FORT RUCKER, Ala. — Two Army Aviation lieutenants emerged from one of the Army’s toughest leadership courses on Jan. 23, graduating from the U.S. Army Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia, after a harsh winter cycle that demanded endurance, adaptability, and resolve. Their achievement places them among a select group of aviators who have earned the Ranger tab, a qualification long regarded across the Army as a benchmark of grit, credibility, and combat‑ready leadership.
1st Lt. Cooper Gentry, a student aviator, and 1st Lt. Hesten Hogan, an AH-64E pilot and recent flight school graduate, both assigned to D Co, 1-145th Aviation Regiment, U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, completed the 62‑day course, marking a rare achievement for officers in flight training.
Gentry, who is awaiting training in the AH-64E Apache, began his path to Ranger School between phases of flight training, first completing the installation’s pre‑assessment led by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Jason Johnson, Warrant Officer Basic Course Instructor and US Army Ranger with B Co, 1-145th Aviation Regiment. Gentry scored among the highest in his cohort and was selected to attend the course alongside three other student aviators. Two of the four were dropped during the first week, but Gentry advanced through Darby Phase and into the mountains of Dahlonega, Georgia, until he had a setback.
Gentry said the Mountain Phase weather pushed him to his limits. “The temperature dropped like 30 degrees, and it started sleeting and snowing on us,” he said. “It froze all over us. I’d move my arms, and everything would crunch from the ice.”
He said the hardship ultimately strengthened him as a leader and future aviator. “I went through hard times here, and I think in the future, when things get stressful, or I’m running on no sleep, it’ll be like, I’ve been there before,” Gentry said.
He added that the course gave him a deeper appreciation for the Soldiers he will support from the cockpit. “I understand the ground element a lot better now, the ground guys, what they go through,” he said.
Gentry’s recycle allowed him to join up with Hogan, and the two completed Mountain Phase together before heading into holiday block leave and the final Florida Phase.
Hogan’s route was even more direct. After completing flight school, he attended the 75th Ranger Regiment’s Combat Evaluation and Readiness Training (CERT) assessment. His performance earned him a hard slot into Ranger School, where he completed every phase on the first attempt.
Hogan said the experience pushed him physically and mentally in ways that will shape his career as an aviator. “It was a great leadership experience,” he said. “I felt well prepared and equipped to come and knock it out of the park.”
He described the winter Mountain Phase as the most punishing portion of the course. “When you’re up there in the mountains, and it’s freezing, ice raining on you, it definitely takes grit to keep taking the next step and moving forward,” he said.
He said the course will make him a stronger Aviation leader. “At the end of the day, it’s a leadership course, and as a commissioned officer, leadership is our job,” Hogan said. “It comes before flying, even in the Aviation Branch.”
He added that the experience also deepened his understanding of the Soldiers he will support as an Apache pilot. “You know what they go through now,” he said. “It’s not just, ‘I’m a pilot.’ You’ve proven your grit, and that follows you everywhere you go.”
Despite being an aviator in an infantry‑dominated environment, Hogan said his background mattered far less than his performance. “They knew from day one I was an aviator,” he said. “But no one cared. If you’re carrying weight and making good decisions, that’s what matters.”
Lt. Col. Matthew Stockton, commander of 1‑145th Aviation Regiment, said Hogan and Gentry’s selection and success reflect a unique moment for Army Aviation.
“This is an incredible, likely once‑in‑a‑career chance for an Army aviator,” Stockton said. “When a young pilot earns a Ranger tab, it immediately elevates their credibility with the formations they support.”
Stockton said both lieutenants demonstrated the value of sending aviators to the Army’s premier leadership school. “We’re putting our best and brightest into Ranger School,” he said. “It strengthens combined‑arms integration and gives our aviators a deeper understanding of the Soldiers they support.”
Hogan encouraged future aviators to pursue the opportunity despite skepticism. “There were roadblocks after roadblocks, people saying no, people saying it doesn’t affect your career,” he said. “But if it’s important to you, keep moving forward.”
He also praised the preparation pipeline. “CW3 Johnson did a great job screening people he thought could make it,” Hogan said. “And the training I did with the 75th for those three weeks was phenomenal — a great base of knowledge to enter Ranger School with.”
Gentry and Hogan were the only aviators in the course, but participation is expected to grow as more student aviators express interest and complete the assessment process. Another lieutenant is slated to begin next week.
By enduring the same hardships as the Soldiers they will support, Gentry and Hogan will go to their units with a shared language, a shared experience, and a stronger foundation for combined‑arms teamwork, bridging the gap between the cockpit and the close fight.