FORT BLISS, Texas - Park Elementary School fourth graders, including five teachers, experienced the air assault rappel tower and obstacle course at Fort Bliss April 30.
The morning weather was cloudy and grey while light rain fell on the course.
After 2nd Lt. Jarred Smith, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 5th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, gave a safety brief and range orientation to the group, he asked who wanted to go on the rappel tower. The majority of the students were eager to assault the course and rappel.
Park Elementary School and 2nd Battalion are Partners in Education, Smith said.
He said Fort Bliss tries to coordinate outings with the school about every two months.
Frank De Santos' fourth grade class formed up in a circle as a Soldier showed them all how to secure the rope around their waist.
"I can't wait to go down the rope," said fourth grader David Villela "I think that it is pretty scary, but I'm not scared I think that it's going to be really fun."
The students were broken down into three groups of 30 at the base of the tower and given a class on safety procedures.
The group used the stairs to get to the top of the tower where the rappel master was waiting to assist with the rappelling.
Fourth grade teacher Laura Duarte looked down over the edge of the 50-foot rappel tower and began to smile nervously. Her students down at the base of the tower began to cheer her on. She screamed initially and kept smiling as she lowered down from the top of the tower.
Duarte said the kids were pumped, and very excited about going through the obstacle course.
"I think that it's a good idea for the kids to come out here and see what the Soldiers go through," said Duarte.
Fourth grade teacher Renee Johnson said the students had a lot of good questions about the military including how much a weapon weighs, when it has to be carried, and how often the Soldiers get to do the course.
"I think the children are really enjoying themselves out here," Johnson said.
Johnson said that she thought bringing the students to the obstacle course was wonderful; it gave the children the opportunity to actually see how the military functions at Fort Bliss."
Besides rappelling, the students also ran the obstacle course located around the tower and receive an introduction to Army weapons systems including the M4 carbine, M249 Squad Automatic Weapon and the M240B machine gun.
The rappel tower was closed due to the wind and gusts of rain after about an hour.
"It was a shame about the weather, not all of (the children) got to go through the rappel tower," said Smith.
"The top of the tower was getting rained on and got really slick; it's a safety concern," said Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Moore, Fort Bliss rappel master.
Moore said students of various ages, Boy and Girl Scouts, and U.S. Border Patrol agents also use the rappel tower.
"It's a good experience for the kids to come out here," said Moore, "the obstacle course is a great confidence builder.
Students rotated every 45 minutes to each station before heading back to school for lunch.
Smith thanked the youngsters for coming out and taking part of the obstacle course. As they were leaving, every child was presented with a 2nd Battalion unit coin.
Smith said the goal was to get the students out here and let them experience something that they wouldn't have a chance to do on a regular basis.
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