Vermont Guard hosts leadership, skills competition

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Lloyd Goodrow
  • 158th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AFPN) --  What do you do when more than 600 of your servicemembers are deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and you’re lonely at the Vermont Air National Guard?

You invite 500 Vermont high school students to take over your base for a day and you challenge their technical skills in the 2006 SkillsUSA Competition. 

For the sixth time, the Vermont Air National Guard base has been the place to be for high school students who come to show off the skills they have learned at school technical centers in leadership, health occupations, and trade and industrial contests. 

“Hosting SkillsUSA at the Vermont Air Guard is a wonderful investment in our future,” said Col. Brad Jensen, vice commander of the 158th Fighter Wing. “These young kids come here with eyes wide open and really look forward to working at the home of ‘The Green Mountain Boys’. It’s a wonderful opportunity for the wing to give back to a community that has embraced this unit for over 60 years. These bright young people are the future of America.” 

Hangars and facilities normally reserved for aircraft maintenance and munitions operations are, for one day, the home for hundreds of ambitious high school students who demonstrate their skills in carpentry, framing, electrical, drafting, firefighting, nurse assisting, dental hygiene, automotive repairs, plumbing, computer skills, criminal justice … and even cosmetology. 

Activities in these areas are very different, but the quest for excellence remains the same. Medals are awarded, and the winners go on to the SkillsUSA national competition. 

SkillsUSA serves more than 264,000 students nationwide. Their mission is to prepare high-performing students for public career and technical programs through leadership, teamwork, citizenship and character development.