By Benjamin Faske, 433rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs / Published August 15, 2017
Faith McWalter, 802nd Force Support Squadron youth program assistant, cheers on Ricardo Campos as he runs through the obstacle course during Operation Junior Expeditionary Team August 11, 2017 at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. Operation JET is an annual event that provides children of military services members a chance to experince a mock deployment. (U.S. Air Force photo by Benjamin Faske)
Col. David Scott, 433rd Airlift Wing vice commander, gives the opening remarks before the kick-off of Operation Junior Expeditionary Team August 11, 2017 at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. Operation JET is an annual event that provides children of military services members a chance to experince the deployment process. (U.S. Air Force photo by Benjamin Faske)
Tech Sgt. Sean Preston, 433rd Maintenance Squadron aerospace propulsion technician, explains the propulsion power of a C-5 jet engine to children participating in Operation Junior Expeditionary Team August 11, 2017 at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. Operation JET is an annual event that provides children of military services members a chance to experince a mock deployment. (U.S. Air Force photo by Benjamin Faske)
Tech. Sgt. Joan Dixon-Scott, 502nd Logistics Readiness Squadron quality assurance, fits gask masks on children participating in Operation Junior Expeditionary Team August 11, 2017 at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. Operation JET is an annual event that provides children of military services members a chance to experince a mock deployment. (U.S. Air Force photo by Benjamin Faske)
Staff Sgt. Corey Mcenery and Senior Airman Nick McManus, 502nd Civil Engineering Squadron Explosive Ordance Disposal technicians, show kids some of the tools they use to difuse unexploded ordance during Operation Junior Expeditionary Team August 11, 2017 at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. Operation JET is an annual event that provides children of military services members a chance to experince a mock deployment. (U.S. Air Force photo by Benjamin Faske)
Senior Airman Stedman Mazyck, 59th Medical Wing mental health technician, paints Kendall Perry's face before the kick-off of Operation Junior Expeditionary Team August 11, 2017 at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. Operation JET is an annual event that provides children of military services members a chance to experince the deployment process. (U.S. Air Force photo by Benjamin Faske)
Senior Airman Levi Thompson, 37th Training Support Squadron combat arms instructor, shows Paige Borders how to adjust the scope on a sniper rifle during Operation Junior Expeditionary Team August 11, 2017 at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. Operation JET is an annual event that provides children of military services members a chance to experince the deployment process. (U.S. Air Force photo by Benjamin Faske)
The 433rd Airlift Wing hosted 150 Joint Base San Antonio youth at the annual Operation Junior Expeditionary Team Aug.11 here. The 502nd Force Support Squadron and 802nd Military and Family Readiness Center setup the mock deployment in the 433rd Maintenance Squadron’s engine shop. Col. David Scott, 433rd AW vice commander, kicked off the annual event by giving an impassioned speech that fired up the crowd. “The 433rd wants to be a great mission partner for JBSA, so we were happy to help out with this event and provide a location,” said Scott, “This event gives kids from all over JBSA an opportunity to see what it’s like to have a parent of loved one deploy.” Youth from JBSA-Randolph, Lackland, and Ft. Sam Houston were in attendance. After opening remarks, the attendees broke into four groups and rotated through the various stations. In the spirit of the event, children had the opportunity to have their faces painted with “war paint”. The four deployment stations each represented a stop in a military members processing before deployment. Stations included an obstacle course, deployment health, explosive ordnance disposal, and combat arms. “This mock deployment is absolutely essential to our kids wellbeing because it give them insight into what their parents are going through when they get ready to deploy,” said Joanna Rios, 502nd FSS school age coordinator. “Our goal is to meet every family’s needs which includes nurturing our children’s emotional needs and that’s one of the things Operation Junior Expeditionary Team does.” The event couldn’t have happened without everyone coming together to do some heavy lifting.
“We couldn’t have done this without the support of the 433rd AW and their leadership, including the numerous volunteers and the military and family readiness center” said Tech. Sgt. Ryan Bell, 37th Training Support Squadron combat weapons operations. “At the end of the day no matter how hard it gets, resiliency comes from strength and family.”