FORT HOOD, Texas - Upon seeing Soldiers pass by, many children respond with their own brand of hero worship - eyes wide, mouths agape - as if Superman himself was on the premises.
While not quite as dramatic a response, many civilians are also in awe of the military profession, as it's often shrouded in mystery.
The staff and faculty of Meadows Elementary School on post had the veil of mystery lifted Aug. 14, when they experienced "A Day in the Life of a Soldier" with their newly adopted unit, the 2nd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.
"Today is special because it's what we call 'A Day in the Life of a Soldier,'" said Maj. David O'Leary, 2-82 FA executive officer and Burnet, Texas native. "It's allowing us to invite the teachers to our area and show them what it is Soldiers do."
"A Day in the Life of a Soldier" is a pilot initiative that falls under the the Adopt-a-School program, in which more than 80 battalions have adopted 111 schools in eight districts, said Christine Hall, III Corps and Fort Hood school liaison officer.
Usually, Soldiers from the various units go into the schools and volunteer, but this event provided a unique opportunity to the staff and faculty.
"The timing of this event is perfect because we're just at the beginning of this relationship," said Nancy Duran, Meadows Elementary School principal. "This allows us, as a school, to understand the mission of this particular unit, what they do, how they do their work, and just meet the Soldiers who are going to be in our school, coming in to volunteer. It's really an incredible opportunity, and we're so glad that it came along at the precise timing that it did."
"A lot of the teachers come onto post regularly, and they don't necessarily know what we do as Soldiers," said O'Leary. "It's a chance to see us as Soldiers, and also as professionals, athletes and Family members. We are members of the community, and it's very good for them to see who these people are who are going to be sponsoring this school and working with these children."
O'Leary said the new initiative allows units to offer school faculty members a hands-on show and tell experience about Soldier life.
"For them to see how hard we work to be able to provide the support that we do as a field artillery battalion has been very rewarding for them to understand," said O'Leary. "I think they also see us as human beings."
About 20 Meadows staff and faculty members loaded onto a bus in the school's parking lot and journeyed to the battalion's headquarters to meet the command team and get a brief orientation to the day's events and the unit's history. While many teachers could have taken the day off since school hasn't started, Duran said faculty members were too excited to miss the opportunity to see Soldier life up close and personal.
"They didn't have to come to work today," Duran said. "They chose to come so that they could do this, meet the Soldiers, learn about their mission and about their unit, and they understand the importance of having a strong relationship with our adopt-a-school unit."
"This is our first opportunity to show them who we are," said Lt. Col. Ryan McCormack, 2-82 FA commander and native of Ridge, New York. "I'd be interested to know how many teachers come through that East Gate every day and drive right to their school and their parking spot, and they go through their daily business of doing what they do very well of teaching our youngsters. Many of them probably never get over to this side of the installation and see what Soldiers do every day."
Throughout the day, the Meadows staff went to the battalion motor pool for static displays and hands-on familiarization with the unit's equipment, to the 1st Cavalry Division Museum, and the Black Jack Dining Facility to have lunch with some of the battalion's Soldiers.
"I've always been a civilian, so I come on Fort Hood as a civilian employee, then leave - all of this is very new to me," said Misti Wetzel, a Meadows guidance counselor, as she watched a demonstrations of Soldiers in the fire direction center communicating with the M109A6 Howitzer crew to direct fires. "This is my third year working on Fort Hood, and all of this is something I've just never seen before. It's very interesting and intriguing."
The staff members also got a chance to play Soldier at the Warrior Skills Training Center, where they simulated firing weapons and clearing rooms in a virtual training environment.
"It was exciting to be a Soldier," said Draya Campos, Meadows principal-secretary. "It's a small step in building a Soldier for a great feat that you guys do every day, and it was exciting to be able to do that. A lot of us were very pumped after the simulation rounds. We were looking at each other like, 'How exciting is this! This is awesome!'"
Finally, the day wrapped up back where it began at Meadows Elementary School for the unveiling of the new Adopt-a-School sign.
"I think the faculty will have a greater appreciation for what it means when mom or dad are gone for a week or a month or longer in the needs of the Army," O'Leary said.
"Teachers will also see how diverse those missions are and how many reasons you can have to be gone, and I think they'll see how great of a community it really is and how involved many of the military families are - how important the time with our families is to us."
"For the teachers to understand that, it helps to provide an opportunity to answer questions. They may not have experience with the military, so it's great to get to ask those questions in an unscripted environment where they can get a very honest assessment and find out these are really some cool people, very talented Soldiers we have in the formation. This is just the first of what I suspect will be an enduring relationship."
"Yes, this unit has adopted our school; and yes, they are serving and taking care of our school, but we want to take care of them, too," Duran said. "What can we give back? We belong to the Steel Dragons, but they belong to us too, and making sure that is present and the awareness of it is known and strong throughout our community."
Social Sharing