As a freshman lawmaker, state Rep. Zach Wyatt, R-Green Castle, believes study skills cultivated during his military service helped prepare him for the range of issues he has encountered in his legislative career.
Raised on a small farm near Novinger, Wyatt graduated from high school in 2003 and soon joined the Air Force to help acquire "an education without debt."
While at the Military Entrance Processing Station, he was asked if he was interested in taking a language proficiency exam.
The only one in his group to pass the exam, Wyatt was classified as an "airborne cryptologic linguist" and sent to Lackland AFB, Texas, to complete his basic training and aircrew school.
"While there, we received familiarization training in aircraft such as the RC-135 and C-130," Wyatt said.
He then traveled to Monterrey, Calif., where he began to study the Russian language at the Defense Language Institute.