Washoe County Sheriff's Office Adds New Pilot to RAVEN Program | Local News

Noah McCorkle is the newest member of the Washoe County Sheriff's Office Regional Aviation Enforcement Unit, better known as RAVEN.

McCorkle comes into his role after ten years of active duty in the military.

McCorkle says this new role is exciting, but it's especially meaningful to him because he's now able to serve the community he grew up in.

“What ultimately attracted me to it was that it is primarily located in Reno and it seemed like a pretty unique opportunity to apply my skills as a pilot here and specifically its involvement in the community and supporting the community,” McCorkle said. .

During his military service, he completed an eight-month mission in Afghanistan.

Although McCorkle has only been in the role for five weeks, he says the transition to his new role has been smooth.

He will have a number of responsibilities within the Washoe County Sheriff's Office, but primarily he is looking forward to search and rescue missions because those are similar to the work he did in the military.

“I think this mission is really interesting because in theory it's about directly helping people who are in peril or injured or lost or whatever. I like the idea of ​​being able to get involved in the community,” McCorkle said .

At the moment, he is the only full-time driver in the RAVEN program, but he and the team hope to expand in the future.