Part 8 of a series.

David Rhoades (Class of 1992, son of Jimmie Dee Lees-Harney and Floyd Rhoades) graduated from the United States Air Force Academy with a degree in general engineering.
Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma, was his home for the next year where he flew the T-37 and T-38 for primary and advanced training. Then for four months it was to A-10 training at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona.
After all that training was done, he was sent to Osan Air Base, South Korea from October of ’99-2000.  From there Rhoades went to Eielson AFB just south of Fairbanks, Alaska from 2000-2003.

“After four years of flying the A-10 operationally, I had the unique opportunity to volunteer for an exchange assignment in Jordan…I was inserted into the pilot training squadron at King Hussein Air College in the north part of Jordan from ’05-’08 training beside Jordanian pilots and one Pakistani exchange pilot. In order to do this I went to 16 months of Arabic language training in Monterey, California, then Pilot Instructor Training at Randolph AFB in San Antonio. (The Jordanians actually fly in English but the Arabic training was helpful in getting around out there!)
“My timing was fortunate since the Syrian Civil War hadn’t broken out yet. I had the opportunity to travel extensively in the area; Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus, Greece, Oman, UAE and Egypt.”
Lieutenant Colonel Rhoades left active duty with USAF at the end of his time in Jordan and joined the reserves. “I could have gone back to the A-10 but I wanted to continue exploring unique job openings.” He went to Hurlburt Field in Ft. Walton Beach, FL to fly the U-28, a military version of the civilian Pilatus PC-12 that carries nine people. It has been modified as a reconnaissance aircraft to support special operations forces. The reserve squadron’s mission was to instruct active duty pilots but he had three short deployments. Before he retired from the reserves in October 2017, Rhoades served in a non-flying position in International Affairs assisting the Jordan desk officer in coordinating military training and equipment.
If you’re going some place and you fly Delta, check the guy sitting in the cockpit who will be taking you into the air. It just might be First Officer David Rhoades. He flies the Boeing 737 on cross-country flights as well as shorter hops and to some Latin American destinations.
Rhoades lives in Salt Lake City with his wife Nina and has a 4-year-old son, Lucas, and a 19-month-old daughter, Megan. David met Nina in Jordan. She was studying Arabic in Syria and later did some work for some non-governmental organizations in Jordan and later was an Air Force reserve officer in the same wing as David was in Florida.
As for interesting situations “It’s not super exciting but a unique opportunity I had in Jordan was to fly BELOW sea level. Each year we would get to the Low Altitude Navigation phase of training. We would teach the students to fly a route at 300 feet above the ground using just their maps, heading, timing and constant airspeed. One of the routes we used would go over the Dead Sea which is 1000 feet below sea level. Jordan is on the eastern shores and Israel on the western side. There are few pilots who get to watch their altimeter SAFELY go 700 feet below zero while sight-seeing the Middle East. I’ve always been thankful for that memory.”
As for what he’d pass on to WHS students—“First of all, be thankful for the country we live in.  Sometimes our world closes in on us.  Sometimes things can seem pretty dire if you watch the news, but compared to most of the world, our opportunities are boundless here.  Focus on the potential of the future.  The world is at your doorstep when you leave high school.  I’ve seen Africa, the Middle East, Afghanistan, South America and the Pacific.  So many countries are barely bigger than one of our states.  They often have one climate, stifling culture, few industries and corruption abounds.  Occasionally, now with Delta, I fly from coast to coast.  For 5 to 6 hours, I watch multiple landscapes stretching as far as I can see from 35,000 feet.  I don’t think anyone can see that for the first time without marveling at least a little.  We’re living in a time and place unparalleled in human history and much of the present world.  Make the most of it!
“Second of all, and I speak humbly as one who often fails at my own advice, remember that nothing fulfills you in this life if you haven’t sacrificed for it.  I know this sounds generic, but it really is true.  It’s the life-long struggle we all face.  A lot of things make you happy in the short term, but they won’t give you meaning.  Try to choose the meaningful, surround yourself with people who encourage it, and do the same for them.”