WSU ROTC rises to the occasion

Cadet Major Brian Balls claps fellow cadets on the shoulders and asks them if they’re ready to go. The Weber State University ROTC cadets are beginning to wrap up their semester of labs, which means it’s time for the Utah National Guard to send two Black Hawk helicopters to the WSU campus.
“It’s the end of the year; the Cadets have been working hard,” Balls said. “This is kind of a fun lab; the helicopter ride is enjoyable. It’s a lot of fun to ride on these military aircraft. So it’s a morale booster, but once they get out there we’re going to test them on some land navigation; it’s all leading up to a field-training exercise we’ll do at Camp Williams next month.”
Two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters kicked up grass, leaves and dust as they angled in to land on the field to the south of the Social Science Building. The field is normally used as a rugby pitch but on Thursday, March 10, it was converted to a landing site. The Black Hawks took three flights of approximately 45 WSU cadets up to the foothills just below Ben Lomond Peak in North Ogden where the cadets would be tested on information they’ve been taught throughout the year.
“The helicopters will come in, they’re going to land,” Balls said. “Exiting an aircraft in combat is pretty common, so it will give them a little experience on proper ways to leave the aircraft safely, because they are actually really dangerous aircraft, especially when you’re landing in rough terrain. There are things you have to pay attention to.”
The lab is a final test on navigational skills the cadets studied throughout the year.
“We send them out there, they’re not allowed to talk to their buddies, they’re not allowed to help each other out,” Balls said. “It’s all up to the individual to find the points that they’re assigned and make it back within the designated amount of time.”
Cadet Sergeant Casey Kapetanov made his third trip in a Black Hawk and said the transportation to the landing site is a kick, particularly taking off.
“Because of the G-force, it kicks back like you’re on a roller coaster,” Kapetanov said. “When you go down the roller coaster and then come back up, it’s great.”
Lieutenant Colonel Keith McVeigh, a professor of military science, said the training is both for the cadets to gain experience in an area that is common within the military, and to showcase an asset of one of the military branches located in the state.
“The significance of a training like this is we want to showcase an asset that the Utah National Guard has, that they contribute,” McVeigh said. “Every one of these pilots that’s flying one of these helicopters either attended Weber State and/or graduated from Weber State through the ROTC program. So it showcases an asset that the state provides to not only Weber but other ROTC units, to give not only the cadets but college centers of influences, key university personnel who really support and help ROTC and give them a chance to get a ride and get a little more attention on what this asset is.”
The general cost for the National Guard to perform labs for ROTC programs throughout the state is approximately $35,000 an hour per helicopter. However, the ROTC programs are able to work with the National Guard on lowering the cost for the education of the cadets.
“Our ROTC program, we’re very lucky to have at Weber State,” said WSU Vice President of Administrative Services Norm Tarbox. “It’s one of the biggest in the area, it’s rated very highly. It gives the students at Weber State a great opportunity to get involved in a military career, to get the training that can benefit them in the future. We really embrace the ROTC program and welcome its presence here on campus.”
Approximately 17 WSU administrators and staff members were given an orientation flight along the ridge of the mountain to the 12th St. Ogden Canyon, around the northern side of the mountains and back down Weber Canyon to WSU.
“Wow, what a view,” Tarbox said. “We live in a beautiful location, but the vantage point you get from the air in one of those Black Hawks is really astounding, particularly going up North Ogden Pass and bouncing from ridge to ridge through the Ogden Valley is very cool.”
Balls said his favorite part about the lab is being in the helicopter and enjoying the ride.
“My favorite part is the flying,” Balls said. “I’m in an aviation unit, so every chance I get, I get in that helicopter and I just want to spend all my time there. That’s what I want to do when I graduate, become a medevac pilot. There’s something about being in the air, especially when they have both doors open and you just sit there and look out over the railing as you fly out over the houses, the trees and the mountains. It’s the greatest experience in the world for me. It’s cold when you’re up there, but you kind of forget about it because you’re having so much fun.”