Jefferson High JROTC Gets Experience Of A Lifetime

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Shawn Rhodes
  • 927th Air Refueling Wing
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  For a group of 20 young men and women, a dream recently became a reality. The Air Force junior officer training corps of Jefferson High School was able to see something many experienced pilots can only imagine - two planes linked in mid-air by a thin tube transferring fuel thousands of feet above the earth.

The group began by speaking with a commissioned officer in the 927th Refueling Wing, a reserve unit stationed here, where cadets were able to ask questions about military life as an officer.

"The ROTC program prepared me for the Air Force," said Capt. Jermaine Campbell, the commander of the 927th Maintenance Operations Flight. "It prepared me to move forward and taught me what to expect as an officer. Most importantly, it emphasized the responsibility I have to junior personnel."

Once the group of students received their safety briefing, they boarded the KC-135 Stratotanker and flew to their rendezvous with an A-10 Thunderbolt, a 29,000 pound aircraft designed to carry the fight to the enemy. The cadets took turns crawling into the boom pod in the rear of the KC-135 to watch the refueling take place. For some, it was the first time they had flown on any kind of airplane. For all of them, it was an unforgettable experience.

"We talked about aerial refueling in school, even saw pictures of it, but nothing can prepare you to see it firsthand," said Rachel Christy, a cadet with Jefferson High School Air Force JROTC. "Seeing this happen was the most surprising and interesting thing I've been able to do in JROTC."

It was all smiles when the students touched back down on MacDill and walked around the Stratotanker, getting a close up look at all the parts that make refueling possible with an airplane older than many of their parents. When the day ended, each of them had a better understanding of the important mission of aerial refueling, emphasized not by slides or books but by first-hand experience. Christy summed up the experience for herself and her classmates:

"It was exhilarating."