PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. -- Picatinny Arsenal was host to about 50 students from the Air Force Junior ROTC program at Mount Olive High School on March 12, a visit that included a historical tour and a close look at some of the projects and technologies at the U.S. Army installation.
The students also had a chance to meet and ask questions of Col. Lance Green, the Military Deputy at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center, the largest organization at Picatinny Arsenal.
The Armaments Center employs hundreds of engineers in various specialties, and is recognized for its strong support of education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM. The visit was sponsored by the Picatinny STEM Office.
In his talk with students, Green noted that his career began as an Army Infantry Officer. He later joined the Army Acquisition Corps, which equips and sustains the Army throughout the full spectrum of operations by incorporating technical solutions in response to rapidly evolving threats.
Green described to students how some of the military services in addition to the Army were actively engaged in the research and development of advanced systems, which would enhance the mission capabilities of the specific services.
“Given where you’re at now in your life, you cannot go wrong going down the route of something that’s in the STEM field, in a technical field,” Green said, adding that there is a need to boost the number of our nation’s young adults pursuing a STEM education.
Green said his role as Military Deputy to the Armaments Center director offered him a perspective into the range of challenging activities, along with the corresponding drive by employees to develop solutions.
“I work with a lot of smart people,” Green said. “Every day they amaze me with some of the stuff they do, from fuzes, explosives, propellants, munitions, combat vehicles, robotics … the next generation of various weapons systems.”
Some students said they were drawn to the tour by a combination of curiosity about Picatinny, learning more about military culture, and how military service might fit into their future.
Lauren Kaniewski said she joined the Junior ROTC as a way to develop leadership abilities. “I’m honestly not sure what I want to do for my career yet,” she said “Learning about the cannons and their history is really interesting to me.”
Anthony Cluxton said he aspires to join the military after high school and possibly land an ROTC scholarship. He wanted to gain insight into military bases, so he did some research on Picatinny Arsenal and it sparked a strong desire to visit.
“Learning about the history was really cool,” he said. “A lot of the computer simulation stuff, the engineering work, was really cool too.”
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