By: Captain Victor Salum and Staff Sergeant Dat Trinh
Moffett Airfield Visit
Early in the semester, Detachment 045 (SJSU) and Detachment 085 (UC Berkeley) AFROTC cadets had the opportunity to visit the California Air National Guard’s 129th Rescue Wing (RQW) located at Moffett Airfield in Sunnyvale, CA. The primary purpose of the visit was to learn about the 129th RQW mission and how they support both the California Governor and the President of the United States in times of emergency. The cadets had the opportunity to speak to some of the military members that call Moffett Airfield home, learning about their primary career field which range from pilots, medical officers, intelligence officers, security forces, special operations, aircraft operations, finance officers, contracting specialists and more. The cadets were excited to visit and learn about the 129th RQW but the highlight of the day were the incentive flights where cadets had the opportunity to fly on one of the two aircrafts stationed at Moffett Airfield, the HH-60G Pave Hawk and the HC-130J Combat King II aircraft. The pilots of the aircrafts gave a tour of the Bay Area with the flight path going over SJSU, Stanford University, UC Berkeley and even historical landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. This visit was possible due to our Detachment Commander & Aerospace Studies Department Chair, Lt Col Joshua Sullivan, relationship with the 129th Rescue Squadron Commander, Lt Col Rudolph Taute. Both graduated and received their commission from the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO, went through undergraduate pilot training in 2004, and have been friends ever since. The relationship that they have built over the years helped to further enhance some of the AFROTC training objectives we are required to meet each academic year.
Active Shooter Training
With the increase of mass shootings over the past decade, the cadets of Detachment 045 at SJSU had the opportunity to partner with SJSU’s University Police Department and the 129th Security Forces Squadron from Moffett Airfield to receive active shooter training. Cadets learned through in-class briefings provided by trained specialists what an Active Shooter is, the unpredictability and quick involvement of an active shooter situation, and how individuals must prepare both mentally and physically to deal with an active shooter situation. Shortly after, cadets went through multiple active shooter scenarios and applied what they had learned in the classroom. Active shooter training is important training that does not stop after cadets commission into the Department of the Air Force, it is required training they must receive even when they enter active duty. An overview of the active shooter training may be viewed in the following video link. https://www.dvidshub.net/video/837585/129th-security-forces-train-afrotc-cadets
