A group of African-American U.S. Air Force pilots stopped here for a final Black History Month flight led by Maj. Dean Hall from Joint Base San Antonio on Feb. 26, 2021.
The visit was coordinated with ROTC Cadets from Detachment 165 at Georgia Tech University, Atlanta, Georgia, to showcase diversity in the pilot field.
Maj. Kenny Thomas, Equal Opportunity Diversity Office from the 94th Airlift Wing, assisted in guiding the cadets during their visit.
This is a great opportunity to get exposure to these young cadets while also showing African-American representation in the pilot field, said Thomas.
Detachment 165 is comprised of 11 school’s ROTC programs; Kennesaw State University, Georgia State University, Clayton State University, Morehouse College, Emory University, Spelman College, Oglethorpe University, Mercer University, University of West Georgia, Agnes Scott College and Clark Atlanta University.
The Detachment is led by Cadet Jesse Hambrick, who is the Cadet Wing commander.
“This is a valuable experience for younger cadets to get to meet pilots and see what’s up ahead for them” said Hambrick.
The visit included a Q and A session with Hall and Thomas followed by a static display of the aircraft the pilots flew to Dobbins ARB.
“This is an invaluable opportunity to plant the seed in these young cadet’s minds that they are capable of doing whatever they set their minds to” said Hall. “We’re making an effort to show diversity in fields that they don’t get a lot of exposure to or see their representation in those roles.”