Lieutenant Colonel Hans Korth couldn’t be happier to be back on campus as the alumnus takes command of Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) Detachment 400, the Guardians of the North. On his first Veteran’s Day since he returned, Korth is reflecting on those called to serve with both empathy and appreciation. He hopes that the community will join him in honoring all who have served.
“Veterans haven’t always been welcomed back into society with open arms,” said Korth. “I encourage people to use this reminder to set aside their political differences to appreciate someone who volunteered to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Korth graduated in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He looks back fondly on his time at Tech as an AFROTC cadet and student, ushering at hockey games, taking part in Winter Carnival, and getting and giving help to his fellow Huskies in group study sessions. Korth, who grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin, and was initially drawn to Tech as a natural extension of the small-town life he was used to.
“Tech was the only school I applied to because it was the only place I could see myself attending college,” said Korth. “Then, as now, it offered an incredible combination of providing a quality education in a community-minded environment.”
Korth didn’t have a pre-set academic plan when he started at Tech. He calls his decision to walk into the ROTC building on a campus tour “pure luck.” That happenstance launched Korth on a path to long-term success through and beyond his Air Force career.
“My degree from Tech and AFROTC commission provided me opportunities to experience things and meet people who changed my life,” said Korth. “The Air Force core values of integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do have become foundational to my personal value system.”
After graduation, Korth became a developmental engineer for the United States Air Force (USAF) and was assigned to the F-22 System Program Office at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (AFB), Ohio.
“I was there during a very eventful and interesting time in that weapon system’s history,” said Korth. “I learned a lot about how the department conducts major weapon system acquisition and a lot about leadership during my roughly three-and-a-half years there.”
Those experiences paved the way for acceptance as a graduate student at the Air Force Institute of Technology, where he earned a master’s in materials science. Korth’s military career then led him to the Munitions Directorate of Air Force Research Laboratory at Eglin AFB, Florida. There, he spent two years leading a team of range technicians, engineers, and scientists in executing over 700 experiments in areas of warhead design, including new fuze technologies, case design, and new energetic materials.
“That combined experience put me in a position to be selected as the directorate’s executive officer, which I subsequently turned into two consecutive by-name requests for selectively manned organizations acquiring leading-edge weapon systems,” said Korth.
The second of those assignments led him to selection as detachment commander in the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, where he commanded 240 enlisted and officer personnel assigned to Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas.
These leadership experiences finally opened the door to come back to Tech, a dream Korth had been chasing for a long time.
“I’ve wanted to return to MTU in an AFROTC position almost since I graduated,” said Korth.
His wish to return and pay it forward to future Tech cadets as a teacher, mentor, and coach grew as he pursued his career. It came true when Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Zuniga’s rotation out of the detachment commander position lined up with the end of Korth’s command tour.
Personal ties strengthened the pull Korth felt to return to Michigan Tech. His wife, Nora Korth, graduated from Tech in 2009 with a bachelor’s in environmental engineering.
“This is a homecoming of sorts for us. We really couldn’t have drawn up a better situation for our family at this time in our lives,” said Korth.
About the College of Sciences and Arts
The College of Sciences and Arts is a global center of academic excellence in the sciences, humanities, and arts for a technological world. Our teacher-scholar model is a foundation for experiential learning, innovative research and scholarship, and civic leadership. The College offers 33 bachelor’s degrees in biological sciences, chemistry, humanities, kinesiology and Integrative physiology, mathematical sciences, physics, psychology and human factors, social sciences, and visual and performing arts. We are home to Michigan Tech’s pre-health professions and ROTC programs. The College offers 25 graduate degrees and certificates. We conduct approximately $12 million in externally funded research in health and wellness, sustainability and resiliency, and the human-technology frontier.Follow the College on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X and the CSA blog. Questions? Contact us at csa@mtu.edu.