Post by Project Mayhem on Jan 27, 2014 17:18:14 GMT -6
The agreement means that Hinds, together with Pearl River Community College which will provide core academic courses, will provide college credits for the training National Guardsmen receive through job training and will receive through their programs. As the war winds down, Camp Shelby will be transitioning toward more emphasis on unmanned aerial vehicles and cyber security. That’s where Hinds’ drone program comes in.
“Camp Shelby, which is a national center of excellence for unmanned aerial training for military guard and reserve personnel across the country, came to us looking at a partnership where we could give them college credit for participation,” said Aviation Department Chair Randy Pearcy. “It looks like we will be able to give them credit for their military training.”
It has taken about a year to organize all the details of the partnership, officials said, but in addition to helping National Guard members with college credit and job training it will also help boost participation in HCC’s fledgling UAV pilot program.
“I’m so happy to be engaged with Camp Shelby, they’ve been tremendous in supporting and encouraging us and helping along the way,” said Unmanned Aerial Systems program director and instructor Dennis Lott. “We’re so excited about empowering the youth of this country and this state we live in to go out into this brave new fronteer.”
Hinds also offers traditional pilot training, and officials say in the future it is a very real possibility that UAV pilots will have to have traditional pilot training as well.
Col. Brad Smith said in addition to the sharing of college credits and the boost in the number of students at Hinds as a result of the partnership, the community college will be able to use their restricted air space. At this point, HCC has to train its UAV pilots primarily indoors since UAVs are not allowed in commercial airspace.
“We have 252 square km of special-use airspace, that provides an opportunity for Hinds and Pearl River to utilize that airspace for the research and development and training of pilots and maintenance,” he said. “What we do in the military is very similar to what they do at Hinds. The partnership makes sense.”
Dr. Scott Alsobrooks, VP for economic and community development at Pearl River, said he agrees that the partnership is a positive step for both sides.
“It’s not a big secret that the US military is the best military in the world,” he said. “The second thing that is a secret, we have a great system of community colleges in Mississippi. We have a solid, solid, sound system of community colleges here in Mississippi.”
www.clarionledger.com/videonetwork/3114366261001/Drones-at-home-Hinds-Community-College-signs-drone-partnership-with-Camp-Shelby
Video will not embed from the CL site but here is the link above
“Camp Shelby, which is a national center of excellence for unmanned aerial training for military guard and reserve personnel across the country, came to us looking at a partnership where we could give them college credit for participation,” said Aviation Department Chair Randy Pearcy. “It looks like we will be able to give them credit for their military training.”
It has taken about a year to organize all the details of the partnership, officials said, but in addition to helping National Guard members with college credit and job training it will also help boost participation in HCC’s fledgling UAV pilot program.
“I’m so happy to be engaged with Camp Shelby, they’ve been tremendous in supporting and encouraging us and helping along the way,” said Unmanned Aerial Systems program director and instructor Dennis Lott. “We’re so excited about empowering the youth of this country and this state we live in to go out into this brave new fronteer.”
Hinds also offers traditional pilot training, and officials say in the future it is a very real possibility that UAV pilots will have to have traditional pilot training as well.
Col. Brad Smith said in addition to the sharing of college credits and the boost in the number of students at Hinds as a result of the partnership, the community college will be able to use their restricted air space. At this point, HCC has to train its UAV pilots primarily indoors since UAVs are not allowed in commercial airspace.
“We have 252 square km of special-use airspace, that provides an opportunity for Hinds and Pearl River to utilize that airspace for the research and development and training of pilots and maintenance,” he said. “What we do in the military is very similar to what they do at Hinds. The partnership makes sense.”
Dr. Scott Alsobrooks, VP for economic and community development at Pearl River, said he agrees that the partnership is a positive step for both sides.
“It’s not a big secret that the US military is the best military in the world,” he said. “The second thing that is a secret, we have a great system of community colleges in Mississippi. We have a solid, solid, sound system of community colleges here in Mississippi.”
www.clarionledger.com/videonetwork/3114366261001/Drones-at-home-Hinds-Community-College-signs-drone-partnership-with-Camp-Shelby
Video will not embed from the CL site but here is the link above