High school students from 13 area schools had the opportunity Wednesday to visit the Poplar Bluff Army National Guard Armory.
The event was intended to “pull the veil back” so students could get a behind-the-curtain look at what the National Guard does on a day-to-day basis, according to Sergeant First Class Caleb Parkin, who was one of those instrumental in the creation of this learning opportunity.
“We live in these communities,” said Parkin. “The National Guard, we live and serve in the communities were from, where we went to school. A lot of our soldiers that are in our formations, you may run into them at Walmart, their kids may play on the same soccer team as your kids. So we do want people to know we are a part of the community here, we serve here, we live here and maybe even open the door for some of these kids and show them how they can make a difference in the communities they live in.”
Students were allowed to get hands-on education during the event, where they were encouraged to climb into military vehicles, check out weapons and ask questions.
Holcomb High School Junior Jacob Reeves-Crittendon said he was enjoying the presentation. “We’re learning about the benefits of being a part of the National Guard and checking out this truck.”
The JAG program, which aims to teach students how to be successful in life, worked in conjunction with the guard to provide the learning experience.
Southeast Missouri Regional Manager for the JAG program Jeff Berry said, “We appreciate all partnerships of JAG. This partnership we started about four years ago when I was a JAG Specialist at Van Buren and Sargeant Parkin came in as a recruiter at the time and did several presentations, not just about the guard, but about social media and other aspects of life for our students. That partnership began then and here we are now, it’s going to grow into something bigger. Not only do we want to help our students, but we also want to help our state and country as well and that connection with the Missouri Army National Guard can do that.”