The Screaming Blackbird Podcast

Join cadets Camden Allen and K'Nai Lindsey as they converse with Detachment 605’s own Staff Sergeant Joshua Benson, exploring his journey through the Air Force and the experiences that shaped his career. They dive into his passion for mental health advocacy and how he supports cadets both professionally and personally. Discover the lasting impact he’s made on future officers preparing to commi...

Join Cadets Camden Allen and K'nai Lindsey as they talk with retired Col. Benjamin Robins about his inspiring Air Force career. He shares his passion for flying, his experiences at the U.S. Air Force Academy, and the lessons that shaped him as a leader. Discover how he rose through the ranks and emerged into a leadership role as a Colonel.

Join Cadets Camden Allen and K'Nai Lindsey as they sit down with Prior-Enlisted Cadets Taylor Holden and Terry Toledo-Roberts to discuss the experiences they encountered during their time at FT Max 2025. Listen as theses cadets provide insight on how they faced their greatest challenges yet through determination and fortitude, and how a bit of outside experience can go a long way.

Join Cadets Camden Allen and K'Nai Lindsey as they dive into the first month of ROTC with first-year cadet Jessica Fuchs and second-year cadet Darryle McDaniel. Learn about the new student orientation process and how cadets are balancing the demands of cadet life while settling back into the rhythm of academics.

Join Cadets Camden Allen and K’Nai Lindsey as they explore the pilot select journey of Cadets Bruce Davis III and Christen Johnson. Discover where their paths began, how they excelled in ROTC to earn this distinguished position, and what their future career aspirations look like as they prepare to enter active duty next year.

Join Cadets Camden Allen and K’Nai Lindsey as they sit down with Cadets Bernadette Scheeler and Emerson Siefken to share insights from their summer ODT experiences. Hear firsthand about the challenges they faced, the lessons they learned through special warfare training, and how these opportunities are shaping their ROTC journey and preparing them for future success in the Air Force.

Join Cadet Jaylin Sellman as she sits down with fellow Cadets Bruce Davis III, Kiara Minter, and Jason Stewart to reflect on the fall semester. Tune in to hear about the challenges they faced, what they enjoyed most, and what they’re looking forward to in the spring!

In this episode, Cadet Emerson Siefken sits down with Cadets Jaxon Willis and William McMahan to discuss the highly competitive ENJJPT fighter pilot program. They share their journeys from AFROTC through the rigorous selection process to being assigned this prestigious flight opportunity in the U.S. Air Force. Gain valuable insights into the challenges, dedication, and achievements required to bec...

Cadets Christian Shelton and Jaylin Sellman speak to Detachment 605's newly appointed commander, Lt Col Charles Berry. Hear about his life in the Air Force, his goals for the detachment, and the goals he has for himself during his time here at Det 605.

Cadet Cameron Agee and Chiara Waddy both were selected to go to the Air Force Academy over the summer and attend the FREEFALL program. This is a few week course where they get to train, prepare, and jump out of a Twin Otter aircraft, parachute themselves, and land successfully five times! If you have any questions, please reach out to airforcerotcdet605@gmail.com

Cadet Kennedy Barnes, A'Thalia Hinton, and Naya Jones took a trip to Baltimore Maryland for the BEYA conference which stands for Becoming Everything You Are. This conference gave them the networking opportunities they have been looking for in the AFROTC program. Detachment 605 sent several cadets to the BEYA to build transformational relationships, learn about leadership and development, and b...

Cadet Christen Johnson was selected to represent detachment 605 at the National Character and Leadership Symposium at the Air Force Academy in February of 2024. He traveled with cadets from other detachments to hear form professionals around the world and bring back that knowledge to our detachment. If you have any other questions for Christen or any of our guests, reach out to airforcerotcdet605@...

