Alix Idrache
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|---|---|
2LT Idrache at his 2016 USMA graduation
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| Born | |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Alma mater | US Military Academy (2016) |
| Military career | |
| Branch |
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| Years | 2010–present |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | 228th Aviation Regiment |
Alix Schoelcher Idrache is a Haiti-born United States Army helicopter pilot.
Idrache's father Dieujuste dropped out of school at 14 years old to find work in Port-au-Prince.[1] Alix Schoelcher Idrache was born in Haiti,[2] devoted himself to schoolwork at his father's encouragement, and also saw the United States Armed Forces engaging in humanitarian missions there. After Dieujuste emigrated to the United States, he was able to bring his son in 2009,[1] who later became a naturalized citizen. In May 2016, the US Army listed New Carrollton, Maryland as Idrache's hometown.[3]
After he graduated from the United States Military Academy (USMA) in 2016, an Army photo of a tearful Idrache went viral, and made the freshly-minted officer the target of hateful comments related to his immigrant and naturalized status.[4]
Idrache joined the Maryland Army National Guard in 2010[3]—later joking that they convinced him "because of a free t-shirt!" After completing Basic and Advanced Individual Training, Idrache successfully applied to the USMA with the assistance of his platoon leader and "the unit's full-time office administrator". Arriving in 2012,[1] Idrache graduated from the West Point, New York school (the Maryland Guard's first, at the top his class in physics)[2] on 21 May 2016. Second Lieutenant Idrache was scheduled to be assigned to the Army Aviation Center of ExcellenceatFort Rucker in July 2016.[1]
By June 2019, Idrache's uniform bore the insignia of a first lieutenant and the Army's 1st Infantry Division. That month he was stationed in Carentan and liaising with French media on the occasion of the Normandy landings' 75th anniversary.[5]Acaptain assigned to the 228th Aviation Regiment by September 2021, Idrache joined Joint Task Force Haiti's response to the 2021 Haiti earthquake; the UH-60 Black Hawk pilot supported evacuation efforts as well as translating both French and Haitian Creole.[6]
Men and women who have preserved the very essence of the human condition stood in that position and took the same oath.
'A moment that I will never forget'
Media related to Alix Idrache at Wikimedia Commons
