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Cornell University

Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps

NROTC at Cornell University

Active Duty & Civilian Staff

Captain Michael C. Mosbruger, USN

Commanding Officer and Professor of Naval Science

 

Capt. Mike Mosbruger commissioned through NROTC at Norwich University, earning a Bachelor’s of Architecture. He also completed a Master’s of Science in Modeling, Virtual Environments, and Simulation (MOVES) at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA. The son of a career Air Force Officer, he calls Phoenixville, Pennsylvania home.

At sea, he deployed to the 5th Fleet aboard USS San Jacinto (CG 56) as the Electrical Officer and
Main Propulsion Assistant, and served aboard USS Nicholson (DD 982) as the Training Officer. He deployed to the 7th Fleet aboard USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60) and the 6th Fleet aboard USS Normandy (CG 60), both as Chief Engineer. More recently, he served as Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations (N3) on the US 7th Fleet staff, embarked on USS BLUE RIDGE (LCC 19).

His shore assignments include the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (N51 Strategy and Policy), and the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD (Policy)). At OSD(P), he worked in the Force Development office on the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review team, the Strategy office as the Chief of Staff, and the Strategy, Plans, and Forces Office as the Deputy Under Secretary’s Military Assistant. Additionally, he served as Executive Assistant to Commander, Navy Recruiting Command in Millington, TN.

His first command tour was at Navy Recruiting District Phoenix, where his Sailors earned the Silver “R” for recruiting excellence as the top district in Navy Recruiting Region West (2014, 2015), and the Gold “R” as the top district in the Nation (2015). At sea, he commanded Navy’s first Expeditionary Sea Base, USS Lewis B Puller (ESB 3), forward deployed to the 5th Fleet. He was commanding officer of Naval Support Activity Mid-South in Millington, TN from 2021-2024.

In June 2024, he assumed command of the Cornell University Naval ROTC unit.

 

Major Michael P. Flanagan, USMC

Executive Officer and Associate Professor of Naval Science

Major Michael Flanagan enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1999, and underwent training at Parris Island in South Carolina. He commissioned 13 years later through the Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program out of Ole Miss NROTC. He holds a BS in Criminal Justice from Ole Miss, a MA in Leadership and Management from the University of Maine, and a MA in Public Administration from Hawaii Pacific University.

His enlisted assignments include: Military Policeman, Correctional Custody Unit Instructor, Drill Instructor (Parris Island), Sergeant Instructor (OCS, Quantico), Company Gunnery Sergeant, and Assistant Marine Officer Instructor (Ole Miss).

His officer assignments include: Military Police Platoon Commander, Company Executive Officer, MP
Detachment Commander, Marine Officer Instructor (UMaine), Exercise Planner (Marine Forces Pacific),
MP Operations Officer, Battalion Executive Officer, Associate Professor/Executive Officer (Cornell).

Operational deployments: Operation Iraqi Freedom in both the Diyala and Al Anbar Provinces of Iraq,
and Operation Odyssey Lightning (22 nd Marine Expeditionary Unit/USS WASP Sirte, Libya).

Lieutenant Tyler A. Durst, USN

Aviation Officer and Visiting Lecturer

 

Lieutenant Tyler Akira Durst was raised in Charleston, South Carolina. He graduated from The University of South Carolina Beaufort, earning a Bachelor of Science in Public Health. LT Durst received his commission through Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island in 2018.

Following OCS graduation, LT Durst reported to Pensacola, Florida for Aviation Preflight Indoctrination (API). Upon completion of API, he reported to VT-10 at NAS Pensacola for primary flight training and then reported across the street to VT-4 for advanced training in the big wing community, where he earned his “Wings of Gold” as a qualified Naval Flight Officer selected to fly the P-8 Poseidon in 2019.

LT Durst then reported to VP-30 in Jacksonville, Florida to complete the P-8 Fleet Replacement Squadron syllabus before reporting to VP-4 at NAS Whidbey Island in 2020. During his tour with VP-4, LT Durst qualified as a Tactical Coordinator (TACCO) leading his crews in mission sets across various sites in the FIFTH and SIXTH Fleet AORs and in coordinated exercises in Hawaii and at home with over 40 hours of adversary submarine tracking. LT Durst served as VP-4’s Ground Safety Officer, Tactical Publications Officer, Preflight Insertion Data Officer, Command Budget Officer, NFO Tactics Officer and finished his tour as the Current Operations Officer.

In July of 2023, LT Durst assumed his current billet as an Assistant Professor of Naval Science and Naval Aviation Advisor for NROTC Unit at Cornell University.

LT Tyler Akira Durst has received a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and various campaign, service, and unit awards. As a Naval Aviator, he has accumulated over 800 mishap-free flight hours in various training as well as big wing aircraft. 

Lieutenant Brandy M. Kinnunen, USN

Nuclear Surface Warfare Officer and Visiting Lecturer

 

Lieutenant Brandy Kinnunen grew up in a Navy family, having the opportunity to live all around the United States for the first half of her childhood before her family eventually settled in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She graduated from Marquette University in May 2018, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a commission through the Marquette NROTC program.

