Photo By Kelly Morris | Maj. Sara C. Adams, UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter instructor pilot, talks with students...... read more read more
After serving 16 years in the Army as an enlisted Soldier and as an officer, including in multiple capacities on Fort Novosel in the past few years, Maj. Sara C. Adams has some simple career advice for people who may be contemplating a path in the Army.
“There’s always a way,” said Adams, who serves as the executive officer and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter instructor pilot at 1st Battalion, 212th Aviation Regiment.
“A lot of people, they hit a wall and just spin their wheels. Go around it, go over it, go under it, blow it up,” she said.
With a career that has taken her to Fort Drum, N.Y., including a deployment to Iraq, and serving at Fort Bragg. N.C., and Fort Campbell, Ky., the service has opened the door to opportunities for herself and her family, she explained.
“My mom, she’s always like, ‘I would have never gotten out of Iowa if it weren’t for you. I’ve done this and I’ve done that, and it’s all because of you’,” she said.
“If I can be an instructor pilot in two airframes, and a primary staff officer in a training battalion, and a single mom, and volunteering on the weekend, you can probably do it too,” said Adams, who recently received the Order of Saint Michael Bronze Award.
No stranger to Fort Novosel, Adams previously served as the International Military Student Office commander, Company D, 1st Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment. She served as Headquarters and Headquarters Company commander at 110th Aviation Brigade; and also served as the 1st Battalion, 11th Aviation Regiment Air Traffic Control operations officer, including providing support to hurricane evacuation planning efforts to help ensure the installation’s preparedness to protect its people and mission in the event of a major storm.
Thinking back on her initial decision to serve in the Army, she felt the military was a good option to provide structure in her life. As an enlisted Soldier, she served as a small arms repair technician.
Then came a day at Fort Drum when she and other Soldiers had the opportunity to hear from an Army aviator, an event she recalled as if it were straight out of a movie.
“The door opens and rays of light are shooting as this man walks forward in his green pilot suit, and flips his beautiful perfect hair to the side, and says, ‘I’m going to tell you guys about being a pilot.’ We’re just little kids, star struck staring at him as he tells his little story about the amazing Kiowa scout/reconnaissance platform and how amazing it is,” Adams said. “That’s how I remember it.”
Two weeks later she took the flight aptitude test but soon encountered some ‘dead ends’ when she tried to pursue the warrant officer route, she said.
Thanks to the support of her leaders, the Army’s Green to Gold program, and a Reserve Officers Training Corps program at Iowa State University, she eventually made her way to Army aviation as an officer.
One of her duties in the past year has been serving as a guest Black Hawk instructor pilot.
“We utilize her as a guest quite a bit, normally about three or four days a week,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Kevin J. Deveau, a UH-60M instructor pilot who serves as a platoon leader at Lowe.
“She’s one of those go-to instructors we can always count on. She’s got the hours, she’s got the experience, she’s got the passion to be able to come and sit down in front of students and instill the information to make them successful in their Army career. She is always ready to go fly,” he said.
To her, flying is freedom, whether in an Army helicopter or in a civilian plane on her own time, including volunteering together with her young son to fly for a puppy rescue program.
She said she is passionate not only about aviation but advocating for Army aviation and helping others along on their journey, including keeping an eye out for enlisted Soldiers and providing advice about Army programs.
“I believe that what we’re doing is important,” said Adams. “It’s really fulfilling for me, teaching students in the helicopter, you know, doing volunteer things in the airplane, pushing people down that road or at least opening up their experience to it. It’s not for everybody.”
Adams said she has tried to be true to her roots since she transitioned from enlisted to officer corps.
“A lot of people were like, don’t forget where you came from,” she said. “That’s been important to me throughout the whole tenure as an officer, taking care of the soldiers, not forgetting about them when we’re hard charging to accomplish the mission. You got to remember the soldiers.”
Adams said she found a sense of purpose and a calling in the Army and hopes others will too.
“I hope that people, if they’re on the fence about joining, or on the fence about staying, or they haven’t had a positive experience, (will not) judge the entire experience off of one bad apple or egg,” Adams said.
“A lot of places are what you make of it.”
| Date Taken: | 06.14.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 06.14.2023 11:24 |
| Story ID: | 447133 |
| Location: | FORT NOVOSEL, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 529 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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