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March 29, 2024 2:09 am
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Local Kids Go On To Change The World: Living The Dream Of Flight

By MAGGIE MCMURRAY

Moapa Valley Progress

MVHS alumni Danny Deakins has recently realized his life-long dream of becoming an Air Force helicopter pilot.

A Moapa Valley High School alumnus has achieved his dream and will soon be flying a combat rescue helicopter for the United States Air Force. Since he was six years old, former Logandale resident Danny Deakins has dreamed of flying. In high school, those dreams solidified into the goal of becoming an Air Force helicopter pilot under the guidance and tutelage of former MVHS counselor Rendell Esplin.
“Danny really wanted to be an astronaut, but when the program he wanted closed, Mr. Esplin gave him the idea to be a helicopter pilot instead,” Danny’s mom, Annette, said.

Annette said that Mr. Esplin sat down with Danny and mapped out the long and difficult road to becoming an Air Force pilot. Danny has followed every step on the paper that Esplin gave him. Finally he has been able to graduate and received an assignment as an air force helicopter pilot earlier this month.
The road to this achievement has been a long and difficult one, Annette said. Danny originally applied to the United States Air Force Academy upon graduation from MVHS but was not accepted. He decided to serve an LDS mission and to reapply upon returning home, which he did.

In the meantime, his father, Ryan Deakins, was transferred to Iowa and the family moved away from Logandale.
Deakins’ reapplication to the Air Force Academy was accepted and he graduated from the Colorado-based military academy in 2015. Upon graduation, students receive their assignments and Deakins’ stellar performance at the USAFA procured him one of the coveted pilot slots he had wanted.
“While at the academy, Danny wanted to fly so bad that he took advantage of every opportunity to learn and practice,” Annette said. “He took all the paratrooper and pilot training he could. He would often joke that some of the planes he was flying were not much more than weed-whackers with wings.”

From Colorado he was transferred to Vance Air Force Base in Enid, OK, for more specialized flight training. Here he trained on an T-6 aircraft and was constantly judged on his performance.
Upon graduation from that, training pilots were given a choice of aircraft in which to specialize. They were given the choice of fighters, heavies (big transport planes), or the one open helicopter slot. Once again Deakins graduated at the top of his class and was able to secure that one coveted helicopter slot, taking his dream one step closer to becoming a reality.

Helicopter training is so specialized that Deakins was then transferred from his Air Force base in OK to Fort Rucker Army Base, one of the few places in the US such training takes place. Once again, Deakins performed well.

Last month he was finally able to achieve his long-time goal when he was selected to fly a Sikorsky HH-60G PAVE Hawk, which is a combat rescue helicopter similar to the more well-known Blackhawk flown by Army pilots. Deakins will receive 6 weeks of SEAR (survival) training and then 3 months of training specific to his helicopter before being stationed in Georgia. From there he is expected to be deployed.

Combat rescue helicopters are used in areas where there are active conflicts. When reports of injuries come in, rescue teams are deployed to gather and protect the injured. When the injured are located and secured, combat rescue helicopters come in and rescue both the injured and the rescue teams.
Deakins is guaranteed to be deployed to active war zones, a fact that his family is, understandably, concerned about. Still, they are very proud of him.
“No mom likes to think about sending her kids off to war,” Annette said. “But I think the Air Force has done everything they can to make sure he is prepared. It has been his life dream and it is extremely satisfying to see him achieve it and to succeed.”

This is one in an ongoing series profiling Moapa Valley youth who have gone out into the world to serve their country, or their fellow men. Those with suggestions of young people who could be profiled in future stories like this, please contact the PROGRESS by email at editor@mvprogress.com.

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