ROTC’s newly commissioned officers

During campus ceremonies May 21-22, 23 graduating Cornell seniors took oaths of office and exchanged first salutes as newly commissioned second lieutenants or ensigns in the U.S. Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Space Force.

Two members of the ROTC Tri-Service Brigade - Sidney Anop '26 and Juan Rodriguez '26 - also became Cornell's first to earn another informal title: mustang.

In the Navy and Marines, the term "mustang" refers to officers who started their military careers by enlisting, typically out of high school. Their less-conventional path into the commissioned ranks - including selection by highly competitive programs enabling them to attend college - commands respect from both enlisted service members who perceive them as more relatable, and senior officers who value their breadth of experience.

"It's a huge honor," said Rodriguez, 31, a former helicopter mechanic and instructor on track to become a Marine pilot. "Most Marines can tell which officers are mustangs just based on how they carry themselves. Those were usually the officers I would be a little bit more open with."

For Anop, a 28-year-old Navy brat from a family of enlisted sailors, meeting mustangs helped instill a belief that college and commissioning were viable options - a belief Cornell reinforced.

"Cornell had people and processes in place to give me the best possible chance of success, even if I didn't believe it myself at first," said Anop, who will become a surface warfare officer on a Navy destroyer. "This place has been insanely supportive."

Both hope they have blazed a trail through Barton Hall for future mustangs.

Force multipliers

As much as Cornell welcomes them, attracting active-duty enlisted students can be a challenge, said Capt. Michael Mosbruger, Navy ROTC's commanding officer. Typically older and sometimes starting families, many opt for schools near their bases and home. And since they may not have been in school for years, some assume they don't have the grades or test scores needed for highly selective institutions.

But Mosbruger said mustangs add enormous value. At Cornell, Anop and Rodriguez - known within ROTC by their respective ranks, "OC" (Officer Candidate) and Staff Sergeant - served in hybrid roles that helped both staff and students. As government employees with certain safety and training qualifications, they expanded the programming and flexibility the unit could offer. As students, they acted as mentors and confidants, advising peers on everything from how to wear uniforms to protocol and leadership skills.

"They're a force multiplier," Mosbruger said. "These enlisted sailors and Marines can bring a dose of reality, because they've done it - they've served in the real world, and it really brings a different perspective into the classroom."

"They're like rock stars here, because they're not the staff but they bring all of this experience to bear," said Michael Flanagan, who - himself a mustang - recently retired as a Marine Corps major and the unit's executive officer. "The students can have very candid conversations with them without worrying about if they're being evaluated."

Kylie Williamson '26, who received a top ROTC honor and will serve as a Navy submarine officer, said fellow midshipmen felt fortunate to have studied and trained with Anop and Rodriguez.

"Having real fleet experience, they took on very much of a mentorship role and had a huge impact on the unit," Williamson said. "Hearing what worked for them and what they're going to take with them as they become officers has just been super-valuable."

Turning wrenches

Anop was working as information systems technician, managing communication between ships or with aircraft, when a mentor suggested he apply to the Navy's Seaman to Admiral-21 (STA-21) program. The program helps enlisted personnel transition to becoming officers, making it their job to earn a college degree.

"I tried the college thing," Anop remembers replying. "I'm good."

He hadn't been ready for college the first time, dropping out after one year to enlist at age 20. But mentors persuaded him that his experience "turning wrenches" -the hands-on work led by enlisted personnel - and strong GPA in online coursework demonstrated growth and leadership potential. On his fourth try, the highly selective STA-21 program accepted him. Then the ILR School did, too.

As an applicant, Anop received support from Kyle Downey, a former Army reservist who leads Cornell's undergraduate admissions for veteran and ROTC students, and a veteran outreach peer counselor. And professors and students have offered encouragement throughout his time on campus, he said.

"That kindness and grace of friends and teachers to help me get where I need to go, it taught me a lot," Anop said. "As an officer, I hope to put people in situations to succeed and give them the resources they need to accomplish anything. That's exactly what Cornell did for me."

Anop became an ensign three weeks after he and his wife welcomed their first child. They'll return home to Norfolk, Virginia, before he reports to the USS Bainbridge.

Still making progress

A year before Anop, Rodriguez, also married, arrived at Cornell Duffield College of Engineering through the Marines' version of STA-21, called the Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program.

Rodriguez enlisted at age 18. Growing up in Dallas, he said he'd been headed down a bad path before his brother's incarceration prompted him to turn his life around.

"He gave me a lot of advice and I listened," Rodriguez said. "I decided to take school very seriously, and it paid off."

He graduated high school as the class salutatorian. Wanting to give back to his community and country, he became the first in his family to join the military, and later to attend college.

Rodriguez became a mechanic on CH-53E Super Stallions, a heavy-lift helicopter in San Diego, and quickly earned new qualifications and promotions. After winning an award for improving a training program's efficiency, he was tapped as an instructor at Marine Corps Air Station New River in Jacksonville, North Carolina. His focus on optimization revealed a talent and passion for his future Cornell major: operations research and information engineering.

Rodriguez said Cornell has been extremely supportive and the skills he's honed here will benefit his career. And like Anop, he has worked to recruit more potential mustangs, telling them not to disqualify themselves or assume it's too expensive - and to take note of his and Anop's example.

"It shows that even though Cornell has a rich military history and is military-friendly," he said, "we're still making progress."

After attending The Basic School in Virginia and flight school in Florida, Rodriguez will be lead a platoon and fly helicopters or jets.

Mosbruger said he'll miss the newly commissioned mustangs - but they're now needed elsewhere.

"It's time for them to go back to the fleet," he said, "and take what they've learned here and put it to great use."

Cornellians receiving commissions on May 21-22 were:

• Army: Mikel Alvis; Rahul Barpanda; Christopher Bird; Jack Fortna; Fredric Leal; Jillian Shaw; Sang Yoon.
• Marines: Jonah Kim; Juan Rodriguez; Ryan Shelley.
• Navy: Sidney Anop; Kylie Williamson.
• Air Force: Reginald Annor; Sathya Chilukuri; E.J. Hunt; Charles Isaac; Leo Kim; Jack Long; Rodrigo Perez; Andrew Scalfani-Cohen; Katie Teague; Pulani Tremel.
• Space Force: Zoe Szymanski.

Additional brigade members receiving commissions were:

• Army: Jacob Jodlowski and Jared Ogden from Binghamton University; Saliou Diallo, Aaron Henry and Conor Keating from SUNY Cortland.
• Air Force: Air Force: Sophie Ettinger, Binghamton University; Philip Fancher, SUNY Cortland.