Several Ball State faculty and staff members recently received the chance to visit a military base in Fort Benning, Ga., and others as part of the U.S. Army's Fall 2002 Educators' Tour.
The trip, which was held Oct. 27-31, taught the group members about infantry training and air training techniques at Fort Benning and was paid for by the military.
Stops were also made at Fort Rucker in Alabama and the military's diving facilities in Panama City, Fla. The military paid all expenses.
U.S. Army Major Lee Baker, the enrollment officer for Ball State's Department of Military Science, said the program provided educators with first-hand knowledge of Army training, education and opportunities. Baker said he feels the program will help educators understand what life in the Army is all about.
"We hope that the professors can then give students their insights on what to expect (if they want to enlist)," Baker said.
Bill Bock, professor of physiology and health science, revisited some of his old military bases on the tour. Bock, who was drafted in 1957 and spent five years in the Army, served as a first lieutenant until making the decision to pursue his doctoral degree in health sciences. He has been on staff at Ball State since 1965.
Bock said what he enjoyed most about the trip was seeing the barracks where he once ate and worked.
Linda Siktberg, director of Ball State's School of Nursing, and Derick Virgil, director of the Multicultural Center, joined Bock on the educators' tour.
Virgil said the trip provided him with valuable information about the U.S. Amry he could share with students who visit the Multicultural Center. Virgil, who grew up on a military base while his father was in the service, was somewhat familiar with Army life prior to the tour.
"(But) I got a much deeper, complete and updated account of the bases. It was awesome," said Virgil.
The tour has since provided Virgil with the knowledge to present to students military options that could help fund their college educations.
If certain students are struggling with financial loans and funding, they can earn money through the Army. The Army also looks to colleges for applicants with technical and scientific experience, Virgil explained.
"A few students find out that school's not for them," Virgil said. "The Army gives them another option."
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