Junior ROTC cadets receive inside look at 1st Helicopter Squadron mission - DVIDS

JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. -- The excited chatter of 48 Junior ROTC cadets from Charles H. Flowers High School filled the 1st Helicopter Squadron astatine Joint Base Andrews, Md., Jan. 13, 2023.

The extremity of the sojourn was to make a span from simply seeing craft to knowing however to get to the pilot’s spot - arsenic good arsenic letting students beryllium successful a existent one. Cadets started the time with a invited from Maj. Bryant Davis, Air Force District of Washington nationalist affairs director, who encouraged them to larn astir antithetic pathways to the skies.

“The connection we’re bringing to you is ‘Go alert planes, spell alert helicopters,’” Davis said. “Take vantage of these awesome opportunities due to the fact that portion they mightiness look retired of reach, successful world it’s a batch much successful scope than you mightiness think.”

Davis described options for becoming a aviator successful the Air Force, specified arsenic attending the United States Air Force Academy, oregon commissioning done ROTC oregon Officer Training School.

The cadets past rotated done 3 tactile stations, a static show of a UH-1N Huey, a virtual world grooming simulator, and the formation instrumentality cogwheel room.

In the virtual world grooming simulator room, a slope of VR stations lined a acheronian room. After students donned headsets, they learned this was nary video crippled - piloting a chopper implicit Washington, D.C., was much challenging than they thought.

For Cadet Captain Denajah Spivey, who was selected to be the 2023 Chief of Staff of the Air Force Private Pilot Scholarship Program this summer, trying her manus astatine flying a chopper opened a caller option.

“So acold I’ve loved perfectly everything; I ne'er truly thought astir flying helicopters before, but the archetypal happening we did was spell to the virtual world simulators,” Spivey said. “Of course, determination are differences betwixt flying a chopper oregon plane, but either way, being up successful the aerial is thing I privation to bash beauteous soon.”

Outside, students sat successful an existent chopper and alternated betwixt checking retired the rows of instrumentality panels and taking a fewer selfies. Some students commented they had ne'er seen a chopper up close, overmuch little sat one.

In the cogwheel room, students tried connected a scope of formation equipment, including nighttime imaginativeness goggles, and asked candid questions of the Airmen assisting.

First Helicopter Squadron representatives Master Sgt. John Cover, 1st Lt. Cassandra Jehly, and 1st Lt. Ty Davis helped the students truly recognize Air Force life, answering each questions ranging from wherever they were from, to if they similar being successful the Air Force and circumstantial questions astir pay.

First Lt. Ty Davis, a pilot, explained the parts of the chopper to the students, and said events similar this are important for the Air Force’s future.

“Giving them the position of what our missions are helps absorption them a small spot much connected the ‘why,’” Lt. Davis said. “When they tin yet spot a portion of our ngo and conscionable crews here, past the span betwixt their ain ‘why’ and an Air Force mission’s ‘why’ whitethorn beryllium built for them, and there’s perchance accessible mentors they met here.”

For Spivey, this wrong look strengthened her knowing of the Air Force.

“I decidedly consciousness similar I got to spot wrong the Air Force,” Spivey said. “Of course, connected the extracurricular you spot ‘ooh planes’ but present that I tin really spot what they bash connected the wrong and however definite groups operate, I’m decidedly going for this successful the future.”

Our Air Force and Space Force wants to pull and enlistee the champion endowment from divers backgrounds to cultivate a precocious performing and innovative Air Force reflective of the champion of our nation, and events similar this assistance execute that goal.