Lighting a spark: FORSCOM/USARC Soldiers share Army experiences at Career Day

Photo By Timothy Hale | Lt. Col. Samuel Driver, U.S. Army Reserve Command, Aviation Operations and Plans division chief, shares his experience as an Army aviator with students during Career Day at New Century International Elementary School, Fayetteville, N.C., May 3, 2012. Soldiers with U.S. Army Forces Command and U.S. Army Reserve Command spent the day with students answering their questions about serving in the Army.  

FAYETTEVILLE, NC, UNITED STATES

05.03.2012

Story by Timothy Hale  

U.S. Army Reserve Command

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Soldiers from the U.S. Army Forces Command and U.S. Army Reserve Command headquarters shared their experiences of serving in the military with students during Career Day at New Century International Elementary School here, May 3, 2012.

This was the first career day event in the two-year history of the school that featured Army and Air Force service members along with firefighters, police officers, lawyers, bankers, physicians, and natural resource officers.

Principal Felix Keyes said hosting a career day is a good way to let children know what their future could hold for them.

“We may light a spark in somebody today that they hadn’t even thought about before,” Keyes said. “I would advise any school to bring them in and let the children be exposed to those different careers.”

Fielding a variety of questions, particularly those dealing with combat, from the youngsters proved interesting at times for the Soldiers but they instead focused on the positive aspects of serving in the military such as humanitarian missions and the opportunity to travel to different parts of the world.

Capt. Marisol Chalas, a UH-60 Blackhawk senior pilot with U.S. Army Reserve Command Aviation Operations and Plans Division, said the kids were very smart but often don’t completely understand what the military is all about.

“They watch a lot of video games and sometimes they think the video game is the reality of what we do – especially us flying helicopters,” Chalas said.

“We tell them in reality our job is to not only go to war but we also do a lot of humanitarian missions,” she said, highlighting her missions from the earthquake in Haiti and Hurricane Katrina relief missions to assisting in building clinics in the Dominican Republic.

“We are out there in a time of conflict but we also do really good things for the community and the world,” she said.

Principal Keyes said many of the students have one or both parents serving in the military at nearby Fort Bragg, N.C., and having service members visit the school can help other students understand what the military is all about.

“There are lots of different jobs (in the military),” Keyes said. “The kids pretty much know what their parents do but they don’t realize all of the different things the military has to offer. It’s good to have different people come out and talk about different jobs they have in the military.”

Even though they were elementary school students, guidance counselor Mary Bethea said a school holding a career day is key for them at their age.

“Plan a career day,” she said. “Help your students to become aware of careers so that when they grow older and become our future, they have some guidance.”

• Date Taken: 05.03.2012
• Date Posted: 05.03.2012 16:44
• Story ID: 87836
• Location: FAYETTEVILLE, NC, US