09/22/2026
Thanks for sharing Marty Stern!
"This is my third update post here and one that I am beyond grateful to be able to type.
My first-ever post on this page set the wheels in motion that started my Army Aviation career.
The second was after graduating flight school, when I was certain this career was for me.
As of a few weeks ago, I am happy to say I have passed IOE at my first airline and can officially call myself an airline pilot. I cannot begin to express my gratitude and thanks to this organization and many, many folks along the way that have aided me in this journey.
I would like to give particular thanks to RTAG - The Veteran to Aviation Charity, its scholarship committee, and Direct Connect Flight Academy for awarding me the ATP-CTP scholarship at RTAG 2025. In all honesty, I felt out of place applying for it, as ATP-CTP an more hours were all I needed to complete by resume, and by all accounts I was otherwise doing well on ratings and progress.
What wasn't evident from the outside, but I discussed in my essay, was that money was very tight. My wife and I were going through the IVF process, which for anyone who has gone through it, is draining on both finances and emotions. The IVF process was my priority, and I was resigned to the fact that I would get to the ATP-CTP when able and as funds allowed. I applied and moved on, thinking there were many other candidates with greater needs financially and ratings-wise. That was flipped upside down when I got a call from Jim McClung at work and then Frank Schultz from Direct Connect Flight Academy Connect on my ride home from work to interview me for the scholarship. I had not anticipated being considered and felt wholly unprepared, but I answered honestly and got to talk about life and ambitions with a really excellent person. I was shocked and honored to later be awarded the scholarship at RTAG (I was a grinning idiot carrying my giant check through the airport coming back from Denver). I attended the ATP-CTP course with Direct Connect a few months later; it was a fantastic course and I highly recommend for anyone looking for an ATP-CTP.
I was lucky enough to be a volunteer at RTAG 2025 with the Breakout group (best group) and am pleased to be returning as a redshirt volunteer with them in 2026. I am so thankful for the connections, opportunities, mentorship, and financial support this RTAG group has given me. To the leadership at RTAG (Joshua Lee, Tim Kirschbaum, and Jim McClung), from the entirety of my heart, thank you. It has literally allowed my life to take flight: first with the Army and now with the airlines. I look forward to giving back as much as I can with time, and in the future, treasure.
I can't wait to see you all at RTAG 2026 and am so grateful to be a part of this community.
Most importantly, I am pleased to say the struggle was worth it... IVF was successful and the wifey and I are expecting in late January...and thanks to the two spouse breakouts we attended last year, she is more than aware of what to expect!"
