Twelve Embry-Riddle Cadets Picked for Elite Air Force Training

Twelve Embry-Riddle Air Force ROTC cadets have been chosen for two separate highly selective pilot training programs.

Seven were selected for the Air Force Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program, which is conducted by the 80th Flying Training Wing at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas and is the world's only multi-nationally manned and managed flight training program producing combat pilots for NATO countries. Another five cadets earned spots in Helicopter Training Next, which produces world-class helicopter pilots for the Air Force.

Detachment 157 on the Daytona Beach Campus saw eight of its cadets selected, the most slots awarded to any Air Force ROTC detachment in the country.

“Our cadets are amazing, and this is a true testament to how hard they work,” said Col. Gregory Adams, commander of the the detachment. 

Detachment 028 on the Prescott Campus also stood out, with four cadets earning NATO jet spots, which was the most awarded for any detachment nationwide. 

“When you combine the two detachments, one-fifth of AFROTC graduates attending Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training in 2025 will have come from Embry-Riddle,” said Col. Russ Davis, commander of Air Force ROTC Detachment 028 and professor of Aerospace Studies. “That is a testament to the quality of the university and our outstanding AFROTC programs.”

Eight cadets in Air Force ROTC Detachment 157 on the Daytona Beach Campus have earned highly competitive Air Force Pilot training program slots. The cadets (from left to right) are: David Mehl, David Thompson, Simeon Spann, Priscilla Schmidt, Mitchell Hemmingsen, Christopher Starnes and Robert Munro. (Photo: Embry‑Riddle/Air Force ROTC)

Joint NATO Jet Pilot Training

For Kyle Davidson, being accepted into Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training has been a goal since his freshman year in Air Force ROTC.

“I could not be more excited for what is to come and am extremely grateful for this opportunity,” said Davidson, a Global Security and Intelligence Studies student from California.

Davidson is one of four cadets from Detachment 028 — along with Zachary Ramsey, Destin Schroder and Ryan Hengehold — awarded the NATO jet slots.

“I feel proud for how far I have come and am ready to learn as much as possible once I'm in flight training at Sheppard Air Force Base,” said Schroder, an Aeronautics student from Iowa.

Hengehold, who is majoring in Aeronautics, credited his Air Force ROTC unit for his success.

“It feels surreal for this three-year goal to come to fruition, and I couldn't be more excited,” he said.

Detachment 157 cadets David Mehl, Simeon Spann and David J. Thompson III also earned NATO jet slots.

“It is an intense but rewarding program that lasts a little over a year, and I am going in with an open mind but, more importantly, open ears,” said Spann, an Aeronautics student.

Thompson, an Aeronautics major from Louisiana, said he has spent years waiting for this opportunity.

“I've had a dream of becoming an Air Force pilot since I was an enlisted C-130J aircraft maintainer for nearly a decade,” he said. “To reflect on the journey I’ve made since then and stand where I am today makes me nothing short of grateful.”

Top-Notch Helicopter Training

Embry-Riddle student Christopher Starnes said he was ecstatic to land one of the coveted Helicopter Training Next slots, along with fellow Detachment 157 cadets Chris Miller, Mitchell Hemmingsen, Robert Munro and Priscilla Schmidt.

The cadets will graduate and commission in May, then head to Ft. Novosel, Alabama, for helicopter training. The Helicopter Training Next program aims to create highly skilled pilots while increasing the Air Force’s overall pilot production.

“This is a dream come true and something I have wanted to do since I was five years old,” said Starnes, a Meteorology major from Miami who aspires to work in combat search and rescue. “I joined the program knowing this is what I wanted to do.”

Posted In: Aviation | Institutional News