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On Monday, the 23 students at Youth With A Purpose (Y.W.A.P.) got to experience a helicopter touchdown thanks to the Chambers County Sheriff’s Aviation Unit, which is made up of Chief Deputy Richard Carter and Captain Tommy High.

High and Carter spoke to the children about what their job includes while flying the helicopter for the sheriff’s office.

“We have this helicopter and one more that we use in our everyday duties,” Carter said to the children. “If the weather is pretty like it is today and someone calls us for help, we’re going to get in this thing and go help them. We use this thing to look for someone or some thing. A lot of the time, it’s a lost child that got lost in the woods… If someone is running from the police, and they get in the woods, we can get above them and see a whole lot more than the guys on the ground can.”

Carter’s job is to fly the helicopter, while High’s job is to maintain eyes in the air for the subject they are searching for and to maintain contact with the officers and deputies on the ground.

Though the helicopter does not have a camera as of now, as the new camera with infrared capabilities will be put on the helicopter in a matter of a month or two, whenever flying the helicopter, Carter said he flies just 300-500 feet off the ground.

The new camera will also be able to help deputies locate a car that is trying to avoid the police.

“That’s not that high,” Carter said. “We are going to have a camera system that zooms in. We’ll be able to see a whole lot better. We’ll be able to read tags on a car. At night, that camera is looking at infrared. When we’re flying at night, we’ll be able to see a heat source, and that will let us know if that’s an individual or an animal. That’s the benefits of having that camera system, plus we can fly higher, which makes it safe.”

Carter and High spoke to the children about the importance of education and having a good attitude.

“Attitude goes a long way. The first impression will last forever,” Carter said. “You always have to have a good attitude, especially your teachers and your parents. You may not want to do what they’re telling you, but they’re only helping you.”

“We all have to report to someone, meaning we all have to report to someone,” High added. “That may be you answer to momma, that may be you answer to daddy, but you have to do what they say. That is you as young adults, but when you get older, you still have to report to someone and do what they say. I have a boss, he tells me what to do. I have a wife, she tells me what to do. We all have to follow the rules.”

Y.W.A.P.’s mission is to “engage our youth in a relationship with God; to equip them to grow in their faith education and become a youth with a purpose.”