Cadet Ryland Brown is an AS250 at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. He was awarded the You Can Fly Scholarship, an opportunity for cadets to get flight lessons in trainer aircraft and help them compete for pilot slots in the United States Air Force out of ROTC. He also talks about his transition from competitive baseball to ROTC, switching colleges, and the effectiveness...

Captain Rodriguez is an Assistant Professor of Aerospace Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a prior enlisted member of the United States Air Force and has served in England, Utah, Canada, and more. If you have questions for Captain Rodriguez or any staff at Chapel Hill's Air Force ROTC program, reach out to afrotc@unc.edu

Captain Myles Davis is an Intelligence Officer in the United States Air Force and an Assistant Professor of Aerospace Studies at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. In this episode, we talk about his career as an Intelligence Officer, his assignment, his deployment, his time as a Field Training Officer, and Black History Month. If you have any questions, feel free to reach...

In this podcast, we talk with three cadets who just took a trip to Fort Liberty in Fayetteville, South Carolina. They competed in the GAFPB (German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge), a three day physical and mental competition that the German Armed forces take annually. Two Air Force Cadets and one Army Cadet share their experiences with this challenge. For more information, follow us on instagram @...

Major Matthew Spinks is a Navigator for the United States Air Force. His current assignment is an Assistant Professor of Aerospace Studies at UNC Chapel Hill. In this episode, we discuss his career from training in Pensacola all the way to his next assignment, a new initiative brought by AETC. We discuss field training 2023 and so much more. Feel free to reach out to Major Spinks at afrotc@unc.edu

Lieutenant Colonel Meghan O'Rourke and Master Sergeant Travis Ervine were kind enough to stop by detachment 605 on their route spreading awareness about Air Force Special Operations Command and all that goes with it. They are part of the outreach team at Hurlburt Field, Florida. In this episode, myself and Cadet Boyd learn all about their careers, their development, and some cool stories about...

Cadet Emma Campsey is an AS400 cadet pursuing a masters degree in Health Promotions at Mississippi State University. She received her undergraduate degree in exercise science from High Point University while also taking Aerospace Studies classes at North Carolina A&T university. In this episode, we discuss her experiences at two different detachments in two different states. She just got marri...

PT 2 of SBP episode 19 continues on Lieutenant Matthew Redbord's journey through pilot training and dives into what his future could look like. He gives insight into how he changed his mindset to become successful. If you'd like to see part 1 of episode 19, click here https://youtu.be/zahEPc2sUaU?si=uI_HzUwuPl1GhaIk If you have any questions for any of our guests, email us at airforcerotcd...

Lieutenant Matthew Redbord is an alumni of Detachment 605 and a student pilot at Columbus Air Force Base. He graduated from High Point University in May of 2022 with a bachelors degree in finance. In this episode, Matt talks about his ROTC career, the mentality it takes to be successful, and how to manage big life changes like getting married and buying a house all while going through pilot traini...

In this episode, Cadet McMahan and C/Willis discuss their experiences with the Capstones they participated in last summer. Capstones are base visits that allow cadets to experience and meet active duty AF personnel. These vary depending on the desired AFSC of each cadet. C/McMahan went to Sheppard AFB in Wichita Texas and C/Willis went to RAF Lakenheath, England. *IP stands for Instructor Pilot

Capstones are programs that cadets participate in directly after Field Training, and is a way to introduce cadets to active duty personnel that are within their desired career field. C/Waddy participated in a Capstone that focused on engineering and research at Wright Patterson Airforce Base in Ohio. Her highlight of the trip consisted of a C-17 flight and tour of the cockpit.

In this episode, two crosstown students, C/Morgan and C/Scheeler discuss some challenges and experiences of being a crosstown student. If you are a crosstown student and worried about coming to a new campus to join AFROTC, this episode is for you.

In this episode, C/Morgan and C/Macik converse on their experiences from Project GO. C/Macik spent two summers in Taiwan where he spent majority of his time learning Mandarin and C/Morgan spent one summer in Morocco learning Arabic.