Future military leaders at UNF train with Black Hawk helicopter for medical evacuation

When fellow soldiers’ lives are on the line, training means everything.

That’s exactly what the next generation of military leaders in our community got on Thursday.

Right on the University of North Florida’s campus, future army officers in the ROTC program trained with a Black Hawk helicopter for a medical evacuation.

“It’s small baby steps to prepare us for what we’re actually going to see in the real world,” said ROTC Battalion Executive Officer Michael Christy, who is a junior at UNF. “It’s not every day that you get to coordinate and have an actual Black Hawk land on campus.”

It’s a situation that’s hard to prepare for in the classroom: a casualty on the battlefield.

“They’re our future leaders,” said UNF Army ROTC Officer in Charge Major Carlos Aviles. “They’re going to be expected to supervise these type of activities, where you end up saving someone’s life.”

The cadets learned how to call for air support, put an injured fellow soldier on a litter, carry that litter onto the Black Hawk helicopter, and go airborne.

“Most of the stuff you do in the Army is a mental game. It’s like, people think it’s physical. It’s hard. But it’s really just pushing through mentally, and pushing past your boundaries, and pushing past your limits,” said sophomore ROTC cadet Brenna McAnally.

What the students learn here at home could help them save lives overseas.

Cox Media Group