SC Alaska News

#ASDShineBright South Anchorage High School Air Force JROTC cadets recently traveled to the island of Oahu, Hawaii to participate in the program's biennial Pacific Military and Cultural Heritage Tour.  

"Our cadets wait years for the opportunity to be a part of this event and work very hard fulfilling our program requirements and fundraising to earn the privilege," said AFJROTC Specialist Master Sgt. Keith J. Coulter.

The students were accompanied by Senior Instructor Lt. Col Jonathan Landis, SAHS Librarian Lydia Frankenburger, and Coulter.

Fifteen cadets who have been involved in the program for three or more years took part in the trip and had an opportunity to tour active military facilities, gain a tangible perspective of Pacific theater military history, and experience the Polynesian culture.  

Cadets toured the USS Arizona Memorial, Ford Island, Pearl Harbor Naval shipyard, and the USS Missouri from the historic Admiral’s Barge. They toured facilities on Hickam and Bellows Air Force Base, Pearl Harbor Naval Station, and spent a morning on a US Naval Torpedo Retrieval vessel.  

They hiked Diamond Head, snorkeled in Hanauma Bay, and watched fireworks from the Hale Koa military hotel on Waikiki beach. Finally, cadets spent the day at the Polynesian Cultural Center interacting in culturally focused games, history, music, dance, food and lifestyles of native Polynesians from the islands of Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, Aotearoa, Fiji, and Hawaii.  

Pictured are cadets at the entrance of the USS Missouri National Monument and at the Wall of Honor on the USS Arizona Memorial.

Learn more about JROTC program availability by visiting your school's website:www.asdk12.org/schools 

South Anchorage High School, Home of the Wolverines

Original source can be found here.