Photo By Kelly Morris | Wiregrass area Career and Technical Education directors prepare gather for a photo...... read more read more
FORT NOVOSEL, Ala.—More than a dozen Career and Technical Education directors across lower Alabama visited Fort Novosel to learn more about potential employment opportunities for graduating high school students September 19, 2024.
The workforce development event was part of the post’s Meet Your Army initiative intended to foster shared understanding between the installation and its surrounding communities through scheduled engagements each month.
Robert C. Doerer, U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence civilian deputy to the commanding general, welcomed participants and thanked them for their support and for their work in overseeing career coaches for multiple Wiregrass area city and county schools.
“I appreciate what you all do every day for our nation’s most critical resource, our kids,” he said.
Doerer provided an overview briefing about the scope and scale of the mission and activity at the ‘home of Army Aviation’.
He explained the commanding general’s three main areas of responsibility—as “mayor” (senior commander) of Fort Novosel, flight school commandant, and force modernization proponent for the Army Aviation branch.
During the briefing, participants were also able to interact with a current flight school student, 2nd Lt. Eli S. Marshall, who is waiting to begin the advanced training in the AH-64 Apache helicopter.
Marshall shared his experience with the aircraft selection process after students complete their initial training in the UH-72 Lakota helicopter, that determines whether they will fly the CH-47 Chinook, the UH-60 Black Hawk or the AH-47 Apache helicopter.
“The Order of Merit List is quite competitive. It starts the day you show up for flight school,” he said.
Flight school students’ scores on various tests taken during the Basic Officer Leader Course and Common Core, how they perform on multiple check rides in the aircraft, and their physical fitness all play into the OML, he explained.
Doerer asked Marshall to also share his thoughts about the U.S. Army Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape school portion of training, which is required for flight school students.
“SERE is awesome--don’t let anyone ever tell you it’s not the best course they ever went to. It’s hands-on. There’s an academic portion and a practice academic portion. You’re practicing real skills,” Marshall said. “It is a skillset that as we move into Large Scale Combat Operations is going to provide a sense of security.”
During a working lunch, participants heard from subject matter experts about the Warrant Officer Flight Training program, a path where students can potentially go from high school to flight school without having a college degree or having previously served in the enlisted ranks, as well as an overview of Fort Novosel.
Col. John P. Miller, Fort Novosel garrison commander, explained the history of the post.
“This is the home of Army Aviation. One of the biggest things the garrison does is to welcome people home. Our job is to create and environment where we can conduct aviation training for the new aviation soldiers, whether you are flying or you’re an enlisted aviation soldier, so that’s what we like to do, is create an environment where you can thrive in whatever your chosen career field is,” he said.
Miller, who described his role as "city manager," explained that more than 21,000 Soldiers, family members and civilians “live and work on the installation.” Within a 45-mile radius from the installation, the post provides services to approximately 45,000 retirees including providing medical care, records and ID cards and legal advice. The number of retirees more than doubles when the circle is extended out to 90 miles from Fort Novosel.
On an installation that encompasses 62,000 acres of land, the garrison provides religious support through various chapels and programs, schools that service pre-K through 6th grade, restaurants, coffee shops, gymnasiums and more. He also explained public-private partnerships that help make the mission at Fort Novosel a success.
The event included an orientation flight in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and an opportunity to take the controls in flight training simulations devices.
Also on the itinerary was a stop at AMCOM Combined Logistics command to learn more about opportunities in helicopter maintenance to support the Aviation training mission.
At the U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory, participants were briefed about opportunities for students in Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics, including the Gains in the Education of Mathematics and Science summer program, and were also provided opportunities for hands-on experiences including with augmented reality.
Cami McClenny, who works as the career tech director for Enterprise City Schools, principal of Enterprise Career and Technology Center and Region 6 Career Tech Director Vice President for their professional organization, said the visit gave her a better idea of the dept of the mission and activity at Fort Novosel.
“I grew up between Coffee Springs and Dothan and went to high school in Dothan and to college at Troy, so I’ve been aware of Fort Rucker/Novosel my whole life. I knew we trained pilots, but just to see the actual training facility and how they go about this has really opened my eyes, and then just the employability, the economic impact,” she said.
“I want to take some of this information back and get some things going, like I would love for these engineers to talk to my career science classes. We talked about having my auto maintenance group to visit the Automotive Skills Center,” McClenny said. “I think as career tech directors our goal is always to get our students in the workforce, get them gainfully employed in something that is going to give them a livable wage.”
Wendy Metz, who works as a business teacher, career tech director and Co-Op coordinator at Geneva High School, said what stood out to her was the information on the technology and opportunities in STEM.
“What I’m looking at is what can my kids go into. They don’t know what’s at our back door (at Fort Novosel). Just knowing what career field to go into to be able to do this,” she said.
She said she has her students to research three career options, but to help them decide requires job shadowing, or some exposure the job, like she received during the Fort Novosel event.
“The students need to have a hands-on experience,” she said.
| Date Taken: | 09.20.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.23.2024 05:27 |
| Story ID: | 481440 |
| Location: | FORT NOVOSEL, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 20 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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