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179th Airlift Wing Security Forces troops enjoy “Touch a Truck” day

  • Published
  • By MSgt Lisa Haun
  • 179th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
Mansfield Ohio --  179th Airlift Wing Security Forces troops enjoy "Touch a Truck" day with the students at Madison South Elementary school, Mansfield, Ohio, May 9, 2014. Tech. Sgt. Brandon Velemirov and Staff Sgt. Michelle Roark from 179th Security Forces Squadron volunteered to take a Security Forces vehicle to Madison South Elementary school for the afternoon. TSgt Velemirov and SSgt Roark gave the kids a taste of what it's like to be in the military and military police.
Madison South Elementary School hosted the Touch-A-Truck event as a reward celebration for students, school-wide, who achieved good behavior for the month of April. 250-300 students participated in this celebration, ranging from kindergarten to grade 6. The kids danced, ate hot dogs supplied by the Madison school parents club, ice cream from Jingle Brothers ice cream truck, climbed in and out of the Madison Fire Dept. fire truck, climbed on tractors supplied by Jacobs Excavating, revved race car engines, walked through school buses, sat in an RV, wore bullet proof vests, hand-cuffed each other, honked every horn and used the Security Forces PA system to make shout-outs to friends and favorite teachers.
"This is so cool" the kids shouted at SSgt Roark. The children proceeded to tell SSgt Roark about family members and friends that they knew were also in the military and how much they love the USA. They bombarded her with questions like what's your favorite weapon and had she ever been to Afghanistan as she dressed them in body armor and help them climb into the truck. Not even the rain could put a damper on this day, the children had a blast. "It's not a bad way to spend a Friday afternoon" said TSgt Velemirov as he put a Band-Aid, from the vehicles First Aid kit, on a scraped knee. "It's nice to be able to give back to the community and inspire the kids. It's important to teach them about the Air Force and what the military does every day."
Mrs. Brittany Farley explained that the school hosts a special event every month for the students and their good behavior. She is a member of the committee that hosts these events. "It's always nice to have warmer weather so that the committee can move the celebrations outdoors. This event was a huge success." She said "Overall, it was a great day and the students had a great time. Thankfully the weather cooperated and the rain stopped. It's incredibly important for the children to realize how many facets of the community exist and how they all pull together to make a successful community. Today the children learned about many aspects of the community and had fun."

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