Her first sea tour was on the USS ROSS (DDG 71), homeported in Rota, Spain. While there, she served as the Operations Intelligence Division Officer and participated in two and a half forward deployed Ballistic Missile Defense patrols in the SIXTH Fleet AOR. During those patrols, she participated in multiple operations with NATO allies, to include BALTOPS 2019 and three separate operations with the FS CHARLES DE GAULLE (R91) Carrier Strike Group. In May 2020, she earned her Surface Warfare Officer qualification.

In June 2020, Lieutenant Kinnunen reported to Naval Nuclear Power Training Command and then later to Nuclear Power Training Unit – colloquially known as ‘Prototype’ – in Charleston, SC. She completed her nuclear training in July 2021.

Lieutenant Kinnunen served onboard the USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71) from August of 2021 through September of 2023. There, she held the position of Reactor Controls Division Officer during an 18-month docking planned incremental availability (DPIA) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, WA. Following the DPIA, she conducted a homeport shift to San Diego, CA, where she participated in sea trials and deployment work-up certifications as the Assistant Reactor Electrical Assistant (A-REA).

In October 2023, Lieutenant Kinnunen assumed her current billet as an Assistant Professor of Naval Science and the Nuclear Surface Warfare Officer Advisor for the Cornell University NROTC Unit.

Her personal awards include a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and various service and unit awards.

Gunnery Sergeant Jonathan M Cerecedes

Assistant Marine Officer Instructor

 

Gunnery Sergeant Cerecedes, born in San Dimas, California, enlisted in the Marine Corps in June 2012 after graduating from Valley Vista High School in Surprise, Arizona. He completed recruit training at MCRD San Diego and went on to become a Military Policeman (MOS 5811) after training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

Throughout his career, he held multiple law enforcement and security roles such as Special Reaction Team Commander, Marksman Observer and Watch Commander, including service at Marine Corps Base Quantico, the U.S. Embassy Manila, Philippines, and with the Marine Security Augmentation Unit. His deployments included missions to U.S. Consulate Istanbul, Turkey, U.S. Embassy Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Philippines during times of unrest and political instability.

He served in Okinawa, Japan, with 3rd Law Enforcement Battalion participating in multinational exercises and high-profile security operations and holding leadership roles as Platoon Sergeant and Sergeant of the Guard. Later serving aboard MCRD Parris Island, SC as a Chief Drill Instructor and Chief Martial Arts Instructor. Promoted meritoriously to Gunnery Sergeant in 2023, he returned to Quantico. Here he took on key leadership positions such as the Special Reaction Team Commander and Sergeant Instructor at Officer Candidate School, before being assigned to Cornell University in December 2024 as the Assistant Military Officer Instructor and Visiting Lecturer.

His personal awards include the Navy Commendation Medal (two gold stars), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (three gold stars), and the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal. He holds an AA in General Studies and a BA in Homeland Security from American Military University.

Ms Terri A. Bird

Executive Administration

 

Mrs. Bird returned to Upstate NY in 2021 after more than 25 years in the NY and Philadelphia Metropolitan areas working for high profile executives in major Fortune 500 companies.  She brings with her years of C-Suite executive experience across multiple corporate industries. That experience helps her enable the unit and its students to excel.

She is currently the head Executive Administrator for Cornell Navy ROTC. 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr Robert Roy

Human Resources Administration

 

Mr. Roy is from Norfolk, NY. He has served as the unit’s HRA since November 2019. His tasks include processing scholarship applications for incoming Midshipmen, resolving medical and payment issues, and processing commissioning paperwork. Mr. Roy served in the US Air Force for 20 years and retired in February 2009 as a Staff Sergeant.

Mr. Roy was stationed in San Antonio at Lackland AFB for a little over four years. While at Lackland AFB, Mr. Roy worked in the ID Card section and in the Separations and Retirements section during the drawdown of the early ’90s. His most significant involvement while at Lackland AFB was the recall of over 5,000 former AF active duty members during Desert Shield/Storm.

He then spent four years in Belgium stationed at Chievres AB as the unit’s HRA. While stationed there, he supported the mission to fly the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) to various destinations from his headquarters at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). His most significant duties were the processing of awards, decorations, and performance reports that required the SACEUR’s signature.

Mr. Roy was also stationed at Bolling AFB in Washington DC for about five years, Where he served as the NCOIC of the performance evaluations and customer service section. Mr. Roy also served as the base deployment manager at Bolling AFB. While serving in this position his actions as a member of the Crisis Action Team on 9-11 ensured 100% accountability of all AF military personnel and their family members at Bolling AFB as well as the deployment of additional AF security forces to safeguard Bolling AFB from other AFB’s and successful relocation of the AF’s senior leadership from the Pentagon to a secure location at Bolling AFB, thus ensuring the continuation and continuity of AF operations and response to 9-11.

During the last seven years of his Air Force career, Mr. Roy was the unit HRA for the Cornell Air Force ROTC Detachment.  After retiring from the Air Force, Mr. Roy held several positions with various organizations and businesses prior to joining the NROTC Unit at Cornell in 2019.  During this time, Mr. Roy earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, as well as three Graduate Level Certifications, focused on Non-Profit Management, Human Resources, and Veterans Affairs. He has also continued his educational goals by taking classes toward his Master’s degree in Business Administration.