Photo By Tammy Reed | FORT LEE, Va. -- Staff Sgt. Ilique Bright, a Petroleum and Water Department instructor...... read more read more
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FORT LEE, Va. -- The 9-foot-tall Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected all-terrain vehicle towered over the cars in a side parking lot at Hopewell High School Dec. 12. As some students climbed in and out of it looking at gauges, pedals and levers, others questioned a pair of Soldiers about the MRAP’s purpose and capabilities.
Hopewell eleventh-grader Terrynie Ward pointedly asked, “How many women drive this?”
Staff Sgt. David Sharp, a 508th Transportation Company motor transport operator from Fort Lee, proudly smiled as he replied there are two in his unit who drive the roughly 20-ton vehicle. There is no gender requirement for licensing, he added.
Ward nodded her head in approval. She was among hundreds of students interacting with CASCOM and Richmond Recruiting Battalion Soldiers during an Army Science, Technology, Engineering and Math tour covering eastern Virginia schools Dec. 9-13.
Hopewell High was the third of four events. The Soldiers started at the home of the Grizzlies at Grassfield High School in Chesapeake Dec. 10, then next met with the Stallions of Green Run High School in Virginia Beach. Hopewell’s Blue Devils were next, then they concluded the tour at Henrico High School, Richmond, spreading the word about the Army’s STEM opportunities to its Warrior students.
Ward used the Soldiers’ time at Hopewell wisely, working her way through the recruiting and CASCOM information stations set up in the gym, asking questions throughout.
“I think these events are useful to get more information,” she said. “I liked checking out the night vision goggles and the virtual reality headset because they are interesting. I’m seriously considering the military, and I want to become a nurse.
“I’ve talked to Sgt. Marc Jones of the recruiters here,” she further elaborated. “He said I need to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test and get the results, then we could talk about my options. So, I’m taking the test in March.”
Blue Devil senior Kyle Dennis talked to a number of Soldiers in the gym as well.
“The military is one of my career choices,” he said. “I’ve been thinking Navy, but if I do go Army, I think I’d do what my dad did – either be a tanker or infantry.”
He mentioned he wanted to go to college first.
“I’m planning to go through ROTC while in college so I can go in the military as an officer,” he noted.
After participating in a similar tour in October, Sgt. 1st Class Andre Corbin, CLA/CLT Credentialing Logistics Training Department manager, knew some of the questions the students could ask when they stopped at his station displaying the Very Small Aperture Terminal satellite dish. He had the answers ready as he enthusiastically talked to both Dennis and Ward, and about 1000 other students throughout the tour. He discussed the VSAT’s capabilities and use, then expounded on the Army benefits available.
“While retirement and medical benefits were of interest to the students in general, they seemed more excited about the opportunities for travel, as well as receiving technical training in a job skill they would be able to utilize in the civilian sector,” Corbin said. “The students also were very keen on the idea of taking college courses for free and utilizing tuition assistance while in the Army in order to have a degree when they transitioned back to the civilian sector.”
Lt. Col. Andrew Burgess, Richmond Recruiting Battalion commander, added, “This STEM tour gave students the rare opportunity to interact one-on-one with trained technicians and Soldiers who have applied their knowledge to solve real-world challenges all over the world.
“They had hands-on exposure to the MRAP, night vision goggles, virtual reality training, and other cutting-edge Army technology,” he concluded. “As they visited each station, we encouraged them to learn all about the Army and what it had to offer as a possible career choice.”
| Date Taken: | 12.18.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 12.18.2019 15:48 |
| Story ID: | 356296 |
| Location: | FORT LEE, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 62 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Lee Soldiers join local recruiters for area high school STEM tours, by Tammy Reed, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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