P'burg
students get real lift out of school
Pupils, teachers picked up by
helicopter for trip to Fort Dix for special program.
Thursday, March 23, 206 • By Andrea Eilenberger
• The Express-Times
PHILLIPSBURG | Dressed in fatigues,
Phillipsburg High School junior Chris Schultzel waited for
the Black Hawk helicopter that would fly him to Fort Dix,
N.J.
He might be missing a day in the
classroom, but the flight and training session promised to
provide another kind of education for the newly enlisted
state Army National Guardsman.
"It's a class to me because I'm still
learning," Schultzel said.
At 9 a.m., the Black Hawk circled the
school, swirled a mass of dirt into the air and landed on
the football field.
Following a briefing on flight safety
procedure, Schultzel, four other enlisted students and three
teachers boarded the transport helicopter and took off for
Fort Dix.
"This is going to be interesting," said
William Noble, industrial technologies teacher, who boarded
the helicopter.
He served four years in the Coast Guard
and has been in the Coast Guard Reserve since 1983, he
said.
"After all those years in the reserve I
never got to ride in a helicopter."
The program, special to the New Jersey
Army National Guard, is called Educate the Educators and
gives students and teachers a glimpse into the guard,
according to Sgt. Donald Clarke, of the New Jersey Army
National Guard in Mansfield Township.
They used special weapons and convoy
simulators, which include "mock-up humvees" and
computer-generated ambush attacks, Clark said.
Once they returned to the school, they
could share their first-hand experience with students, he
said.
"A lot of kids are hesitant to" enlist,
but hearing first-hand accounts about the training facility
or the tuition payments the guard offers can help ease their
minds, Clarke said.
Caitlyn Calvo, a junior, recently joined
the Guard.
"The benefits are just awesome," she
said. "You'll learn things you're not going to get in
college."
She has one drill under her belt and
another coming up shortly, she said.
Spc. Dwayne Banghart, also of the
recruitment office, said high school juniors who enlist
complete six years of service.
Reporter Andrea Eilenberger can be reached at 610-258-7171
or by e-mail at aeilenberger@express-times.com.
© 2006 The Express-Times. Used with
permission.
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