L come by. It seems a person needs to have a college education these days to be competitive in the ever-demand-ing job market. It's not like the good ole'days when a high school diploma did the trick in landing a decent-paying job. In 1981, Maj. Gen. Doyle Larson, commander of Electronic Security Command and director of the Joint Electronic Warfare Center, was con-cerned about the lack of people gradu-ating from universities and colleges with technical degrees. Larson directed Col. Kevin Gilroy, Air Force Electronic Warfare Center commander, to develop an educa-tional outreach program to brief at middle schools. Target: Eighth graders. Gilroy asked the director of Elec-tronic Support, Lt. Col. Jim Jones, who later became Kelly Air Force Base commander, to head up the project. Jones started out with a 30-minute presentation consisting of music tapes and 150, 35-mm slides. In 1993, slides were replaced by video tapes because of the expanded capability. "Instead of pictures, we had mo-tion," said Pre-Top technical advisor, Dr. Paul Smith, who has been in-volved in Pre-Top since its begin-ning.
The name of the presentation: Pre-College Technical Orientation Pro-gram (Pre-Top). The theme: Past and future tech-nologies.
Desire: To persuade students to pursue a technical career field after high school. "We've grown since the begin-ning. In 1981 through 1989, we virtu-ally had the same thing with some minor changes to the slides. In 1989, we started giving different briefings every year," said Smith, research ana-lyst, 690th Information Operations Squadron, Kelly Air Force Base, Texas. "Women in Science and Technol-ogy" is one subject Pre-Top has briefed about. "We wanted to say, 'Hey, it's not all a man's world. ' We want to show that women have com-pleted high school and college and pursued a career in industry or re-search and technology and they're holding patents on things they've originated," said Smith. "We perceive the children are concerned about the earth, water and air, so we went through all the envi-ronmental careers such as civil engi-neering, waste management, ocean-ography and hydrology. We also talked about which universities and colleges in Texas that offered these degrees and salaries. "A lot of students don't look be-
yond fast food restaurants at $12,000 a year, forever," Smith explained. "We were talking about salaries start-ing at $35,000 to $50,000 a year to $60,000 a year for mid-level positions to $80,000-$ 125,000 for directors. That really opened their eyes about envi-ronmental careers." "We're talking about the ooh's and aah's of technology and how they should be a part of it by taking math and science in high school so they will be prepared for that technical college degree," Smith said. "The point is, we're trying to get the children energized before they commit to what classes they're going to take their freshman year," he added. "If we show them what it takes to become a pilot or an astro-naut working at NASA, they will be on the right track. The program is exclusive to Bexar County, with exception to Medina Valley and Southwest Middle School. "The schools believe in the program, they believe it's going to make a differ-ence. It's a commitment by the school that they spend one of their limited assem-blies for the briefing. Our reputation of 15 to 16 years sells itself, but every year, we go back and talk to the school superintendent, the princi-pal and the senior science counselor, by letter, that we are available," Smith said.
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Smith feels the program is making a difference for the following three rea-sons:
n "The feedback we get from the
teachers and counselors is that it's a great program.
n It's motivational and it gives the children a greater awareness of occu-pations and the qualifications they need
to do the jobs they want. n It also leads to lively discus-sions back in the classroom because there are a lot of things to discuss such as pay and locations [of jobs.] They have a good time," said Smith.
"Since our briefings are held January through March, it is fresh in their minds for the April sign-in of freshman classes." "We're getting the word out and hope-fully other o r g a n i z a -tions and their local communities will pick up the ball and run with it," said Smith.
magine the impact you could have if given the opportunity to ad-their first assignment will also be their first real exposure to the military out-side of the academy. Many are uncertain of what to expect. They know that at 22 years old with no real practical experience, they will out-rank us the minute they walk in the door. They aren't quite sure how to handle that. They're concerned about the is-sue of officer/ enlisted relationships. How do you get close without get-ting too close? We tried to instill the importance of maintaining profes-sional relationships while establish-ing a rapport and trust with their subordinates. They expressed concern over the image or impression we have of acad-emy graduates as compared to Re-serve Officer Training Corps or Of-ficer Training School graduates. We let them know it doesn't matter where they came from; what matters is their attitude when they arrive at their duty station. Over and over, as each class ex-
pressed their concerns, one thing be-came clear: They know they are go-ing into new territory and they're searching for answers to questions they can't begin to imagine. We encouraged them to seek out and develop a mentoring relation-ship with their first sergeants, senior enlisted advisor, or any other senior NCO whose opinions and judgment they trust. As each of us answered their questions from our own viewpoints, I think we eased some of their fears. But more importantly, we let them know that we, the senior NCO corps, are available to help them. They face unfamiliar situations as they become supervisors for the first time. The key to their success lies in the mentorship they receive from their senior NCOs. As we mentor the lieu-tenants of today, we develop the colo-nels of tomorrow. So the next time a brand new lieutenant comes into your unit, take him or her "by the hand" and help lead the way.
Senior NCOs face Academy cadets by Master Sgt. Annabel Werner 544 IG/ MSGI Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.
I dress our next generation of officers. What advice would you give? This is the challenge faced by members of the U. S. Air Force Academy's Senior Noncommissioned Officer panel. I recently had the honor of sitting on the panel. What an experience! The panel consisted of three senior NCOs from Peterson and Falcon Air Force Bases and Buckley Air National Guard Base, Colo. In an open, informal setting, the cadets were free to ask whatever they like. After a brief introduction, it was open season. We answered questions on ev-erything from why we joined the Air Force, concerns over airmen on wel-fare to the impact of downsizing. We fielded questions concerning the Gulf War, sexual harassment and integration of basic training flights. These cadets are sharp! But, I got the impression that for many of them,
"Pre-Top is an AIA community-involvement project having my high-est endorsement," said Brig. Gen. Regner Rider, AIA vice com-mander.
"The production is multi-faceted with role mod-eling an integral part of the production." "Encouraging our school youth to study math and science is an investment in our national future," said Rider. 2