Camp Airedale tours the 188th Wing
By Senior Airman Cody Martin, 188th Wing Public Affairs
/ Published June 24, 2016
EBBING AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Ark. -- Students from the Alma School District's Camp Airedale visited the 188th Wing throughout the month of June 2016 and gained hands-on learning experience through base tours and briefs on the 188th mission.
Visiting the base provides campers the opportunity to view the 188th Wing history and to learn about how their local Air National Guard is a proven choice in the warfight and the first choice in homeland operations.
Camp Airedale is a summer learning program for the Alma School District students that are in grades kindergarten through eighth grade. It has a curriculum centered on experience-based activities and uses more out-of-classroom and off-campus activities than are available during the typical school year.
"We are trying to expose the children to different experiences and build their background knowledge," said Janice Vincent, special education teacher with Alma School District and Camp Airedale facilitator. "We open the door for them to see more than just Alma and broaden their horizons."
Throughout the tours, students learned about civil engineering, piloting the MQ-9 Reaper, security forces and public affairs.
"This will be the highlight of their summer," Vincent stated. "We have had students that visited the previous year that are still talking about it to this day. This is a great experience for them."
The 188th Wing focuses on developing an outstanding relationship with the local community through community engagement activities such as this.