Photo By Bradley Clark | The cadets and facility of Air Force ROTC Detachment 017 pose with four 908th Airlift...... read more read more
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MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. – Twice in less than a month the 908th Airlift Wing and Troy University’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 017 have helped each other out with some good will gestures to form a growing partnership between the two organizations.
The first gesture happened on Sept. 8 when two cadets hand delivered a box full of goodies and creature comforts to the 908th’s headquarters on Maxwell Air Force Base to be shipped to wing members currently deployed to Southwest Asia as part of a service project representing the T.C. Marrs Squadron of the Arnold Air Society.
“The care package contains hygiene items, some snacks, card games and some silly stuff they will hopefully enjoy,” said Cadet 3rd Class Savannah Farris, a sophomore at Troy who is also the cadet wing supply officer for Detachment 017 and director of operations for the T.C. Marrs Squadron. “It’s an honor to be able to reach out to the 908th. With the wing being so close to home, yet us being able so try to do something for those members that aren’t close to home at the moment.”
The 908th returned the gesture Oct. 12, when four senior leaders from the 908th Operations Group drove south from Maxwell to visit with 63 cadets from Troy University’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 017.
Commander of the 908th Operations Group, Col. Don Richey; 357th Airlift Squadron director of operations, Lt. Col. Steve Catchings; 357th AS chief pilot, Maj. Derek Shehee; and 357th AS chief navigator, Maj. Sammy Manno made the hour long trip to Troy’s campus to spend a few hours with cadets during their Air Force specialty code Day, giving the cadets an opportunity to learn about the various jobs and career fields available to them in the Air Force.
After a brief tour, the ops group members had lunch with cadets in leadership positions, along with the detachment commander Lt. Col. Cheryl Deloughery and other service members from the Maxwell-Gunter community there for AFSC day.
Then came the question and answer portion of the visit, providing cadets an opportunity to speak with Airmen across various AFSCs and have some of their most pressing questions answered.
“We are here to help educate all of you on some of the options you have,” explained Richey. “The Air Force is all about options, and you have a lot of them out there.”
When asked to “Tell us what you know about the Reserves,” most of the cadets had the same response, the old slogan of one weekend a month and two weeks a year.
Manno explained that while that might be true for some, there were opportunities available that allow reserve citizen airmen to serve almost full time if they wished to, and even full time positions as an Air Reserve Technician.
“I was unaware of all the options that the Air Force offers in terms of career opportunities,” said Cadet Lt. Col. Richard Mejia, the cadet wing inspector general and a graduate student at Troy. “For instance, the ROTC program really does not advertise or teach much about the Air Force Reserve and all the jobs that are offered on that path.”
Catchings also explained that being a traditional reservist doesn’t mean this is just a hobby.
“You have to be ready all the time,” said Catchings. “When we get a call to go, we have to be gone in a matter of days. The expectations for us are the same as the active duty. We have to be able to fly in their formations seamlessly, so because of that we have the exact same requirements and skills as they do.”
Many of the cadets gained a clearer understanding of the multitude of positions in the Air Force.
“This visit was particularly eye opening to me as a cadet on the verge of commissioning,” said Mejia, “Growing up as an Army brat I had basic knowledge of how the military operates, however actually joining the Air Force and learning the culture as a service member is completely different.”
Farris echoed Mejia by saying, “This visit was extremely beneficial to me personally because I had the opportunity to talk one-on-one with officers about what their career in the Air Force specifically entailed. I learned a lot about careers within the Air Force that I originally did not know much about.”
Furthering the clarification aspects of the visit, Mejia continued by explaining what stood out most him.
“Something particularly interesting to me is that some jobs that seem so simple and straight forward are the most complex,” said Mejia. “For example, I was unaware exactly how diverse the duties of a personnel officer are.”
What stood out most for Farris was the pride each speaker had in their own AFSC and how each contributes to the fight.
“From all of the officers that visited last week, I was able to learn some specifics within their AFSC that I did not know much about and how those specifics fit with the driving force of the Air Force team,” explained Farris. “One thing that really stood out to me was the personality that each officer brought along with the presentation of their AFSC. Their unique personality brought a different perspective towards an AFSC that I originally did not think was very interesting. I learned so much from each of the officers that visited our detachment. Their experiences and the duties they have within their specialty were very beneficial to understanding the bigger concept of interacting with airmen in those AFSCs in the future.”
During the question and answer portion of the visit the 908th speakers continued to emphasize some of the differences between the Active and Reserve force.
“From a pilot standpoint, the Reserve component give you an option of stability that doesn’t exist on the active duty side,” explained Shehee. “I love Alabama, and I know I don’t want to move away and not know if I’m ever going to be station back here again. Being in the 908th I know where home is.”
The 908th members were able to highlight aspects of stability and flexibility in careers, while still tying the fact that members of the Reserve component are just as ready for the fight as any other Airmen.
When asked what the key was to passing flight schools and being a successful member of a crew, regardless of which component an Airmen is in, Manno had an answer everyone agreed with.
“It’s about desire, said Manno. “It’s tough, but you can get through it as long as you have a strong desire, to accomplish the task at hand, the mission, and to serve your country.”
Deloughery already knows her cadets have the desire to serve and she is pleased with the support from all that came out.
“This type of exposure is great for the cadets,” said Deloughery. “They were already motivated to join and have the desire to serve. They just didn’t know how many options they had available to them. Now they are more informed and have had some options explained to them.”
The cadets agree with their commander after gaining fresh knowledge.
“This visit was beneficial to not only myself, but to every cadet who had the opportunity to experience it,” explained Mejia. “We have more than 40 first and second year cadets who are not familiar with the military in any way, shape, or form and this visit gave them just that. I want to say thank you to all of those men and women who donated their valuable time to come and speak to us and we all are looking forward to hosting another AFSC day in the future.”
Farris echoed Mejia’s comments by saying, “I am looking forward to learning new information about other Air Force specialties.”
After the question and answer portion of the visit, the speakers were given some thank you items for participating in the day’s events and then everyone took a group photo.
“I want to thank everyone for coming out and supporting such a great program,” said Deloughery. “We can’t wait to see you all again in the spring.”
(Cadet 1st Lt. Robyn Watson, Air Force ROTC Detachment 017, Public Affairs Squadron Deputy Commander, and a junior at Troy University, contributed to this article)
| Date Taken: | 10.12.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 10.26.2017 16:35 |
| Story ID: | 253156 |
| Location: | MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, ALABAMA, US |
| Hometown: | ENTERPRISE, ALABAMA, US |
| Hometown: | KILLEN, ALABAMA, US |
| Hometown: | MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA, US |
| Hometown: | PRATTVILLE, ALABAMA, US |
| Hometown: | TROY, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 144 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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