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Rock Hill Air Force JROTC Take on Army Life
Story and photos by Patrick Montgomery and Cheryl Woodhouse
U.S. Army
FORT JACKSON, S.C.—Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps students from Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, South Carolina, took part in a Fort Jackson Come Meet Your Army tour Jan. 24. They joined civilians from around South Carolina and students from Camden Military Academy, Lower Richland High School and West Florence High School.
Fort Jackson commander Brig. Gen. Milford H. Beagle Jr., invited South Carolina citizens to a special, up-close tour of Fort Jackson, basic training and its soldiers.
“I want to keep the close ties we have with Columbia, the Midlands and for me, South Carolina. I want everyone to know what is in their backyard-that gem that is called Fort Jackson,” Beagle said.
The tour quickly opened the eyes of Cadet Julissa Rhodes from NWHS. “I knew little about the Army and how they operate. What I see today surprises me and I am happy to be part of this event,” said Rhodes.
Beagle opened the eight-hour tour explaining that since Fort Jackson trains the most basic trainees for the Army, he asked everyone to “spread the word about what their Army at Fort Jackson is doing.”
The tour gave students and other citizens the opportunity to see and experience how soldiers train every day and promote Basic Combat Training awareness.
The next stop was watching a basic combat training graduation ceremony, which for weather purposes, had to be moved indoors, which made it different than most of the weekly ceremonies. The cadets crammed into the packed arena and witnessed the proud soldiers graduate.
For the cadets the outing to Fort Jackson allowed them to practice military customs and courtesies in a large and challenging environment as they watched Initial Entry Training Soldiers scaling walls, climbing towers and cheering each other to completion of tasks on an Army obstacle course.
Cadet Robert Sanders, of NWHS JROTC, stood in admiration and admitted to a nervousness of heights as Recruits navigated various challenges.
“These obstacles could not be done without teamwork,” Sanders said. “I do not like heights, but I know I could do this because I see all the talking and encouraging they got to achieve and finish.”
Interactive parts of the tour really excited the high school students. They learned to shoot a rifle on a simulator system.
All students were engaged during the barracks inspection at Company A, 3rd Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment. The students saw where basic trainees live, how they store their belongings in a wall locker and how to make a bed.
Many asked questions of soldiers and drill sergeants about Army basic training, Fort Jackson, and the Army in general. Most wanted to know how hard the training is.
For some of Cadets tales of military life were a thread of their childhood as parents and grandparents served, but a day on Fort Jackson allowed the cadets to create their own Army memory and maybe helped make the choice to one day return to Fort Jackson as a recruit.
If you would like to learn more about the U.S. Army and the many careers and opportunities go to www.goarmy.com or call your Army recruiter in Rock Hill at (803) 366-5105.
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| Date Taken: | 01.25.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 01.25.2019 16:21 |
| Story ID: | 308317 |
| Location: | COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 154 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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