CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A total of 110 Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps cadets were given the opportunity to tour the West Virginia National Guard’s 130th Airlift Wing.
JROTC students from Riverside High School, Nitro High, and Woodrow Wilson High School joined members of the Air National Guard Wednesday morning to get a first-hand look at the operations carried out at the McLaughlin base in Charleston. It was an opportunity for the young cadets to see the equipment, learn about potential careers and the overall mission the guards uphold when providing combat airlift to the state and the nation.
An Air National Guard Recruiting Flight Chief, Master Sgt. Casey Reed said the tour gives a more detailed perspective about the branch to the students aspiring to enter a military service after high school.
“Being able to actually see something it goes a long way versus just having a conversation with the recruiter, they’ll actually get a better insight and a better understanding of what they will actually be doing if they were to join the Air National Guard,” Reed said.
Reed said many of the career fields the students were getting to see Wednesday are in the guard’s maintenance squadron and include propulsion, avionics, among other aspects directly pertaining to military aircrafts.
Woodrow Wilson High School senior and four-year ROTC cadet, Connor Bibb was one of the students to visit the base, saying it was a great opportunity to experience as he prepares to enter the military service.
“This is pretty cool, because, this is similar to where I will be, I assume, I don’t know where I’m going to be yet but it’s nice to be around it and get a feel for what life’s like,” said Bibb.
Bibb said that while the Air National Guard was a branch he considered joining, he enlisted into the U.S Air Force as an Air Traffic Controller following his high school graduation, and he’s looking forward to the opportunities it will bring.
“Obviously serving my country is a big plus, but the career options that the Air Force, specifically what an Air Traffic Controller gives, I’m very much looking forward to that,” Bibb said.
Wednesday’s tour marked the third one the guard has held for ROTC’s across the state, along with ACT and vocational schools, since the beginning of April.
Reed said they have seemed to garner a lot of interest for joining the Air Guard from the students since giving the tours, and it’s fulfilling the effort to showcase their military duties to the public.
“This is very important in allowing the public to see exactly what we do, and it also gives and oversight to those who may have questions about what we’re doing, and it gives people first-hand experience, because once you can actually see something you can understand it,” said Reed.
The 167th Airlift Wing in Martinsburg is the only other Air National Guard base in the state.