DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- More than 21 cadets from the U.S. Air Force Academy and Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps detachments across the U.S. visited Dyess to tour 14 units during June and July.
Cadets toured different on-base facilities and learned some of the diverse skills that officers and enlisted members obtain from their jobs, such as handling a bomb threat, flying in a C-130J Super Hercules and guiding a robotic dog.
“The cadets that visited Dyess this year had the opportunity to sit in on panels with company grade officers, field grade officers, senior noncommissioned officers, first sergeants and more,” said 1st Lt. Serena Kim, 7th Healthcare Operations Squadron flight commander. “This gives them some insight to the different levels of leaders that they will learn to work with as they step into the Air Force as brand new officers.”
The cadets learned about several career fields that make the Air Force Global Strike Command mission possible. This experience allowed the cadets to get a more hands-on look into the operational Air Force outside their normal classroom environment.
“This has given me a better visual of what active duty will look like,” said Emily Zirkelbach, University of West Virginia Air Force ROTC cadet. “In Air Force ROTC, you get a tiny window of how things are. In this, you see actual officers and enlisted members do their jobs and interact together. Everyone has different roles that come together for the big mission.”
The Academy and Air Force ROTC programs strive to build leaders of character. Touring different units at Dyess gives the cadets a first-hand understanding of different career fields and how their future job as an officer will impact the overall Air Force mission.
“This program primes the next generation of Air Force leaders,” said Col. Seth Spanier, 7th Bomb Wing commander. “These cadets now have a clearer picture of the Air Force and the Airmen they will one day lead, laying the foundation for a better-equipped and more innovative force.”