A graduate of Wilmington College, where he received a bachelor's degree in sciences and Internet networking on May 9, Pierdomenico was among those officially commissioned as a second lieutenant by U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
A native of Wilmington and a graduate of Delcastle High School, Pierdomenico has been a member of the UD Air Force ROTC training program since 2004.
“I had been on active duty with the Air Force since 2000, and along the way I had taken some college courses,” Pierdomenico said. “I thought ROTC would be a great way to get a college education, so I came into the UD Air Force ROTC Program while a sophomore at Wilmington College.”
Being welcomed by Bush and Gates, as well as Peter Geren, acting secretary of the Army, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and Gen. George Casey, chief of staff of the U.S. Army, was quite an experience for the nation's top-performing ROTC cadets, Pierdomenico said.
“The feeling that you get when you are in there is hard to explain,” Pierdomenico said. “It was the same room that served as the staging area for the visit of Queen Elizabeth, and the president was receiving retiring British Prime Minister Tony Blair that same day.”
As invitees of the president, the group of newly commissioned officers also received a special tour of the White House, Pierdomenico said
“We were taken to parts of the White House that people do not get to see unless they are guests of the president,” Pierdomenico said. “Completing a degree and becoming a commissioned officer is something in itself, but when you add seeing the president, it's an electrifying, once in a lifetime experience.”
Pierdomenico was the UD Air Force ROTC's top graduating senior, finishing his undergraduate career at Wilmington College with a 3.96 GPA, Capt. Todd Walker, unit admissions officer and AS200 instructor, said.
“Jeff was awarded a prestigious scholarship from the Air Force while he was on active duty, and as a cadet, he was always willing to do whatever it took to get the job done,” Walker said. “This is a great honor for Jeff and for the University of Delaware. He will be a great addition to the Air Force.”
Pierdomenico's first stop as a newly commissioned officer will be at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama before heading to Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, Okla., where he will serve as a communications officer.
“I am excited to get out there and do it,” Pierdomenico said. “I also want to thank my wife, Tara, for all her support, and my daughters Gabriella, 8, and Guiliana, 8 months.”
Wilmington College has a cross-enrollment agreement program with the Air Force and Army ROTC departments at UD. Classes for the military science, or ROTC program, are instructed on a partnership basis on UD's Newark campus.
Article by Jerry Rhodes