Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Jarod Perkioniemi | Staff Sgt. Samuela Pulu, an instructor from the Northern Warfare Training Center,...... read more read more
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By Sgt. Jarod A. Perkioniemi
20th Public Affairs Detachment
FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska – The quiet of the Alaskan woodlands were interrupted by laughter and cheers of students from a local elementary school during a field trip on April 17.
Jill D. Haugeberg, first-year sixth-grade teacher at Joy Elementary School, and her students participated in a field trip held at Twin Bears camp grounds on the Chena State Recreation Area.
The class enjoyed a day of learning and excitement while getting a chance to participate in numerous outdoor cold-weather activities.
Staff Sgts. Hunter C. Heard and Samuela Pulu, instructors at the Northern Warfare Training Center, Fort Wainwright, gave lessons at one of five stations the students participated in.
"They're really excited to be out here to see what we have going on and do something new," said Heard, a Tallahassee, Florida native.
Heard and Pulu set up a one-rope bridge exercise for the sixth-graders to learn about tying knots, attaching a carabiner, most commonly known in as a D-ring, and overcoming their fears of being suspended above the ground.
A one-rope bridge is used in mountaineering and mountain survival techniques. It is created by using a static rope and tying it to two solid anchors, such as a rock or tree, to create a way to move personnel or equipment over obstacles or dangerous areas.
"This is my first time working with any kind of students, it's a different experience than working with Soldiers," said Heard. "I think they look at us a little differently, like 'Ooh Soldiers.'"
In addition to the one rope bridge section taught by the NWTC instructors, the sixth-graders also learned about using a compass and cold-weather safety.
According to Haugeberg, this is something the school would like to do more of in the future.
"The (NWTC) has done something like this twice a year since I've been here," said Pulu, a Lahaina, Maui native, who has been with the NWTC for over two years.
During the summers, schools request these types of training, and the (NWTC) goes out to support them, added Pulu.
For two NWTC instructors, it was a day of teaching students instead of Soldiers; for a class of sixth-graders, it was a day filled with new challenges, but for everyone involved it was a day to strengthen community relations.
| Date Taken: | 04.17.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 05.16.2008 10:24 |
| Story ID: | 19463 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 91 |
| Downloads: | 67 |
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