FORT IRWIN, Calif. -- Students of the Burroughs High School automotive shop class in Ridgecrest, California found out what Army mechanic's do each day during a visit on Nov. 6, here.
They visited with service members and toured the motor pool of Maintenance Troop, Regimental Support Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment.
"We showed the students the different vehicles we work on, the tools and capabilities that we have," said Sgt. Jeffery C. Harris, a senior mechanic with Maintenance Troop, RSS, 11th ACR. "We wanted them to understand the importance of the skills that they are learning in their shop class and how these skills can be used with a future in the Army."
According to a Nov. 2012 story in the Washington Post, economic turmoil caused many people to lose their jobs. Showing the next generation's workforce a wide array of job opportunities may help them to be more successful when faced with employment difficulties.
"There is a big push for kids to go to college, but not everyone will actually go," said Randy S. Hannah, the auto shop teacher. "I wanted to show the kids some options."
There are more than 190 different jobs in the Army, ranging from Infantry to mechanic to medical. The Army wants future recruits to be well trained and professional. By showing High School kids who are taking specialty classes, like auto shop, the array of jobs in the military, it allows for better trained recruits.
"This event allowed us to show the kids that there is more to the Army than just big guns and explosions," said Staff Sgt. Chris D. Baumgardner, a recruiter with United States Army Recruiting Command. "If a person isn't interested in the military, they might become interested after seeing the various fields they can go into in the Army."
"I am hoping to do visits like this in the future, but next time I will be bringing more students with me," said Hannah. "With the capabilities of the motor pool staff I can extend the field trip to students in the welding shop, machine classes and the auto shop class. The variety will interest the students a lot more than I originally anticipated. This was the first time we came here and we all agree that it has been very informative."
"I want to come back next year and spend some more time with the welders," said one fo the visiting students, Jonathan Espindolna. "I have wanted to be a welder when I get older, and now I want to do [Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps] also. I also want to thank the soldiers who gave up their time to show us what they do."
The 11th ACR has a two-fold mission of training the rotational units to be deployable worldwide and standing ready to deploy itself. RSS showed this group of students that the Army is a team of teams and all efforts contribute to mission success. Thus, a variety of opportunities are available to those interested in a career in the Army.
A portion of this article is from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/young-workers-retirement-hopes-grow-bleaker-amid-economic-downturn/2012/11/05/3ea7ed3c-13c1-11e2-ba83-a7a396e6b2a7_story.html
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