Operation Air Force hits McChord

  • Published
  • By Tyler Hemstreet
  • Staff writer
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  McChord Airmen are getting a firsthand opportunity to show Air Force Academy cadets what life is like outside the classroom.

Nineteen cadets from the Air Force Academy are staying here for three weeks as part of the Operation Air Force program.

The program gives the cadets the opportunity to get a wide breadth of experience in several areas so they have a good background when it comes to choosing their career path in the Air Force, said base program director Capt. Dale Moree, 7th Airlift Squadron.

"The program is designed to show them both the operational and the support side of the Air Force," Captain Moree said.

The cadets are paired with various enlisted Airmen and senior noncommissioned officers from several different units to help them get a better feeling of how the enlisted force interacts with officers on a daily basis, he said. While all of the cadets will get a dose of the close day-to-day interaction between officers and enlisted Airmen, the sophomore and junior cadets who have not chosen an Air Force Specialty Code will get a wide breadth of experiences in various units to help them better determine what direction they might want to go in the future.

But there will also likely be opportunities for the cadets to experience a local flight and a
simulator ride.

"We're trying to give them everything we can but also give them some time in the office to learn some things," Captain Moree said.

Capt. Ian Ostermiller, an Air Force Academy graduate, is hosting two cadets during their stay for the 10th Airlift Squadron.

"For me it's a hands-on way to give back and mentor someone who hasn't started their Air Force career yet," Captain Ostermiller said.

Initial plans for the cadets include a 10th AS trip to a Mariners game in Seattle.

"We want to be an advertisement for mobility and a chance for them to get excited about the airframe, but the bottom line is we want them to come out of here accomplishing their syllabus and have a positive aftertaste of the whole experience," he said.

The cadets finish up the program here June 21.