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Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets enrolled at Baylor
University received first-hand experience on Army aviation when they
partnered with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 244th Regiment,
Oklahoma Army National Guard on November 4, 2017 at Baylor
University.
The 1-244th Assault Helicopter Battalion,
equipped with UH-60 Black Hawk Helicopters, provided air movement to
approximately 60 ROTC cadets from Baylor University to the Fort Hood
Leadership Reaction Course. This partnership is built to spark
interest in the ROTC community that’s interested in aviation assets.
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November 4, 2017 - The Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets
enrolled at Baylor University partner with Charlie Company, 1-244th
Assault Helicopter Battalion, Oklahoma Army National Guard to learn
more about aviation assets in the Army. The training exposes the
cadets to the aviation branch in hopes of sparking interests of the
future Army leaders. (U.S. Army National Guard photo taken by Spc. Devin Fleming, 449th CAB)
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The Professor of Military Science Lt. Col. Steven Tabot
spoke about the importance of training events such as this.
“We are training the future leaders of the Army. We want
them to get used to doing Army stuff: working with other
units, aviation aircraft, getting comfortable flying,
leading Soldiers and leading people,” said Tabot. “It gets
cadets excited about doing ROTC and seeing the bigger
picture at the end of the day.”br>
Capt. Tyler
Sharpe, Charlie Company Commander of the 1-244th AHB, was
the pilot for the Black Hawk and spoke about how the mission
was also important to him.
“The purpose [of this
event] is two folds, one to replicate some missions we will
be doing in country," said Sharpe. “Secondly, and more
importantly, we’re exposing these young cadets and future
leaders of the Army to the aviation branch and showing them
what our capabilities are and hopefully springing up an
interest in some of them to become the next set of aviation
leaders.”
The pilots and ROTC staff were committed
to safety, ensuring that all cadets had their personal
protective equipment. Cadets attended briefings to include a
safety briefing where they learned how to properly enter and
exit the aircraft.
For Cadet Savannah Jacobs, this
was more than a simple training event, this was one step to
fulfilling a family legacy.
“I’m striving for
aviation because my father was a pilot and that’s just
something I’ve always wanted to do,” stated Jacobs. “I got
to hang out at Fort Hood a lot and that’s where I want to
be, in the air. I want to cross this off of my list, but I
want to fly Apaches.”
The Baylor University ROTC
program is attached to the Texas Christian University ROTC,
which was introduced in 1951.The ROTC program shapes and
molds the future leaders of the military and provides great
leadership opportunities and educational assistance to do
so. Multiple Army ROTC cadets at Baylor University have
found the program to be a great pathway to enter the Army’s
Medical Department.
“I joined ROTC simply because I’m
planning on going to medical school,” stated Cadet Joshua
Mihalicin. “The best way I feel I can serve my country is by
serving the country’s best in the medical field.”
Cadet Carra Donaldson shared in those feelings and discussed
her future aspirations.
“I’m a forensic anthropology
pre-med major. I’d really like to be a medical examiner or
anesthesiologist for the Army so the Baylor University ROTC
program really provides a great pathway to that,” stated
Donaldson. “They provide great scholarships and leadership
opportunities for that path as well.”
The cadets
thanked the Oklahoma Army National Guard unit for exposing
them to aviation. It provided them information on an Army
branch outside of Infantry.
“I really hope that today
we have a great training event showing these guys everything
about aviation and what the Army includes, not just
Infantry,” stated Mihalicin.
TThe 1-244th AHB is
attached to the 449th Combat Aviation Brigade headquartered
out of North Carolina. The unit is scheduled for deployment
in support of Operation Inherent Resolve and Operation
Spartan Shield in the Middle East.
By U.S. Army Capt. Briana McFarlandbr>
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2017
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