REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. (Feb. 22, 2022) – Building the technological workforce of the future begins today.
The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center and the Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering officially signed a Partner in Education Agreement Feb. 22, formally establishing a relationship between DEVCOM AvMC’s Software, Simulation, Systems Engineering and Integration Directorate and the magnet high school. A ceremony to commemorate the agreement was held on the grounds of Oakwood University, where the school is currently located.
Beginning in the fall of 2022, ASCTE will select students to participate in an internship at S3I. Interns will work in a team environment while experiencing lab environments, learning project management and project lifecycles and applying risk management framework principles as they pertain to present cyber rules and regulations, among other integral real-world skills. They will become well-versed in high-level cyber understanding, system administration understanding and network engineering, as well as time management, personnel management and conflict resolution.
“I have an ulterior motive here,” said AvMC Director Jeff Langhout, speaking to the ASCTE students at the ceremony Tuesday. “You do not have to wear a uniform to be a part of the United States Army. Now I know what you see on television are young men and women that have volunteered and put on the uniform and we are so thankful for every one of them.
“But there's also 350,000 or so people like me that wear a suit, well, not many of us wear suits. But I want you to know that our Army can't do what they do without the great civilians. So my agenda here is I want you to see that you have an opportunity to also contribute to the security of the nation.”
ASCTE was founded in 2018 as the nation’s only high school focused on the integration of cyber technology and engineering into all academic disciplines. The public, residential magnet high school serves more than 150 students grades 9-12 from the state of Alabama. Tuition for the school is free.
The relationship with ASCTE will allow AvMC to strengthen students’ understanding of cyber and engineering technology, especially as it pertains to supporting the Warfighter and national defense. It also exposes students to the vast career opportunities at the Center, which in turn may influence their future career decisions.
“Cyber shouldn't necessarily be its own discipline, it should be integral to everything that is engineering,” Langhout said.
The partnership has been two years in the making, but it is just the beginning, said ASCTE President Matt Massey.
“We don't want to just be the lighthouse here,” Massey said. “We are going to be the model for other schools in Alabama, but also be a national model too. We have schools across the nation looking at what we're doing. And it will be a ripple effect.”
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The DEVCOM Aviation & Missile Center, headquartered at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the Army’s research and development focal point for advanced technology in aviation and missile systems. It is part of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM), a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Futures Command. AvMC is responsible for delivering collaborative and innovative aviation and missile capabilities for responsive and cost-effective research, development and life cycle engineering solutions, as required by the Army’s strategic priorities and support to its Cross-Functional Teams.
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