Students visit base, learn 379th mission Published March 1, 2012 By Master Sgt. Victoria Meyer 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Children from a local school got a rare view of the base Sunday as part of the Jar Saleh STAR (Science & Technology Advancement and Relationship) program. Thirty-two students and two teachers saw demonstrations from the Fire Department, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, and the Fabrication Flight. The focus of the visit was how the U.S. military uses robotics in their day-to-day jobs. Even though this is their first time visiting the base, this isn't the first time the students have met these Airmen. Volunteers deployed here are mentors for the school's robotics club and were guest judges at the school's last robotic competition. The students, ranging from 11 to 18 years old, are involved in the advanced robotics class or the robotics club in school. A recent club project involved creating mechanical robots using Lego bricks that can move and pick up objects. During the EOD demonstration, they got to see the real-world application of doing just that. "Their experience with robots really showed in how quickly they were able to operate the platforms," said Master Sgt. Richard Soares, EOD flight chief, deployed from Cannon AFB, N.M. "We didn't need to give them much direction." "How many kids can say they've controlled a robot that disarms bombs?" said Capt. Geoffrey Dobson, 379th Expeditionary Communications Squadron officer in charge of Network Operations and STAR lead organizer. "It tied their schoolwork straight into a real world application, and they all took note of this. They even discussed design similarities between their robot and the EOD robot," he added. "We can do robotics projects in the classroom and have friendly competitions, but until they see how it is put to work it in real world, I don't think it has the same effect," said DK Hipkins, advanced robotic instructor at the school. Another benefit of the event was to give the students a different view of the U.S. military. They learned that the military is not just what they see on TV. "They see that we have scientists, fire fighters, engineers, photographers," said Dobson. "The kids asked a million questions to all of the military personnel all day. That in and of itself was proof that we had an effective visit since they were so curious to hear from all of us." The Jar Saleh STAR program plans to continue school visits to help mentor students and to foster positive community relationships.