JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
Security forces and Air Force agents from Joint Base San Antonio joined Universal City Police Department officers to teach 115 sixth-graders at Kitty Hawk Middle School about investigating and enforcing law May 6 during the school's first-ever Crime Scene Investigation Camp for a Day.
"We wanted the kids to interact with the science behind military and community law enforcement occupations," Lindsey Groark, Southern Methodist University's Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Program director, said.
Groark said the university sponsors the camp to spark children's interest in STEM disciplines and careers.
After Office of Special Investigations agents India Horne of JBSA-Lackland and Michael Cinco of JBSA-Randolph explained what it takes to be a forensic scientist during a presentation, the sixth-graders were divided into four teams and sent to classrooms where they solved a pretend crime scene through fingerprinting, face recognition and paper chromatography activities.
Deborah Rice, Judson Independent School District Department of Defense Education Activity project manager, said participants were actively engaged and "learning without even knowing it."
"The excitement the students experienced here will enhance our STEM initiative inside of our classrooms," she added.
The excitement continued as students and teachers watched a 30-minute JBSA-Randolph military working dogs demonstration by Ramon and Troy, who performed drills in basic obedience, detection and controlled aggression.
"A lot of the students have dogs, so we wanted to inspire them to see a recognizable side of peacekeeping and to do something positive with their lives," Staff Sgt. Johnathan Royce, 902nd Security Forces Squadron MWD handler, said. "It was fun to see the smiles on their faces."
Fellow handler Staff Sgt. Michael Moore and MWD trainer Michael Sengphradeth from the 902nd SFS helped Royce with the demonstration and answered questions from the children afterward, which ranged from how many bad guys have they caught to how did they teach the dogs to perform the drills.
Students learned from experts in their respective law enforcement fields about a career often misrepresented by TV shows.
"It was interactive for all of us and very fun," sixth-grader Hunter DeLeon said. "I have a new perspective on the Air Force opportunities."
Funded by the Office of Naval Research, the camp was free for all students and teachers who participated.