Team McConnell hosts local cadets

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Christopher Thornbury
  • 22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  More than 150 Junior ROTC cadets from Wichita and Derby Unified School Districts in Kansas visited McConnell to learn about different positions in the Air Force, March 11 to 12.

The students visited the 22nd Medical Group, KC-135R Stratotanker flight simulator and air traffic control simulator, a KC-135 static display, processed through a mobility line at the base deployment center and watched a 22nd Security Forces Squadron military working dogs demonstration.

"The air traffic control simulator was a lot of fun because I could see how the airplanes operate," said Tom Lei, Mead Middle School leadership class cadet. "The tour was great. It helped me see what it would be like to be in the military one day."

The cadets spent time with Airmen throughout the day learning about what their duties entail  day-in and day-out.

"I believe it is of utmost importance to allow them a peak at what they can possible achieve," said Retired Chief Master Sgt. Antonio Kitt, John Marshall Middle School leadership instructor. "This glimpse at the possibilities may also keep many of the students away from the negative influences that are so very real, that they face in their daily lives."

The leadership class and JROTC are programs that to help students in middle school become better students, citizens and potentially future military leaders.

"The tour was an opportunity for them glimpse the world they so often ask me about," said Kitt. "I want them to be around a professional environment that is safe for them to learn outside the walls of the school itself."