Photo By 1st Lt. Anna Doo | Sgt. 1st Class Martin Gallegos, a platoon sergeant with the 1116th Transportation...... read more read more
LAS VEGAS – “I wish they would’ve done this when I was in high school,” Spc. Jose Lozano said. Lozano has served four years in the New Mexico National Guard and is a vehicle mechanic with the 720th Transportation Company based here. “I probably would’ve joined in high school.”
Lozano waited years after graduation to join the Army National Guard, finally doing so out of a lifelong desire as well as an imminent need for employment. He was joined by some of his peers in the 720th as well as volunteer soldiers from the 615th Transportation Battalion and Counterdrug Support Sept. 19, at Robertson High School in Las Vegas. They brought along military vehicles, a virtual convoy trainer, medical gear and other items to showcase the armed services careers available to the students. Recruiters from the northern sector of the state, dubbed Team Wolfpack, were on hand to answer students’ questions and administer a practice test to continue to build the partnership between the high school and the National Guard.
Lt. Col. Dominic Dennis, the Recruiting and Retention Battalion commander, dubbed the event Operation Cardinal Express to highlight the school’s avian mascot and the fast road the students are on toward their future. The main goal, he said, was to afford the junior and senior students an opportunity to take the practice Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test, thus establishing a benchmark. The scores on the ASVAB are used to identify potential military career paths and highlight sections in which the individual student does well.
Mike Yara, Robertson High School’s principal, said, “The significance of this event is to start giving our students some direction for what they want to do after they graduate. Taking the ASVAB can start to give students the direction for the things that they excel in, things they are interested in.”
Yara hopes that the students who take the ASVAB will be better equipped to identify a path through college or even into the military with the tools from the test results. More than 40 high school juniors and seniors took advantage of the occasion, sitting down at computers supplied by the recruiters to tackle the practice examination. The scores from the practice test will be analyzed, and follow-on ASVAB instruction will take place for those students desiring to improve their scores.
Dennis said that the partnership between the National Guard and Robertson High School and other educational institutions across the state is rooted in improving opportunities for the youth of New Mexico. Similar events have been held in Mora, Las Cruces, west Las Vegas and other cities.
“The goal of this event is to have students take the ASVAB, begin some career exploration, see what the National Guard has to offer and to provide some fun activities,” said 1st Sgt. Mark Vigil, Wolfpack’s noncommissioned officer in charge. “In the past, the access to the student was through a counselor, but really the access to the student is through the ASVAB test. If the school doesn’t support the ASVAB test, you don’t have access to the student.”
Vigil added that through Yara’s support and that of the Military Entrance Processing Station, the goal is to offer every student the ability to take the test. The future goal is for MEPS to bring computers and proctors to Las Vegas in order to administer the exam. This benefits the student who wants to pursue any career available in the military, but may be unable to travel to an in-processing location to take the test – much less to receive instruction to improve upon an initial practice test score.
The National Guard continuously strives to be a positive presence in the communities around the state. Strengthening these communities can be accomplished through partnerships with the schools, involvement in local events, and providing young adults opportunities to become leaders themselves. Soldiers serving in the 720th, 615th and CDS were able to speak with the students – their neighbors – about careers available in the National Guard.
Lozano said he believed the event at Robertson High School was worthwhile. He said the questions students asked about the vehicles he maintains ran the gamut, but the one question asked most is whether they are bulletproof. Just as no vehicle can be guaranteed to be completely bulletproof, neither can a military service guarantee a successful life. However, the job training and educational benefits that the military offers are important steps in that direction.
For those students who decide not to join the military, events such as this can still help them identify their aptitudes to help chart their futures. As Brig. Gen. Andrew Salas, the adjutant general of New Mexico, recently said, “It’s all about building opportunities.”
| Date Taken: | 09.19.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 09.23.2014 16:13 |
| Story ID: | 143042 |
| Location: | LAS VEGAS, SPRINGER, NM, US |
| Web Views: | 100 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Opportunity to practice in hopes of making perfect, by 1LT Anna Doo, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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