Spc. Richard Mohamed, a medic with
Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 89th Cavalry
Regiment, teaches a field sanitation class to a group of Boy Scouts
visiting from the Albany area, May 12, 2012. The Scouts came
together for the weekend to get a taste of Army life and celebrate
the values shared by the Boy Scouts and America's military. Photo by
Army Capt. Michael Greenberger
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FORT DRUM, NY (5/14/2012) - More than a dozen soldiers from the 1st
Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, volunteered to spend Saturday
teaching Boy Scouts from about six troops visiting from the Albany
area about the military, physical fitness, field sanitation, land
navigation and first aid, May 12.
The sun was barely over the
horizon Saturday when soldiers began lining up young men from six
Boy Scout troops visiting from the Albany, NY area for physical
training, the start of a long day of activities meant to broaden the
Scout's horizons and bring them closer to their country and each
other.
Born out of camaraderie, the Boy Scouts' visit to Fort
Drum was the product of imagination shared between two old friends.
Maj. Todd Clark, 1st Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment's executive
officer |
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and longtime friend Ciaran Geraghty, chair of the outing committee
for Boy Scout Troop 149 in Albany, who thought the boys could
benefit from what Fort Drum had to offer. |
This imagination grew into action and the vision of an
enduring relationship with the Boy Scouts became a permanent
part of 1-89's community outreach program.
“This is a
great way for the people of N.Y. to see their Army in
action,” said 1-89 CAV commander Lt. Col David L. Sanders
III. “It's also a great opportunity to pass our knowledge
and skills to some great young men who already serve their
community.”
"The military offers many skills the Boy
Scouts could look to as an example like lifesaving skills
and teambuilding skills," said Troop 99's scoutmaster, Bob
Watson. "A venue like this will allow these boys to go back
and understand what it's going to take to set up their camp,
break their camp down, how important it is to pick each
other up when they are falling behind and help each other
out."
The Boy Scouts of America, like the military,
share many values such as building strong character and
being good citizens. This visit would serve to highlight
those and other similarities in the training both Scouts and
soldiers receive.
"We're all from the same district
but this is the first time all these troops [from Albany]
have come together," Watson said. "There's not much
crossover other than our annual Jamboree so this is really
good for the boys to get out and see other Boy Scout Troops
- it's going to enhance their scouting skills - their
navigation, first aid and cooking skills and their
camaraderie."
Following physical training, the boys
ate a hearty breakfast before receiving a crash course in
field hygiene and sanitation from one of 1-89's medics, Spc.
Richard Mohamed. Mohamed was one of just over a dozen
volunteers that came out to make the boy's trip possible.
"My cousin is a Boy Scout back home and he looks up to
me so this will give me a chance to teach Boy Scouts just
like him," said Pfc. Michael Francisco, a scout with A
Troop, 1-89 CAV. "Since I can't be home at least I get to at
least do something to give back."
Many of the
soldiers participating volunteered weeks ago to come out and
train these Scouts over the weekend.
"I hope these
kids have fun this weekend," said Pfc. Anthony Viator, also
assigned to A Troop as a scout. "As a kid you don't really
need to be serious. Learn what you want to learn but have
fun."
The sun quickly climbing the sky, it was time
to move on - the Scouts had a busy day ahead.
At
Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield, several aviators at the 6th
Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment's hangar prepared helicopters
for the kids to see. The next two hours saw the kids
climbing into cockpits, flying imaginary missions and
hearing the pilots tell them about the aircraft and how they
work.
"I found it rather interesting to see the
various operations of the aircraft," said Max Thomas, a Boy
Scout with Troop 46, Albany. "I really love aircraft and I
am a fan of that sort of thing."
The sentiment was
echoed by fellow scout Jimmy Watson, who looked forward to
this outing for weeks.
"The helicopters were pretty
cool. The Black Hawk was my favorite type of helicopter,"
Watson said. "Being out at Fort Drum was an honor and the
guys [soldiers] are very kind. They taught us a lot about
how to help people out and how to treat certain wounds."
Following the visit to the airfield, the scouts were
given classes in first aid and land navigation, which would
be tested later in the day. One of the many goals a Boy
Scout has is to earn merit badges in everything from archery
to orienteering to space exploration. The training the
troops had lined up were right up their alley. Who better to
teach a lot of boys about land navigation than a handful of
Army scouts?
"I learned a lot of map and compass
usage, basic orienteering," Thomas said. "We do a lot of
hiking so all that will help. The emergency first aid was
good to because you never know when someone will get hurt."
The boys set about proving their knowledge and testing
their skills as part of earning their own Cavalry scarves.
The yellow scarf, a significant piece of Army Cavalry lore
and legend, was given by 1-89 CAV to those Scouts who'd
proved themselves worthy, worked as a team and shown they'd
learned from the soldiers that day. Needless to say, every
Scout got one.
"The day went absolutely fantastic,"
said Scout leader Watson. "They were taught an above-level
of first aid than we were hoping for. The kids had a great
time at the static display and learned a lot. Hopefully on
future events we can bring the boys to the next level,
possibly through a modified obstacle course or maybe take
some of the boys to the firing range to see what that's all
about."
The Scout's experience with the soldiers of
Fort Drum was rounded out by a fire-side chat, where the
kids got to ask the soldiers questions about life in the
military. Scouts from Fort Drum Troop 26 also came out to
spend time with the Albany Scouts in the evening, exchanging
stories and patches and further adding to the comradeship of
the outing. Sunday morning, the Scouts packed out quickly at
the break of dawn to get back spend Mother's Day at home
with Mom.
More photos available below
By Army Capt. Michael Greenberger
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2012
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