Story by 1st Lt. Josephine Kim, 84th Engineer Battalion Public Affairs Officer, 8th Engineer Brigade, 8th Theater Sustainment Command
SCHOFIELD BARRACKS - Wandering eyes, pointing fingers, and the question, "What is that?" filled the air when second-grade students from Mililani Uka Elementary School stepped off a bus here, Feb. 25, to learn about Army engineers.
The field trip was one of many events 84th Engineer "Never Daunted" Battalion, 130th Engineer Brigade, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, facilitates as part of their partnership with the school.
"This was a great action-packed field trip," said Marlene Ohira, their teacher.
The students quickly saw there is more to Army engineers than what is in the movies.
Students witnessed construction and combat engineer equipment in action, to include the grader, the scraper, the buffalo, and the MARCBots, small robots used for inspecting suspicious objects.
The demonstration showed how big the tires are on a scraper and allowed the students to honk the Humvee and buffalo vehicle's horns. They learned how mine detectors, MARCBots and buffaloes all play crucial roles in route clearance missions, and the step-by-step process of using survey equipment along with graders and scrapers to create a construction site.
Parent Community Network Center Facilitator Norma Tansey said the students were engaged, enthralled, and excited and several asked the engineers if they could come back for more visits.
"Our military Soldiers have provided a much better understanding of what their jobs are about and that it's more than just weapons," she continued. "There are many technical skills required [in the Army], and [the kids] saw they could someday have a future in the military."
The students wrote thank you letters to the "Never Daunted" soldiers sharing the wonderful time they had.
The Soldiers said the letters were gratifying and showed them they were positive role models impacting the students' lives.
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