“Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth and danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings…” (from High Flight by John Magee) and that’s exactly what five Wheatland High School graduates have done with their lives. These men all graduated within five years of each other and chose not only the military but flying as their careers. Birt was on the Bulldogs’ Bark staff so we spent many hours in the journalism room when he wasn’t doing the myriad of other activities in which he was involved. This is Part 5 of a series.
Two 2004 Wheatland High School graduates took to the skies. Maj. Jordan Birt (son of Roy and MaryJo Birt) is the second and also a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
“I’d always wanted to serve my country,” he stated. “From early in high school I was fixated on attending the Air Force Academy. The idea of receiving a degree from a distinguished school and following on to serve my country motivated me.”
Birt had the choice of other academies but the USAFA was the one he wanted.
Birt was an instructor and evaluator pilot on the KC-135 (Boeing 707) at the USAF formal training unit in Altus, Oklahoma.
“I enjoyed being an instructor and evaluator pilot due to the satisfaction of seeing my students progress and do well,” Birt said.
That led him to an opportunity to go to a new place where he could do a lot of flying and had a good quality of life for his family (wife, Laura, and sons Jordan and Christian). He is an exchange pilot to the Canadian Air Force in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. There he flies a T-6, a Canadian intermediate jet trainer. His students will go on to fly anything from helicopters to F-18s for the Canadian Air Force.
Of close calls, the one in 2013 sticks in Birt’s mind; he authored and bylined it in a magazine article titled “There I Was…Of Close Calls and the Value of Training” by [then] Capt. Jordan Birt, 91st Air Refueling Squadron pilot. The quick version is that “I was at a deployed location in the Middle East with a full load of fuel, had an engine fail and catch fire just prior to taking off. I was on my 10th mission as an aircraft commander. I’ll always be grateful for all the incredible training I’ve received over the years … and to my crew who did an awesome job to prevent a disaster.” (Read the entire story on pages 34-35 at http://www.amc.af.mil/Portals/12/documents/AFD-131017-050.pdf)
Birt would tell high school students today: “I’d express my experiences from graduating from WHS in 2004 and relay the opportunities that come with going to a small high school and living in a small town. I think there is a perception that living in a small town or going to a small high school is bad or puts one at a disadvantage. It’s simply not true! Growing up in a small town allowed me to participate in anything that I could find to get involved in: academics, sports, work, newspaper, engineering club (JETS), it seemed endless. It gave me lifelong friends who are all likeminded and have commonality in where and how we grew up. Having the opportunity to know almost the whole town in high school made me community minded, it allowed me to see the benefits of adults who were active in their community and had a positive influence. Being so close to agriculture, ranching and the power plant allowed me to see and appreciate physical labor and hard work. Living in Wheatland and going to WHS gave me a realistic worldview of how the forgotten people of our country really live and operate, not how it’s portrayed by TV or the media. One isn’t limited by growing up in a small town, rather, one is given an incredible perspective. The small town experience early in life is extremely valuable for future success. It makes a well-rounded, community minded, and hardworking young adult, who has the backing of a whole town cheering for his/her success. When framed in that manner, growing up in a small town is not a disadvantage, it’s an incredible opportunity.”
