Academy cadets spin Wheel of Fortune

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Gino Mattorano
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) --  Two Academy cadets squared off against college students from across the nation May 13 to compete in Wheel of Fortune’s annual College Week.

Cadet 1st Class Doug Presley, Cadet Squadron 36, and Cadet 2nd Class Casey Probst, Cadet Squadron 2, competed on shows that will air May 15 and 18, respectively.

While the results of the shows cannot be revealed ahead of their air dates, both cadets were selected for their ability to think quickly on their feet -- and by a great deal of chance.

Interested cadets signed up to audition for the show, but only 25 were selected to go to Denver to test their skills against the puzzle board.

The audition consisted of a written exam that tested the would-be contestants on their ability to solve puzzles, as well as a mock performance of the show to see how they responded to clues and the hosts.

After the audition, neither cadet was confident about his or her chances, so both were pleasantly surprised to find out they had been chosen for the show.

Cadet Presley was on the way back from a temporary duty assignment when he got a call on his cell phone.

“I was really excited when they told me,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it! I felt like I did terrible on the exam, but I guess I did alright because I was selected.”

Cadet Probst, of Okemos, Mich., wasn’t confident of her chances after her audition, either.

“When we went to the auditions, I didn’t think I had done very well on the written test, but after talking to people, I realized that maybe I had done better than I thought,” Cadet Probst said.

After the dust had settled, only Cadets Presley and Probst remained. They said that the chance to represent the academy on national television was an unforgettable experience.

“It was a blast,” said Cadet Presley, an astronautical engineering major. “I was excited and nervous and had butterflies, but once I got out there it all happened so fast. It seemed like a few seconds and it was over.”

Cadet Probst, a biology major, found the whole event a bit surreal.

“I was nervous as all get out,” she said. “I watched the taping of the first three shows and then realized that I was on the next show. It was really bizarre. I just walked off the stage and I’m still thinking, ‘I was just up there with Pat Sajak and Vanna White!’”

Pat Sajak, Wheel of Fortune’s host, is no stranger to military service and appreciates the contributions military members make to the show and to the defense of the nation. He was an Army broadcaster in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969.

“I yelled, ‘Good Morning Vietnam’ every morning to 500,000 American Soldiers,” he said. “That was the beginning of my broadcasting career.”

While that service may have been nearly 40 years ago, Mr Sajak still feels a kinship with members of the armed services.

“I was in the Army, and reached the exalted level of sergeant,” he said. “These days I’m even more amazed by our military members because it’s an all-volunteer force. When you think about it, they’re pretty amazing men and women who put themselves in harm’s way, and they do it voluntarily and with great enthusiasm. I have great respect for them. And now, if I have officers on the show, I get to call them by their first names!”