Airmen inspire future leaders

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Armando A. Schwier-Morales
  • 22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  For four years, their noses are planted in books while they learn how to become leaders, but for three weeks they drop the book and get to experience the operational Air Force.

They are the cadets from the Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Col., participating in the annual Operation Air Force, a program that sends Academy and Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets to bases worldwide.

"This program gives the cadets exposure to day to day operations," said Maj. Michael Maddox, 22nd Air Refueling Wing Operation Air Force officer in charge. "When you're in school, you don't necessarily know what's out there and what a young company grade officer actually does when they get out of school."

During the cadets' visit, they dirtied their hands with the maintenance group, tested their pilot skills in the operations group, trained with the medical group's medics, saw the ins and outs of the support group and learned the ways of the director of staff.

"We got a little taste of each area, which was good because I didn't know the specifics of each job in order to make planes fly," said Cadet 2nd Class Richard Gangloff, Air Force Academy junior.

During the stay, each cadet was taken under the wing of a McConnell officer.

"What the [Airmen] are doing is giving them an appreciation for the hard work they are putting in at school because it will actually be put to use," said Major Maddox.

With a preview of daily Air Force life at McConnell, they will return to the Academy and choose either to continue in the Air Force, or return to the civilian world.

"This experience is a good life-time memory that none of us will forget and we can always go back and learn from," said Cadet Gangloff. "We are also very grateful that McConnell let us see how it operates."

The five cadets are the first of two groups that will experience the operational Air Force at McConnell. A second group of seven cadets will arrive in July.