Aviation program introduces students to pathways to military service
Students in the Aviation Courses offered through the Patoka Valley & Perry County Career & Technical Cooperative met with representatives from the U.S. Space and Air Forces Wednesday morning.
The juniors and seniors in instructor Dustin Betz’s morning class are in their second year with the fledgling aviation courses offered through a partnership between the co-op, Vincennes University Jasper, and the Huntingburg Airport.
The class is split between the Huntingburg Airport and a Southridge High School. Juniors learn about general aviation and seniors take ground school. Being at the airport gives them hands-on experience with ground operations at the airport. On Fridays, Betz takes students up for flights and allows them to control the plane in the air.
“That is probably the highlight of the class,” he said.
The students are able to take the written exam for their private pilot license. They then have to pass an oral exam with an instructor and then a flight test. They earn college credits through the program. Currently, about 24 students from Dubois County, Spencer County and Perry County schools are enrolled
Second Lieutenant Emily Riter, U.S. Space Force, and Second Lieutenant Seth D’Allessandris, U.S. Air Force, spoke to students about the routes available to them to potentially serve in the aviation-based military services. The pair answered questions from the students about military life and expectations as well.
The two were invited to the regional airport by Airport Manager Travis McQueen.
Riter told the students she grew up moving from station to station as her family served in the Air Force. “I bleed blue,” she explained. “When they offered me the opportunity to be that foundation (in the Space Force), that ground-level kind of person, just setting it up, to be part of a new branch, I had to take the opportunity. Opportunities like this just don’t come around every day.”
She attended the University of Southern Mississippi, as a member of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. Once she completed her degree in geography, she was commissioned as an officer in the Space Force and was stationed at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Greene County, Ohio.
She plans on serving as an intelligence officer in the Space Force after finishing her year as a recruiter.
D’Allessandris was accepted into the Air Force Academy and graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering. He plans on becoming a helicopter pilot. He is also stationed out of Wright Patterson Air Force Base and serves as the Air Force Academy Advisor for Ohio, Indiana and West Virginia.
According to D’Allessandris, the programming offered through the partnership and the opportunities it affords students in regard to aviation-oriented careers is unusual for rural areas.
“It’s really great to see this type of programming out here,” he said. “To get kids interested in aviation, you need to let them experience it.”
