Oct. 15—JOHNSTOWN Pa. — For most of CW-5 Scott Hetrick's Army National Guard Career, his home away from home has been aircraft like the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter.
He's spent decades as a safety officer on military copters, following a two-inch-thick checklist to ensure they are flight ready. And more recently, he became a maintenance test pilot 1,000 feet above ground — with a view "you can't describe" without experiencing it.
On Saturday, Hetrick's wife, was among the first of the Brigade's families to get that chance in nearly 40 years.
The Johnstown area woman was among 30 military spouses who joined Richland-based military crews assigned to the 28th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade for a Blackhawk flight over the Laurel Highlands.
"I married into the military 31 years ago, so it was amazing to get to see what he experiences when he's away," Beth Hetrick said. "I wanted to be first in line."
Compared to commercial jets that soar high above the clouds, spouses received a comparatively close-up look at the Johnstown region's ridge tops.
"We couldn't have planned it better," Colonel Michael Girvin said, while surrounded by vibrant Fall foliage on the horizon behind him.
Girvin said the brigade wanted to give their Army spouses a personal experience of what their 200 or so air crew, pilots, administrators, mechanics and servers do "behind the scenes" to support their nation in times of need.
As a 31-year National Guard spouse, Beth Hetrick said the type of perk military families get to that usually doesn't make the headlines.
"Being a part of this, we're really a small family," she said.
Girvin said the husbands and wives of service members can sometimes be "nervous" about the unknowns of their jobs, including helicopter flights.
At a point the Armed Services have to work harder than ever to lure new recruits, it's events like this one that can make a difference, he said.
Maj. Justin Shedron said they also wanted to let those wives see how appreciated they are — given that they often have to run households when the Combat Aviation Brigade is called to act.
In recent years, that has involved challenging missions — such as Med-Evac storm rescues and a 2020 deployment to the Middle East against the militant Islamic State group Daesch.
But serving in the military is more about facing danger, Chief Warrant Officer-2 Josh Elliott said
His wife, Katie, saw that, too, Saturday.
"Being up there was an opportunity I never expected I'd get to see happen," the Emlenton, Venango County, woman said. "Being up there — not surrounded by the clouds — it was fantastic."
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