Philip D. Brown

Richmond County Daily Journal

As two Black Hawk helicopters lifted off with their second groups of 10 Richmond Senior High JROTC students Friday morning, freshman Gabby Wright began to feel the nerves.

“I don’t like heights,” she said nervously, pulling her chin to her chest against the wind. “Hopefully, (fellow student Ann Frank) can come up with me.”Senior Ann Frank offered Wright advice, she’d already gone up and this was her second time riding in a Black Hawk.

“Don’t be scared, the only thing you’ll feel is the pressure changing,” Frank told her.

“It was so fun - words can’t describe how fun it was,” Frank said. “This time was a little bit more intense because the doors were open and you could feel the changing of the pressure. It was a blast! I definitely want to be a helicopter pilot!”

For many of the high school’s potential soldiers, like senior Charles Mason, the experience of riding the combat helicopters is an “exhilarating” pay-off for all their hard work.

“We were up above the big trees, and I could look down and see the farms and they looked small,” Mason said after his ride. “We went around a curve, and it felt like it almost threw me out the door. It was exhilarating!”

Rockingham National Guard Staff Sgt. Joshua Forgie said this is exactly the kind of reaction he wants students to have when he coordinated these rides.

“The main goal is to raise awareness for students that the National Guard has a lot more to offer than meets the eye,” he said. “It’s kind of a reward for students who are in JROTC, because we only open it up to them for all the hard work they put in.

“Most people will never get to experience this.”

The students were taken on a 10-15 minute ride, but the event was almost canceled due to weather, as Forgie explained. In order to do the flights, safety guidelines dictate there must be visibility 1,000 feet above the ground, and cloudiness Friday morning threatened but didn’t cancel the lifts.

Last year, the helicopter rides were canceled because the National Guard was assisting in putting out wildfires in the Southeast region.

RSHS Senior Army Instructor Myrtith Brown said a similar ride on a Black Hawk that he took while at Pinecrest High School changed the course of his life.

“That was my first opportunity to fly, and I never forgot it,” he said. “After that, I became a career soldier.”

He explained many of his students, too, will be impacted in a long-lasting way.

“What this does is give students the opportunity to do something they wouldn’t normally get the opportunity to do, especially in a rural setting,” Brown said. “This is a chance for them to enjoy an aircraft flight, many of them have never been on an aircraft before.”

Junior Jessica Zinnerman was one of those who’d never had the opportunity in the past.

“I’m very excited because I’ve never been off the ground,” she said. “This is my first time.”

As she waited on the bleachers to be called, she said she felt like she was on a roller coaster, when your heart drops in anticipation of going down the hill.

When Zinnerman’s name was finally called, she was on the same aircraft as Yotokameyosha Brown, and they ducked their heads down and sprinted toward the loading zone.

“This is my second time going up in a helicopter,” Brown said. “The first time, I was nervous because I wasn’t with my friends, plus I was the second one to the window, but I’ll be fine this time.”

Staff Writer Philip D. Brown can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 32, or by e-mail at pbrown@yourdailyjournal.com.