Today's troops need more technological training so they can use modern equipment, and STEM classes can help. | army.mil
Today's troops need more technological training so they can use modern equipment, and STEM classes can help. | army.mil
Today's U.S. military is different than it used to be, with more of an emphasis on technology and winning wars with more than ground combat. One thing remains the same, however: a stint provides young adults with financial aid for college.
That was the hook for Arcjohn Sayre, a senior at E.E. Smith High School in Fayetteville.
"I still want to do college, but I don't want to pay for all that student debt," he told WNCN.
Military recruiters today are facing challenges when it comes to getting people to enlist. For instance, the COVID-19 pandemic closed off some avenues recruiters once used, but today's recruits also need different skill sets.
At E.E. Smith, assistant principal Kenneth Williams noted that schools have to prepare their students for careers and adulthood, whether that be time in uniform or other career paths. That is why his school focuses on STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) education.
"We have so many military-connected students, and a lot of faculty and staff who are also former military," Williams told WNCN. "So they are able to share their experiences, but they also know how it changed over their years, and things the kids are going to need going into the military now."
One of the things the students at E.E. Smith learn is how to pilot airplanes virtually. That type of experience excites the Army.
Lt. Col. Burton Furlow Jr., commanding officer with the 528th Sustainment Brigade (Special Operations) of the U.S. Army, and other Fort Bragg soldiers toured the STEM program/labs at E.E. Smith recently.
"I'm going to jump out of an airplane tomorrow and I was thinking 'how is the pilot doing this?'" Furlow told WNCN. "Now I'm thinking I can be flown by a 17-year-old."
Furlow knows that some of the students his group met could one day be in his shoes, so training and recruitment now are critical.
"(This) shortens the learning curve for us and it gets troops and soldiers on the battlefields faster than we can ever imagine," he said of the educational approach E.E. Smith is taking.
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