Monday, November 09, 2015

North Shore High School Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps visits Ellington Field

by Senior Airman Chasity Lollis
147th Reconnaissance Wing


11/8/2015 - HOUSTON -- North Shore Senior High School Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets toured the 147th Reconnaissance Wing at Ellington Field, here, Nov. 7.

The cadets visited the Air Support Operations Squadron as well as the wing's hangar to see the MQ-1 Predator aircraft.

"This is our first time doing this trip," said retired Master Sgt. David Clark, an AFJROTC instructor at the school. "The kids were very interested and very excited. In fact, we almost had to put a limit on how many we can bring just to make sure we could fit them all on the bus."

The cadets' first stop was at the ASOS to speak with Tactical Air Control Party members and Joint Terminal Attack Controllers about their job.

"One of our instructors, Master Sergeant Clark, he worked as a TACP," said AFJROTC cadet Col. Christopher Rodriguez. "So I got some insight on his job."

The cadets looked through a pair of night vision goggles, wore a helmet and Kevlar vest and handled an array of tactical equipment.

They also got a behind the scenes look at the squadron's newest addition-a state of the art Air National Guard Advanced Joint Terminal Attack Controller Training System. The Virtual Reality Scene Generator was a big hit with the students, who flew a virtual airplane and trekked through a mock deployment zone.

The last stop of the tour was at the wing's hangar to learn more about the MQ-1 Predator and how it aids in the wartime mission.

"It was a really fun, really exciting trip," said Rodriguez. "We got to learn quite a bit, a lot of interesting stuff."

"It was a success, a big success," said Clark. "The kids loved it so we'll definitely be back."

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