Issue date: 2/8/08 Section: News

ROTC cadets do static load training in a UH60 Blackhawk Thursday afternoon in the Tarble quad. The training consists of getting each cadet group in and out of the aircraft as soon as possible and into attack formation. (Kevin Kenealy/The Daily Eastern News)

Both of Ashley Jenkins parents are in the U.S. Air Force. Living next to Fort Knox, Ky., Jenkins has seen helicopters similar to the UH60 Blackhawk fly overhead.

Now, the Reserve Officers' Training Corps cadet and rugby player stands a few hundred feet from touching a 16-foot, 10-inches tall, 20-passenger combat mission UH60 Blackhawk helicopter. It is tires-deep in mud at the Tarble Arts Center quad.

Jenkins shivers in the cold but holds a smile of anticipation for her static load training to begin.

Captain Jim Smith is a tactical operations officer who began flying in college in Carbondale. Smith said static load is a procedure that involves getting members of the group in and out of the aircraft as soon as possible. The process is one for security and team purposes.

"I found out on Tuesday, and I've been shaking and squealing in my boots ever since I found out," Jenkins said.

Jenkins participated in ROTC training in the tundra near the arts center Thursday afternoon.

Jenkins was looking into becoming a helicopter pilot as a career choice, and her dad is supportive, Jenkins said.

"This is kind of looking into if I really can do it and to see if I got what it takes," she said.

When it came time for the load, many of the freshman and sophomore ROTC cadets did not have what it takes, their superior officers said.

The process would begin with the cadets breaking off into groups as they learned how to attach and remove seat belts and how to exit the helicopter.

Although the procedure is standard, Smith said, the process is complex. The squad leader needs to be seated under the communications area in the helicopter, while the heavy weapons soldier needs to have a seat on the outside seat near the door.

Belts need to be buckled, then unbuckled, and soldiers need to be out in a crouching firing formation when exiting the Blackhawk in less than five seconds. The cadets struggled with their time as they figured out what part of the helicopter to exit.

Failure only seemed to give the cadets more motivation. Senior journalism major and cadet battalion commander Maggie Moseley joked how the Army is known as the biggest fraternity. But Moseley embraced that type of relationship, patting a cadet on the back after their group failed time in the load.

"It's pretty much brotherhood, just looking out for one another," Moseley said. "And if you're on a battlefield, you want to be next to someone you can trust."

Lt. Col. Larry G. Coblentz Jr. said ROTC for the underclassmen is a way for them to get their feet wet. The program encourages students to be well-rounded individuals who get involved.

To Mosely, that equates to brotherhood; to Jenkins, it equates to a career choice.



Kevin Kenealy can be reached at 581-7942 or at kpkenealy@eiu.edu.

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