Altus Air Force Base News

 

AFROTC cadets visit Altus AFB, glimpse into their future AF careers

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kenneth W. Norman
  • 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Cadets from the University of Oklahoma Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Detachment 675, visited the base Mar. 22 to experience firsthand the duties they will be performing once they commission.

Earlier this month, Col. Anthony B. Krawietz, 97th Air Mobility Wing commander, visited the cadets at their detachment and spoke to the junior and senior class members about Air Force leadership and answered questions they had about what their lives may be like in the Air Force. During his visit, Krawietz invited the cadets to Altus AFB to see daily life on an Air Force base.

"We will be working with these cadets when they come into active duty," said Lt. Col. Randy Wardak, 97th Communications Squadron commander. "If you don't start them off right, they might not catch up. The new Air Force is very lean and every member must be proficient in their career field."

During their visit, the cadets participated in Air Force Specialty Code specific job shadowing. Based on what the cadets were majoring in, they were matched with the people on base who are doing those jobs, which gave them a realistic idea of what their potential job assignments will be like once they commission.

"It was great. I had the opportunity to shadow contracting officers and private sector engineers from Boeing, both of which I will be working with when I start active duty, so it really helped me understand the job a lot better," said Cadet Jason Lancaster, who is majoring in Mechanical Engineering and is in his Senior year at OU AFROTC Det. 675. "My favorite part was talking to the private sector engineers and getting a better feel for the actual hands-on engineering work I will get to be a part of."

The base visit is one of the many interactions that have taken place between Altus AFB and Det. 675 cadets during the past year and a half such as an Altus Dining Out and the Air Force Ball.

"When Airmen noticed the cadets sitting at their own table during an Altus Dining Out, they spontaneously went over and invited the cadets to their tables," Wardak said. "The cadets were adopted by all these tables and they had the opportunity to interact with many people."

This visit is not going to be a one-hit-wonder.

"This isn't a one-time thing," said Wardak. "We will be doing similar visits like this in the future. We want to reach out to another local detachment at Oklahoma State University. The relationship between Air Force bases and AFROTC Detachments should be automatic. I hope the success of this visit will inspire other bases to interact with their local AFROTC detachments."