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COLUMBUS, Ga. - While their classmates were learning how to
divide mixed numbers or discovering the land of giants in Gulliver's
Travels, 200 7th grade students from Muscogee County's Blackmon Road
Middle School were given a rare opportunity to build skills they
will carry with them for the rest of their lives, according to the
school's assistant principal Eric Grigsby.
On Jan. 9, 2014
with unusually frigid southern temperatures hovering around 40
degrees --thanks, in part, to the polar vortex that hit the eastern
United States--about 20 "Buffalo" soldiers from the 3rd Brigade
Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd
Infantry Division, spent the morning with the students at the Army
National Guard Warrior Training Center (WTC) on Harmony Church,
where they were given the chance to test their physical and mental
strength on a 12-station obstacle course not for the faint of heart.
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Blackmon Road Middle School 7th grader, Anthonio Thrower, 11,
prepares to jump onto a rope and swing over a log, Jan. 9, 2014.
Thrower was one of 200 students to spend with morning with 25
soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade
Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd
Infantry Division, during a "Partners for Education" event at the
Warrior Training Center on Fort Benning's Harmony Church. The 3rd
BSTB and Blackmon Road Middle School participate in monthly
partnership activities on Fort Benning and within Muscogee County as
part of the "Partners in Education" program. (U.S. Army photo by
Staff Sgt. Lindsey Kibler)
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The students were broken into 10 groups and, in true Army
fashion, given their tasks, conditions and standards and a
safety brief. Safety was the first priority, said 1st Lt.
Robert Perez-Alemany, but motivation and determination were
a requirement as well.
Perez-Alemany, the training
officer with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd
BSTB, spent nearly two months planning the event for the
students. He said it was intended to accomplish three goals.
"We wanted to show them that they have leadership
potential, that they have the determination to do the course
and that they have the motivation to finish it," said the
San Juan, Puerto Rico native. "We have a role to tutor,
mentor and teach them our Army Values, and we take that very
seriously."
The obstacle course, which is used during
WTC Air Assault Courses offered at Fort Benning, included a
low belly crawl; an incline climb; a confidence climb; high
step over; and rope bridge.
"The worst was trying to
crawl through that cold and wet dirt!" said Ariel Hill, 13,
one of the 200 students who participated in the event. Hill
isn't going to let a little bit of Georgia mud deter her
from her dreams of joining the Army one day.
"I
don't know what I would want to do [in the Army] yet, but I
know that I want to serve when I am older," she said. "My
granddad served 29 years. Well, 29 and a half--almost
30--and I want to do the same."
Blackmon Road Middle
School is located in Columbus, Ga., and has a number of
students whose parents are currently serving or have
previously served in the military, said Grigsby, who has
held the assistant principal position at Blackmon Road for
the past two years.
"The partnership we have with
the soldiers is beneficial in so many ways," Grigsby
explained. "They are an integral part of our community. The
students are building confidence. They are learning to trust
in themselves, in their peers and in the [noncommissioned
officers] who are out here helping them and mentoring
them...We very much appreciate this opportunity, because many
of the students have never had a chance to do this and many
may never have the chance to do it again. Its important that
we build them up, allow them to trust in themselves and
trust in others."
Grigsby was quick to emphasize the
importance of trust between the students and the Soldiers,
because it hasn't been earned in a day at an obstacle
course.
"The soldiers come to the school and they
tutor the kids. They have come out for career day, and they
will tell them everything they know, answer every question,
and show these kids what it means to contribute, to show
honor and respect," said Grigsby. "Our school has a saying
'One Blackmon.' We have high expectations for our
students...We tell them 'you are a part of something larger
than yourself'," which is why the partnership with the 3rd
BSTB is so fitting, Grigsby explained-- the unit and Army
values mirror that of the school's.
As the last
rotation round horn rang, and the rain began to trickle,
students gathered their belongings and did a "double time"
to the bleachers, where Perez-Alemany gave the students gave
a quick after action report, much like what would follow any
Army mission, and a good job for a hard day's work.
"We showed them that they could complete this if they put
their mind to it, and they did," said Perez-Alemany.
"Mission fulfilled."
The 3rd BSTB and Blackmon Road
Middle School participate in monthly partnership activities
on Fort Benning and within Muscogee County as part of the
"Partners in Education" program. The two have a
well-established partnership, that has flourished over the
last two years, said Perez-Alemany. According to the
Columbus Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Columbus "Partners
in Education" was established in 1987 as a joint venture of
the Muscogee County School District and the Greater Columbus
Chamber of Commerce. It's intended to improve education by
"stimulating meaningful business and community involvement
in public schools." Through partnership, "public and private
school are now able to tap resources to meet the individual
needs of each student body, provide excellent education
programming, and recognize achievement."
By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Lindsey Kibler
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2014
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