Students at Enterprise High School visited the home of Army Aviation earlier this month during a Meet Your Army event.
Twenty-six young Army ROTC cadets, mostly seniors, enjoyed a busy day with Army Airmen, trying their hand at flight simulators, an MRE lunch, a scavenger hunt at the Army Air Museum and a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter flight.
“It exposes cadets to all employment opportunities and various careers in the aviation field,” including civilian opportunities, said retired Sgt. Maj. Gary Price, Enterprise High School Army JROTC instructor.
Between 15 and 20% of the Enterprise JROTC’s senior cadets join the military, and Senior Amelia Ruhle hopes to be one of them.
“I definitely want to get involved,” said Ruhle, whose father is an Army pilot at Fort Rucker.
“Everyone seems to be enjoying their visit,” Ruhle said. “Being able to come into the base … is a new experience for some students. It can be a turning point, and post-high school plans may change after seeing this.

Enterprise High School Army JROTC cadets fly in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during a Meet Your Army event at Fort Rucker, Alabama, Jan. 9, 2023. (Lt. Col. Andy Thaggard/US Army Aviation Center of Excellence)

Amelia Ruhle, an Enterprise High School Army JROTC cadet, stands next to a CH-47 Chinook helicopter exhibit at the U.S. Army Aviation Museum, Fort Rucker, Alabama, Jan. 9, 2023. Ruhle and other Enterprise JROTC cadets visited Fort Rucker during a reunion Your army event. (Lt. Col. Andy Thaggard / US Army Aviation Center of Excellence)

Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher T. Doss, Fort Rucker Garrison Command Sergeant Major, speaks to Enterprise High School Army JROTC cadets during a “Meet Your Army” event Jan. 9, 2023. (Lt. Col. Andy Thhaggard/US Army Aviation Center of excellence)

Gaby Colby, an Enterprise High School Army JROTC cadet, learns how to under the watchful eye of her father, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Everett Colby, during a Meet Your Army event in Fort Rucker, Alabama January 9, 2023 flies a helicopter simulator (Lt. Col. Andy Thaggard / US Army Aviation Center of Excellence)

Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher T. Doss, Fort Rucker Garrison Command Sergeant Major, speaks to Enterprise High School Army JROTC cadets during a “Meet Your Army” event Jan. 9, 2023. (Lt. Col. Andy Thhaggard/US Army Aviation Center of excellence)

An Enterprise High School Army JROTC cadet buckles her seat belt before a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter flight during a Meet Your Army event at Fort Rucker, Ala., Jan. 9, 2023. (Lt. Col. Andy Thaggard/US Army Aviation Center of the excellence)

Enterprise High School Army JROTC cadets board a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during a Meet Your Army event at Fort Rucker, Alabama, Jan. 9, 2023. (Lt. Col. Andy Thaggard/US Army Aviation Center of Excellence)

Gary T. Price, a retired Alabama Army National Guard sergeant major who currently serves as the Enterprise High School Army JROTC instructor, stands next to a helicopter exhibit at the U.S. Army Aviation Museum, Fort Rucker, Ala., Jan. 9. 2023. Prize and 26 JROTC cadets from Enterprise visited Fort Rucker for a Meet Your Army event. (Lt. Col. Andy Thaggard / US Army Aviation Center of Excellence)
Capt. Fernando Rincon, an aviation advocate with the Organization and Personnel Development Directorate (OPFD), coordinated the event for the US Army Aviation Center of Excellence.
“We’re introducing them to Army aviation and raising awareness of our industry and what we’re doing for the Army and the nation,” Rincon said. “We do that by introducing them and exposing them to role models, experiences and gear.”
While OPFD hosts annual JROTC events, which are also available for civilian air patrol and Boy Scout programs, other youth civic programs in the area can register through the community engagement section of Fort Rucker’s public affairs website at https://home.army Request Meet Your Army Event .mil/rucker/index.php/publicaffairs.