‘Hey Ricky, whatever happened to Mark Hersant?’

By Ricky Adams/Ledger Correspondent
Published: July 27, 2008

Mark Hersant wore No. 89 and played tight end two of his three years as an Enterprise High School Wildcat.

He graduated from EHS in 1988 and attended the Air Force Academy and now in only four years, he could retire.

It’s been a quick career filled with frequent moves and a number of fulfilling assignments.

“I got my degree in biology and then went to pilot training at Columbus, Miss.,” Lt. Col. Hersant said. “I was only 40 minutes from Tuscaloosa and was pretty lucky to be there.”

Hersant has fond memories of Tuscaloosa during the 1985 football season when he, a sophomore tackle, was on the Wildcat team that scored a come-from-behind victory against Tuscaloosa-Central in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

“That was my first game away from home and Coach (Bill) Bacon, unlike some coaches, took all of us to the game. That was the game Cedric Smith scored five touchdowns and once ran 20 yards without his helmet.

“When I was in Columbus, I got to see the Wildcats play Tuscaloosa County and Coach Bacon let me come down and be on the sidelines, which made me feel very special.”

Hersant still relies on lessons he learned as a youngster growing up in Enterprise.

“Coach Bacon and all the coaches taught us teamwork, integrity, work ethic and doing the right thing,” Hersant explained “I still use these lessons our coaches instilled in us all the time.”

After completing flight school, Hersant was not overly excited about his first assignment.

“The Air Force said they had too many pilots at the time, so I got my second choice in assignments. I became a supply officer in Dover, Del., for three years,”
he said. “While I was there, 1993-96, I was section commander for a year, and for two years, I commanded the weapons system and was in charge of
approximately 100 people all along the flight line.”

Time and motion studies and efficiencies in every aspect of his command occupied much of Hersant’s time as he streamlined refurbishing $100 million aircraft and worked toward optimizing efforts of those in his command.

But Hersant wasn’t all business all the time.

“I met my wife, who is from Newark, Del., when she was working for the state in Dover,” Hersant said. “I met her on July 4, 1994. We dated for a year-and-a-half, and we got married in December 1995, and then I got to go back to flying.”

Hersant went through six months’ training to refresh his flying skills then went to Little Rock, Ark. for a five-year assignment. After that, he was stationed at Pope AFB near Fayetteville, N.C.

“I deployed four times from Pope to the desert (Middle East) and to Germany,” Hersant recalled. “I was there in support of the Southern Watch between the first Gulf War and 9-11.”

While his family and childhood friends watched evening news broadcast reports from places such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hersant was possibly flying overhead TV crews.

“I learned a lot during this time,” he said. “I was doing what I was trained to do and I was glad I got to do it.”

He also found happiness on the home front. He and Lisa have two children, Haley, 10, and Brett, 8.

“Brett likes football, baseball and basketball, but his favorite right now is football and practice starts next week,” the proud father said.

“He’s playing tackle football for the first time this year.”

Despite being currently stationed in Little Rock again, Hersant travels also took his family to Alaska.

“After Fort Pope, we drove 10 days to get to my next assignment in Alaska,” Hersant said. “It was a good trip at the end of October when the snow starts. Pay
was good there and it was a wonderful place, but don’t go there in the winter.”

Hersant had an important duty in Alaska.

“Basically, I was involved with long-range radar sites. I kept them supplied,” he said of the high-powered facilities the keep a vigil on America’s coastlines. “I got to fly in a great environment and I spent a lot time flying to the Far East, Japan, South Korea and Guam, especially.”

When he wasn’t flying, Hersant caught up on his fishing.

“I got to fish in a great place and even though I’m not the greatest fisherman, we ate so many salmon I think I burned my family out on them,” he said.

Hersant’s next mission found the former Wildcat and his family in Hawaii.

“I was stationed in Honolulu three years, where I was in charge of C-130 pilots for Pacific airlift airplanes,” he explained. “Then we came to Little Rock last year, where I’m chief of safety for the 463rd Airlift Group.

“There are 45 aircraft that cost $40 million apiece in our group. We provide safety briefings, investigate accidents and work toward prevention of air and ground accidents. We deal with cars, motorcycles ... all types of vehicles and we are concerned with occupational safety.

“And I get to fly about once a week. I feel blessed with the job I have. I work with a great group of people and there are times when I feel like I need to give my paycheck back.

“I’m thinking about retirement, but I have four years to decide. Our children will be in high school and junior high by then, but as long as we’re all still having fun,
I’ll stay in but all of us have to be in agreement for that to happen.”

Hersant’s next assignment will have a bearing on the retirement decision.

“I want to get closer to home or go to Germany or to somewhere we’ve never been stationed no further north than South Carolina,” he said.

Eventually, Hersant wants to retire close to where he spent his high school days.

“I owe a lot to my parents, who still live in Enterprise,” he said. “I learned a lot about life at EHS and went from being a boy to being a man. The Academy provided me with lots of tools for my career, and my wife and kids (are the result of Hersant’s career).

“But Enterprise always calls me home. When I drive down Highway 167, even though things are changing, I always know I’m home.”