Alabama National Guard Chinook helicopters landed at The University of Alabama to transport approximately 80 Army ROTC cadets to a field training exercise.
UA says in a press release that during Wednesdays' training, cadets learned safety information about the helicopters, how to properly embark and disembark them, and how to infiltrate a helicopter.
LTC Jim Horn is a professor of Military Science at UA. He said the training is not only a great learning opportunity for the cadets but also provides training for the National Guard pilots.
“When they sit there and see those big aircraft come in and they’re internalizing, ‘I’m about to get on that and fly away,’ it’s fun to watch them," he explained. "It’s fun to watch them and see that excitement in their eyes. Then they’ll turn serious as soon as they head toward the aircraft and they’re ‘Ok. I need to get in Army mode now.’ And you can see it. That’s the transition we hope for from freshman to the time they graduate, that they can go from a starry-eyed kid to a being a leader.”
The UA cadets will join other cadets from Jacksonville State University, Columbus State, Alabama A&M, Grambling and UAB for the training at the Pelham Range Complex near Anniston over the next few days before being brought back to campus.