Cadets gain skills in aviation ground school
Article By: Clark Leonard
The University of North Georgia's (UNG) Corps of Cadets is offering a 12-week aviation ground school this semester for 11 cadets. It provides a valuable experience for those who want to commission into the Army's aviation branch and prepares them for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) private pilot written knowledge test.
Stan Allen, an FAA-certified instructor and longtime pilot, is teaching the cadets for two hours each Thursday at the Military Leadership Center.
The course is offered with no out-of-pocket expense to the cadets as the Office of Leadership and Global Engagement is funding this professional development opportunity.
We want to give our cadets all the tools they need to be successful in their preferred branch.
Retired Lt. Col. Heath Williams
UNG director of federal liaison and military education coordinator
Taking the class also shows initiative on the part of the cadets, as it is on top of their traditional coursework and required military science classes. Zoe Kinzie, a sophomore from Alva, Oklahoma, pursuing a degree in criminal justice with a concentration in forensics, jumped at the opportunity to gain this experience. She has enjoyed the knowledge, advice, and stories Allen has shared.
"It's a really good opportunity for cadets to learn about their possible future branch," Kinzie said. "And it's a really fun thing to learn about aviation."
Retired Lt. Col. Heath Williams, UNG's director of federal liaison and military education coordinator, is excited cadets can take advantage of this course. As one of four officers to commission from UNG into the aviation branch in 1989, he had no such training while in the Corps of Cadets. Though he and his classmates graduated from the Army's flight school, he is glad current cadets will have a leg up when trying to become officers in the aviation branch.
"We want to give our cadets all the tools they need to be successful in their preferred branch," Williams said.
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