OMES Partners With Canadian Valley Tech To Bring Unique Aviation Training

A group of Oklahoma students will get essential aviation experience thanks to a new donation. 

State leaders found a decommissioned U.S. Air Force jet for students at the Canadian Valley Technology Center in El Reno. A unique federal program made the donation possible. 

The Federal Surplus program receives excess federal property and makes it available to local organizations that need it. State leaders said the program invests in the future of Oklahoma. 

Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) capital assets management administrator Nathan Wald said reaching for the sky becomes possible when people have the support to get their goals off the ground. 

“We answered the call,” Wald said. “We have to reinvest what we have here into our community. Or else, why are we here?” 

Wald’s office helps state agencies do their job with as little conflict as possible. 

“I make sure that ODOT focuses on the roads,” Wald said. “I make sure that DHS focuses on people because that’s what they need to do.” 

OMES operates a federal surplus program that acquires federal property that local organizations can use. Canadian Valley Technology Center’s El Reno campus will use the Raytheon Hawker Beechcraft TI-A Jayhawk for aviation maintenance training. As a former U.S. Marine, Wald knows what it means to serve. 

“I was a part of something greater than ‘self,’” Wald said. “If we don’t make it better now, who will? It’s easy to pass the puck, right?” “We chose to invest.” 

Wald and his team took care of the work on the ground so a group of students could let their passions soar.  

“The policies are in place to take care of us Oklahomans into the future,” Wald said. "That’s why I do this. To invest in the students of Oklahoma is a pretty big deal.” 

A Canadian Valley Technology Center spokesperson said the aircraft will prepare students for successful aviation careers.