By Greg Lehman
Daily Titan Staff Writer

The Reserve Officers’ Training Corps at Cal State Fullerton gave their cadets the opportunity to ride in Black Hawk helicopters on Friday, Oct. 16. Two helicopters lifted chalks of 11 cadets each from the soccer field in the Titan Sports Complex and flew them up to 1,500 feet above Fullerton and Anaheim.

Staff Sgt. Sam Knight peers out of the Black Hawk helicopter in mid-flight. Photo courtesy of Joey Colon

After Staff Sgt. Sam Knight gave a summary of the day’s events and instructions on how to properly approach the helicopter, each Black Hawk began to lift off the cadets for 15-minute tours. The helicopters would return and land in the middle of the field as groups of 11 cadets, called chalks, ran to the helicopter in lines as the pilots waited to take off again. The Black Hawk pilots demonstrated maneuvers in the air as they flew above the cities.

Executive Officer First Lt. Tung Huynh, who arranged for the event, said, “Basically, what we wanted to do was a couple of things. One is to introduce them to the aviation branch of the Army and actually get them to see a helicopter fly up close, get them to ride in a helicopter for the first time, and also as an introduction to the California Army National Guard and their aviation branch.”

Huynh was the driving force behind obtaining the helicopters for the day. “Basically, I did the planning, preparation, coordination with the State Aviation California Army National Guard to request that the helicopters come out here,” he said.

Cadet Battalion Commander Nick Griepsma watched over his cadets and made sure that the event ran smoothly. “Today, we’re going to get some aircraft familiarization with Black Hawk helicopters,” Griepsma said. “It’s a good way to expose the cadets to the vehicles that we use in active duty Army, and also it’s a motivational event for the year between our various training events that we do.”

Griepsma said that the training would not be a technical exercise. “Today, the purpose is the familiarization with the aircraft. We’re not going to be going over tactically how these aircraft are going to be coming down in landing zones and stuff like that. It’s just really a familiarization with the aircraft itself and also just a recreational activity to expose and just have a fun day for the cadets to be able to ride on the Black Hawks and see the local area from a bird’s eye view.”

ROTC Cadets had an amazing view as they soared high above Fullerton on Friday. Riding in the Black Hawks is just one of the many great experiences these soon to be soldiers have on a daily basis. Photo courtesy of Joey Colon.

First Lt. Cadet Sean Bors said that this was his first time riding in the Black Hawks and compared them to a Chinook helicopter he had ridden in training. “The Black Hawks are just way better. I mean, it maneuvers a lot better. You take off, you go down to Angel Stadium, start coming back, and then you head down the 91 and kind of loop in, and they maneuver it around for you. I mean, it’s like a roller coaster when you’re up there; it’s sick,” he said.

Knight said that the Black Hawk rides served as a recreational event for the cadets as well.

“You know, it’s just stuff that we enjoy doing,” Knight said. “It’s as real as we can make it. It’s kind of a joy ride and a learning experience at the same time.”