Can’t beat great field trips

Master Sgt. John Shankle, a flight line expediter assigned to the 917th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, poses for a photo in front of an A-10 Thunderbolt II with a group of 7th Graders, at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., Oct. 23, 2012. The students who are from McLeod, Texas, attend McLeod Middle School and were touring the base as part of a field trip. Many of the 44 students were unaware there was a military base in Bossier City. The students also toured a 307th Bomb Wing B-52 Stratofortress and the Military Working Dog Training Facility here. They also visited the Barksdale Global Power Museum. (U.S. Air Force photo by Betty Stephens/Released)

Can’t beat great field trips

Maj. Glenn Auge, instructor radar navigator, 11th Bomb Squadron, explains the war-time capabilities of a B-52 Startofortress to a group of 7th Grade students during a static tour at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., Oct. 23, 2012. The students who are from McLeod, Texas, attend McLeod Middle School and were touring the base on a field trip. Many of the 44 students were unaware there was a military base in Bossier City. The students also toured a 917th Fighter Group A-10 Thunderbolt II and the Military Working Dog Training Facility here. They also visited the Barksdale Global Power Museum. (U.S. Air Force photo by Betty Stephens/Released)

Barksdale civic leaders visit Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington

John Pugh, member of Employer Support of Guard Reserve, serves as a gunner during the Virtual Battle Station simulation at the Urban Warfare Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Wash., during the 307th Bomb Wing/917th Fighter Group Civic Leader Tour May 23-24, 2012. The purpose of the tour was to give local Shreveport-Bossier City civic leaders a broader understanding of what the Air Force Reserve is about and cultivate a relationship between the reservists and the community. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Mary Hinson)

Barksdale civic leaders visit Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington

Wyche Coleman, a civic leader from Barksdale Air Force Base, La., enjoys the view from the flight deck of a C-17 Globemaster during an orientation flight at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Wash., May 24, 2012. The flight was one of the events scheduled as part of the 307th Bomb Wing/917th Fighter Group Civic Leader Tour held May 23-24, 2012. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Mary Hinson)

Barksdale civic leaders visit Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington

Master Sgt. Travis Hargitt with the 446th Airlift Wing explosive ordnance disposal, explains the details of his job and the weapons he encounters to the 307th Bomb Wing/917th Fighter Group Civic Leader Tour at Joint Base Lewis-McChord May 23-24, 2012. The purpose of the tour was to give local Shreveport-Bossier City civic leaders a broader understanding of what the Air Force Reserve is about and cultivate a relationship between the reservists and the community. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Mary Hinson)

Barksdale civic leaders visit Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington

Civic leader Ray McCary has his ankle bandaged by Lt. Col. Tom Hanson, a flight nurse evaluator with the 446th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, during the 307th Bomb Wing/917th Fighter Group Civic Leader Tour to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Wash., May 23-24, 2012. Aeromedical evacuation off-load, explosive ordnance disposal demonstration, training simulations, and a C-17 airdrop were all part of the two-day tour. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Mary Hinson)