JROTC cadets learn about never giving up

Photo By Capt. Alicia Lacy | Cadets from the Westbury High School JROTC program perform physcal training exercises with members of the Air Support Operations Squadron, 147th Reconnaissance Wing during a three day field training exercise March 20, 2014 at Ellington Field JRB. Cadets were taught the importance of physical training and how to become a wingman. Cadets were also taught facets of different career fields on base.  

HOUSTON, TX, UNITED STATES

03.18.2014

Story by 2nd Lt. Alicia Lacy 

147th Attack Wing (Texas Air National Guard)

ELLINGTON FIELD JOINT RESERVE BASE, Texas - JROTC cadets spend time at Ellington Field to learn about life in the Air Force.

Retired Chief Master Sgt. Cyndee Frank said she could notice a difference when one of the most taciturn cadets became vocal and engaged with his wingmen.

With her only purpose at the event being to supervise and ensure the cadets are safe, Frank, the Air Force Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps adviser from Houston’s Westbury High School, handed the reins to the cadet leadership who took charge right away, which empowered them to become more confident in their abilities and reinforced the bond they’ve built as a team.

From the moment the 24 students stepped off the bus at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base March 18, 2014, the cadet training officers, or cadet leaders, assumed responsibility and led the three-day field training exercise for their peers, by stepping into the role as a military leader and applying what they’ve learned in their JROTC program.

The exercise, known as Camp Ellington, included marching, motivational physical training and mentoring from National Guard airmen and soldiers.

“We have cadets who don’t speak English well and some with learning disabilities, and a few who are wards of the state,” Frank said,” but they come here and they’re treated with respect and are faced with challenges they never thought they could overcome.”

Anthony Perry, 16, a freshman at the school, said some lessons he learned from the exercise was to never give up.

Frank said Perry was reserved when he first entered the program and even in the moments leading up to the cadets arrival at Ellington Field, but as the exercise progressed, she noticed a positive change in his demeanor.

Perry said the highlight of the exercise was the opportunity to get together with other cadets and learning about the importance of education.

He said he now has his sights on a cadet training officer position and wants to lead future exercises.

The cadets led the entire exercise, while working side-by-side with airmen from the wing.

They assembled the two tents that would serve as their living quarters with the help of airmen from the Civil Engineer Squadron and prepared their own Unitized Group Ration meal, or UGR, with airmen from the Force Support Squadron, and underwent self-aid buddy care training with the Medical Group.

The field training included weapons displays with the Security Forces Squadron, night orienteering exercises, participating in a scenario with the security forces, and testing out some of the equipment used by tactical air control party members.

“[Our goal] was to familiarize them with the TACP career field, what we do, familiarization with the equipment we use in combat and the importance of physical training and how that integrates directly with our job,” said a technical sergeant with the 147th Air Support Operations Squadron.

“I picked a series of exercises that the group can do and events they could help each other out,” the technical sergeant said.
ASOS airmen helped motivate the cadets along during several exercises, demonstrating the importance of teamwork, being a wingman and finishing together.

That lesson was something all 24 cadets could take away.

• Date Taken: 03.18.2014
• Date Posted: 04.08.2014 15:36
• Story ID: 124957
• Location: HOUSTON, TX, US