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Cadets get a taste of operational Air Force

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Veronica McMahon
  • 36th Wing Public Affairs
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam --  United States Air Force Academy cadets have recently gained a two-week taste of active-duty Air Force as part of the Field Engineering and Readiness Laboratory program.

The FERL program allows cadets majoring in the engineering field to spend time at a chosen base where they experience the job and the role they will play in the operational Air Force.

"This gives them the opportunity to expose themselves to what we do in the Air Force and what they will be getting into," said Capt. Ben Thomas, 554th Red Horse Squadron engineering flight project engineer. "They can get their practical experience on the ground and bring it back to the classroom."

The cadets were able to see the 36th Civil Engineer Squadron as a whole, along with other aspects of Andersen and Guam's local community.

"We've done a lot," said Cadet 2nd Class Jonathan Lee, a junior at the USAFA and participant of the FERL program. "We spent a few days touring shops and have worked a lot with CE and Red Horse. We've participated in morning physical training sessions and took a KC-135 flight to see a B-52 get refueled in mid-air."

Captain Thomas said the cadets also toured the fire department, worked with Explosive Ordnance Disposal, helped with different types of construction and got to play with the equipment. One of the main projects they contributed to is the building of a warehouse for the Pacific Air Forces Regional Training Center.

The FERL program is based off of the "Construct first, design late" approach that the USAFA adopted and says it provides students with a solid foundation for learning scientific theory and engineering design principles in more advanced courses of the civil and environmental engineering curriculum.

The FERL concept is now in its 19th year of implementation.

"It's great to learn the ropes and spend time with the Airmen," said Cadet Lee. "We also get to learn a lot about officership and get a real-world perspective of what is going to happen when we graduate in two years."