Two Baylor ROTC Alumni Promoted to One-Star General

Two alumni of Baylor University's Air Force ROTC program - both women - have been promoted to the rank of one-star general. Maria Cribbs and Jan D. Eakle, who have been selected for brigadier general, were both members of the 1975 Baylor ROTC class.
"Making general is quite an accomplishment," said Lt. Col. Franklin Hillson, commanding officer of Baylor's ROTC program. "These women had to go through a very competitive process to achieve the rank. In fact, only one out of 200 officers will be selected for general."
Currently Cribbs serves as Executive Secretary to the U.S. Secretary of Defense, where she is responsible for screening, reviewing and editing all the Secretary's correspondence, planning his travel schedule and acting as a sounding board. She was named a Baylor Distinguished Alumna in January.
Eakle, who earned her bachelor's and master's of science degrees in mathematics from Baylor, is the 377th Air Base Wing commander at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. She leads a wing that provides munitions maintenance, readiness and base operating support for the third largest installation in Air Force Material Command.
According to Hillson, Baylor's ROTC program has produced more than its share of generals and is far ahead of the national average.
"Baylor's ROTC program has been around since 1948, and it has produced about 1,000 officers since then. Of those 1,000 alumni, 10 have made general," he said. "This statistic is proof that the Baylor students who are members of the ROTC program are very well-trained and very disciplined. They want to do great things."