Photo By Mauricio Campino | Airmen of the 3rd and 9th Airlift Squadrons who made up the flight crew for the...... read more read more
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An all-black flight crew hosted a group of Air Force ROTC and Junior ROTC cadets to support the U.S. Air Force initiative to increase diversity, highlight the importance of education and demonstrate Dover AFB’s role in global mobility and national defense.
A total of 31 ROTC cadets from the University of Maryland and University of Delaware and JROTC cadets from Polytech High School and Dover High School, along with three chaperones, arrived at the 3rd Airlift Squadron for a welcome brief by the 436th Airlift Wing vice commander Col. Matt Jones. The cadets then watched an Air Mobility Command educational video explaining the science and physics of jet flight. Following the video, the cadets solved aviation math word problems to demonstrate some of the critical thinking that air crews perform daily.
Finally, the cadets had the opportunity to fly in a C-17 Globemaster III, which was crewed entirely by black Airmen from the 3rd and 9th Airlift Squadrons. The first time this happened at Dover AFB was in February of 1986. It has only happened a few times, the last time being in 1999.
“It’s significant that they were all African-American but also that some were female… It lets the cadets know that regardless of your color, your race, your creed, your sex, you can succeed in the military,” said Retired Chief Master Sgt. David Smith, Polytech High School JROTC aerospace science instructor.
The cadets rotated through the cockpit in small groups to observe flight operations and a few were selected to sit in the cockpit during takeoffs and landings. The cadets also watched a combat offload demonstration out the back of the aircraft. The crew made themselves available during the flight to answer questions about education requirements, technical schools and other aspects of military life.
| Date Taken: | 02.14.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 02.14.2019 16:28 |
| Story ID: | 310818 |
| Location: | DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, DELAWARE, US |
| Web Views: | 121 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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