The Golden Knights

Dr. Loren Petta, a sports psychologist, parachuted with the Golden Knights Parachutists at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

The Golden Knights connected with the Army Airborne to conduct parachute exhibitions all over the world. Former President George Bush jumped with the Knights earlier this year. On the day Dr. Petta jumped, Geraldo Rivera was being groomed for a jump.

Dr. Petta, formerly of Blue Island, is the daughter of local attorney Lawrence Petta. She is a graduate of Eisenhower High School and Arizona State University. For more than 10 years she was in charge of juvenile prisoners in the Arizona State prison system.

Now she is on contract with the United States Army, setting up programs dealing with posttraumatic stress syndrome experienced by some of our soldiers. Part of the program also deals with training pre-combat troops with the mental skills required for pre-combat troops.

Dr. Petta has been stationed with the Airborne at Fort Bragg for the past year. She presently travels to military bases and hospitals, training medical personnel in procedures necessary for the type of action now going on in Iraq. She has just returned from stays in Puerto Rico, West Point, and San Antonio.

“The modern army is now moving into the modern times for warfare. They realize that it is just as important to train the mind as it is to train the bodies. I am living a fairy tale type of life. Being in contact with our young men and women who are risking their lives defending ours is a complete high. I could not ask for a more adventurous and thrilling job,” she comments. “I wish to thank my teachers at Eisenhower who directed me into the field of psychology.”