Okkodo cadets spend day with Marines

Photo By Lance Cpl. Tyler Ngiraswei | Marines and cadets from Okkodo High School’s Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps pose for a group photo in front of F/A-18 Hornets Oct. 3 during the Forager Fury III exercise on Andersen Air Force Base. The cadets were presented the opportunity to visit the Marines participating in FF III. They were able to experience first-hand some of the jobs offered in the Marine Corps. With exception of Chief Warrant Officer 4 Ernest Turner, front right, and Petty Officer 1st Class Cosme P. Rosete, left kneeling, the Marines are with Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 533, Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Tyler Ngiraswei/ Released)  

ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, GUAM

10.03.2014

Story by Lance Cpl. Tyler Ngiraswei 

III Marine Expeditionary Force   

ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam – Cadets from Okkodo High School’s Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps visited Marines participating in Forager Fury III to get a first-hand experience of careers within the Marine Corps Oct. 3 on Andersen Air Force Base.

“This event showed the students a broader perspective of the Marine Corps,” said Cmdr. Bob Vance, a chaplain with Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force. “It’s not just about (infantrymen), flying planes and jumping out of planes. There are many jobs and opportunities for them to look at.”

Marines manned six stations featuring unique occupational fields.

The event featured static displays of vehicles, aircraft, heavy equipment, communication equipment, and power generation and distribution equipment.

Marines ranging from air traffic controllers to mechanics spoke with the cadets about their jobs.

The cadets also met sailors who work side by side with the Marines: Navy corpsmen who provide medical care for Marines. The corpsmen exhibited their medical packs and demonstrated an intravenous saline injection.

The highlight of the day was the final station- a static display of an F/A-18 Hornet and its crew. The aircraft’s crew introduced themselves to the high school students and stated each of their specialties in regard to the aircraft The Marines explained their specialties, gave live narration, and answered questions in relation to the aircraft.

“Today was very educational and inspiring,” said Kouta Hernandez, a cadet with Okkodo High School’s JROTC. “This was more than just a class, this was a taste of something that can get us places, fight for our country and travel the world.”

About 3,000 high school students graduate every year in Guam, and there isn’t a wide array of jobs readily available locally, according to Vance, from Las Vegas, Nevada.

“This helps us have a direction for an opportunity we can take after high school,” said Hernandez, from Dededo, Guam. “It doesn’t have to end with just Guam.”

The cadets were visibly excited from the day’s events as they traveled to the food court where they relaxed and talked about the experience. As their day came to an end, each cadet left the base with a better understanding of the Marine Corps, which some said they plan to join.

“They now have a broader base knowledge about what the Marine Corps is about,” said Vance. “Every job out here is reliant on another person’s job, it is all interwoven. Communications can’t talk until the generators are working; generators can’t run until the fuel truck gets there and so on. It is well choreographed and you can’t have it working without all the moving parts.”

• Date Taken: 10.03.2014
• Date Posted: 10.05.2014 22:11
• Story ID: 144337
• Location: ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, GU