By Bobby Ellis
bobby.ellis@education.ky.gov
It’s not every day that as a student, you get to see your high school principal dress up in an 80-pound bomb suit and try to do pull-ups.
But when the Navy shows up at your school, you do.
Students at the Academy @ Shawnee (Jefferson County) were given the chance to talk to United States Navy pilots, air crewmen and explosives disposal teams when they visited the Navy Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (NJROTC) program at the school for part of Navy Week.
“It’s just a really good opportunity for all the students to get to hear what life is like in the Navy,” said Ronnie Cox, the NJROTC coordinator at the Academy @ Shawnee. “They get to see how they can take the things they’re learning here and see how it will directly affect a career in the military if they choose to take that route.”
As part of the visit, Lt. Kathryn Martinez discussed her experiences as an active flight engineer, while members of the Navy bomb disposal team discussed their job and allowed students to test drive a bomb disposal robot and try on a bomb disposal suit.
“It was pretty cool to be in the suit,” said Gueneverie Dieffenbacher, an 11th-grader at the Academy. “It was heavy. They had us try to pick up a can and that was tough, but it was neat.”
Abdullahi Otun, a student at the Academy @ Shawnee (Jefferson County), attempts to do a pull-up while wearing a bomb disposal suit during a Navy visit to the NJROTC program.
Photo by Bobby Ellis, Aug. 23, 2018
Avery Cox, a 9th-grader at the Academy @ Shawnee, drives an explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) robot with the help of EOD3 Jonathan Puebla.
Photo by Bobby Ellis, Aug. 23, 2018
Students in the NJROTC program play with a bomb disposal robot brought by members of the U.S. Navy during a visit to the class.
Photo by Bobby Ellis, Aug. 23, 2018
Abdullahi Otun attempts to grab a can off the floor while wearing a bomb suit.
Photo by Bobby Ellis, Aug. 23, 2018
Gueneverie Diffenbacher, an 11th-grader at the Academy @ Shawnee (Jefferson County), is helped into a bomb suit by EOD2 David Eninger, left, and EOD2 Abraham Ruic.
Photo by Bobby Ellis, Aug. 23, 2018
Gueneverie Diffenbacher, an 11th-grader at the Academy @ Shawnee (Jefferson County), is helped into a bomb suit by EOD2 Abraham Ruic.
Photo by Bobby Ellis, Aug. 23, 2018
Navy Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps students watch as a robot used by explosive ordinance disposal technicians drives around their classroom during a visit by members of the U.S. Navy.
Photo by Bobby Ellis, Aug. 23, 2018
Lt. Kathryn Martinez, right, AT3 Joshua Luna and AT2 Justin Escobar give a presentation about working as a flight crew in the U.S. Navy.
Photo by Bobby Ellis, Aug. 23, 2018
Kymberly Rice, principal of the Academy @ Shawnee, is helped into a bomb disposal suit.
Photo by Bobby Ellis, Aug. 23, 2018
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