Cadets experience operational Air Force

  • Published
  • By Airman Adawn Kelsey
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Nine cadets from the U.S. Air Force Academy visited Sheppard Air Force Base arriving May 31 to get a taste of what it is like to work in the operational Air Force.

The academy breaks the summer cadet program into three, three-week periods. One of those weeks is used to send cadets to either state side or overseas bases, Cadet Tech. Sgt. Joel Sanders said.

Cadet Sanders said they don't have any contact with enlisted members during the school year so this gives them an opportunity to work with them.

"Being at Sheppard, I actually get to see action. I get to see people actually doing their jobs, and it makes me feel more hopeful because sometimes it can be hard to see academics as a job," Cadet Sanders said.

The cadets are scheduled to visit different areas at each base and observe how the enlisted force and officers work in their respective job areas.

"We have been all over base getting to see all sides of the Sheppard mission," Cadet Master Sgt. Glynnis Quern said. "We saw a lot of the Airmen in training and then we saw the officer side as well. Here we got to see the reality of the 80 percent to 20 percent of the enlisted versus officer. It was a new experience and was educational."

Another positive aspect the cadets experienced at Sheppard was operational units working toward accomplishing the mission.

"It's a different world at Sheppard," Cadet Tech. Sgt. Vitalliy Benz said. "It's a different way of learning and a different experience. Here you get to really see the mission and it helps you keep your eye on the goal to finish school."

Maj. Chad Hillberg, 459th Flying Training Squadron instructor and U.S. Air Force Academy graduate, agreed that visiting an Air Force Base can help students understand what it is like to work in the operational Air Force.

"The cadets never see all the different jobs, so it gives them a better appreciation for the Air Force mission and how they fit into it," Major Hillberg said.