Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets alumni Capt. Joe DiCocco, U.S. Air Force, who earned a degree in history in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences and a minor in leadership studies from the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Rice Center for Leader Development in 2010 and Capt. Sarah Bowles, U.S. Air Force, who earned a degree in Spanish in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences and a minor in leadership studies from the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Rice Center for Leader Development in 2005, were selected as the Hokie Heroes for the football game versus the University of Pittsburgh.

The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Hokie Hero program, started in 2006 by IMG College, honors Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets alumni who are currently deployed. Recipients of this honor are highlighted by Jon Laaser and Mike Burnop during the radio broadcast of Virginia Tech football games, on the Corps of Cadets website and in the Corps Review magazine.

DiCocco is an F-15E weapons systems officer assigned to the 494th Fighter Squadron at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England. He is currently deployed Southwest Asia in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.

He is a Class of 2010 graduate of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets and Air Force ROTC Detachment 875 who was a member of Delta Company. As a senior he led Air Force ROTC Squadron 3. Additionally, he led the training efforts for Air Force Flyers, a cadet organization focused on preparing for flight training.

DiCocco says he sends his regards to his family and friends back home, to the Detachment 875 instructors for their mentorship and unwillingness to give up on him, and finally to all of his colleagues stationed across the world for their sacrifices.

Bowles has served this nation for over ten years as a logistics readiness officer in locations both stateside and overseas, and now in Afghanistan.

She is currently deployed to Kabul as a member of the NATO Resolute Support Mission where she is overseeing national level maintenance plans and operations for the Afghan Ministries of Interior and Defense.

Bowles is a Class of 2005 graduate of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets and hails from an Air Force family, with two active duty Air Force parents and a sister who is a Class of 2003 Corps of Cadets graduate, Christina Havard. As a cadet, she served as a cadre corporal for Bravo Company and then as First Sergeant for Delta Company.

Bowles says she sends her love to her husband, Air Force Lt. Col. Terry Bowles, their three daughters, and regards to all her buddies and the Hokie Nation.

The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets has produced military, public, and corporate leaders since the university was founded in 1872. It is one of just two military corps within a large public university. The corps holds its members to the highest standards of loyalty, honor, integrity, and self-discipline. In return, cadets achieve high academic success and a long-lasting camaraderie with fellow members. Virginia Tech, the most comprehensive university in Virginia, is dedicated to quality, innovation, and results to the commonwealth, the nation, and the world.

Written by Carrie Cox