Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Leticia Samuels | RAEFORD, N.C. – North Carolina National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Darren Scales, assigned...... read more read more
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RAEFORD, N.C. – Raindrops hit windshields of military vehicles outside the 105th Engineer Battalion’s Armory in Raeford as over 120 high school students filled the drill hall floor in anticipation of the North Carolina National Guard Challenge Feb. 23, 2019.
NC Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to the 105th teamed up with the NCNG’s Recruiting and Retention Battalion (RRB) to host the inaugural Guard X event allowing high school students from surrounding areas to interact with Soldiers and military equipment.
“We try to have participants from the JROTC [Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps] program, but we also opened it up to anybody in the high school,” said Master Sgt. Adriana Tkachenko, noncommissioned officer in charge of RRB, in southern regions of NC. “It’s also to let them know that there are Guard units in almost every town. We get to educate the students on what the National Guard is and the benefits that we have because they really don’t know the difference between us when they see Army.”
In the past year, an initiative from NCNG leaders directed lower units to create innovative ways to support recruiting teams across North Carolina. This began an effort to re-engage existing relationships between the community and the Guard.
“The big turn out is because of the amount of coordination between my line units here and the local recruiting team,” said NC Army National Guard Capt. Jonathan Dunlap, 105th Engineer Battalion’s personnel officer. “They did a lot of the marketing and pushing [Guard X] to the students and my guys in the line units provided the facility, the equipment, and all the necessary stuff to have the event. It is a pretty big joint effort.”
Citizen-Soldiers of the NC National Guard facilitate a unique dual-mission; support federal deployments here and overseas as well as support the state during natural or man-made disasters. Guard X is another way to communicate that unique dual-mission role to the community.
“It’s a hard area to stay in the communities mind having Fort Bragg right next door,” said Dunlap. “We actually have state active duty equipment set up, because this unit was extremely important in Hurricane Matthew and Florence. We [105th EN BN] focus on the entire eastern area whenever we get activated and sometimes it doesn’t click that it is actually Guard units repairing the roads and moving citizens out of harm’s way and not active duty.”
Students from Overhills High, 71st High, Pinecrest, Union Pines High, Red Springs High, and Jack Britt High all attended the event. Among the sea of students, a passionate teacher, who is motivated to encourage her students to think about their future, came to show support to the Guard and stand behind her students.
“My mantra is boots or books and how are you going to pay for it,” said Karrie Andersch, an English high school teacher.
Andersch said she challenges her students to not only start thinking about their plans after graduating but to do research papers on what career they want and the requirements needed to get there and to set goals. Throughout the year students also prepare a presentation to a panel keeping them actively engaged, giving them something to work toward during their senior year.
“Though those conversations I call in college administration officers and I call in military people to come in and just talk to the kids so they can hear the whole spectrum,” said Andersch. “By the time we hit the second semester, they have put in their presentations, still hitting State standards, but we’re actually making them college and career ready.”
Radio chatter on Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System [SINGARS] radios, clicks and functions checks of an array of weapons and questions of assembly and operation of night vision goggles filled the drill hall floor as students moved through each of the hands-on stations.
Guard X is an example that highlights how the North Carolina National Guard remains a ready, reliable, responsive and relevant force committed to serving the citizens of our state and nation.
“I just want this whole town to know about the Guard,” said Army Staff Sgt. Levi Wiles, a recruiter with the RRB supporting the Hoke county area. “It makes me feel really good because sometimes I have days where I feel like I haven’t done enough.
| Date Taken: | 02.23.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 03.01.2019 09:11 |
| Story ID: | 312358 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 295 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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