Johnny Crocker has had a love for history and the Armed Forces since he was a little child. As an adult, he is able to take that passion and mold it into a career as a helicopter pilot in the Army.

 

Crocker, a 2017 BHS graduate, was recently selected into the U.S. Army’s Warrant Officer Program, high school to flight school program as a helicopter pilot.

 

 Crocker’s journey  has been arduous and after a long process of IQ and physical fitness testing, eye surgery and going before a review board, his dream to fly is finally taking off.

 

“The actual time frame to be accepted into the Warrant Officer Flight Training Program (also know as the WOFT program) varies from candidate to candidate,” said Johnny. “The average time frame is around six to eight months, I however, had to get laser vision correction in the middle of this process and thus it took me 16 months from start to finish.”

 

Johnny didn’t let anything stand in his way in his quest to fly choppers. When he learned his vision was below the minimum standard for acceptance into the WOFT program, he took a bold step to keep that dream alive.

 

“The government employee who was working on my packet told me, ‘you will never be a pilot for any branch of the military with your vision,” Crocker said. 

 

“After he told me this I pushed back at him and asked what I could do. That was when I was first told about the laser eye surgery option.”

 

Because Johnny was not part of any branch of the military at this time, he had to pay for the procedure himself.

 

“During the process of finding a doctor to perform the surgery, I met Dr. Neal Sher of Eye Care Associates,” he said. “After a short interview with Dr. Sher, he decided that I qualified for his Sight for Soldiers program.” 

 

Crocker said this program covers all the costs of the surgery for active duty personal that are going to be deployed oversees in the future.

 

His future was suddenly coming into focus.

 

Johnny’s mom, Sonya, said when Johnny was younger, he and his buddies would play NERF Wars  and simulate being part of the military. She is amazed at his knowledge of the Army and the vehicles, equipment and tools they use.

 

“He knows the name of every tank and every helicopter just by looking at them,” she says.

 

“My love for aviation and the Army both started at a very young age,” Johnny said. “It was my cousin, Lexi Mattfeld, who was an aviation student at UND, who first got me thinking about a serious career in aviation.” 

 

However, Johnny knew he needed to “one-up” his cousin, so he started looking into a career in helicopters.

 

The reason I chose the Army is because — if I commit to something, I want to be the best at what ever I do,” he said. “The Army gave me that chance to become the best, so I took it.”

 

Johnny had that same attitude in high school where he took his ambitions of being the best to the tennis courts and to the Robotics arenas. He managed full time PSEO and graduated with an associate degree at the same time he finished high school. He now has a private helicopter’s license and he flies out of St. Cloud Airport.

 

Two weeks ago, he left Minnesota to start his training in Georgia and will finish instruction in Alabama.

 

“The whole training process will take around two years,” he said, “and will cost around two million dollars. At the end of all my training I will be a qualified U.S. Army pilot.”

 

Johnny hopes to be starting his masters in psychology through the many education opportunities in the U.S. Army. Down the road, he hopes to have a career in aviation and 20 or so years from now, he hopes to be getting ready to retire from the Army at the rank of WO4(Warrant Officer 4).

 

“After that, I am officially out of the Army,” he said. Then, I hope to be starting a political career and running for a congressional or senatorial position.”

 

But thats’ in the future and for now, Johnny wants to retain the little kid inside him with Nerf guns while he sets his sights on serving his country and flying whirlybirds.

 

“Every time I get behind the controls of a helicopter, I get a huge feeling of bubbly joy and responsibility,” he says. “To be a great pilot you have to find the perfect balance between being a professional and a little kid.

 

He’ll keep the Nerf guns at home.