Kittatinny salutes United States veterans

Kittatinny — Three military personnel stationed at Picatinny Arsenal in Rockaway Township demonstrated the power of robots during an annual salute to veterans at Kittatinny Regional High School. More than a dozen U. S. veterans representing the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Navy arrived before 7 a.m. They were warmly greeted and thanked by social studies supervisor Sharon Falchetta, who coordinated the annual program this year. The veterans, residents of local and neighboring communities, volunteered to visit social studies classes and tell students about their experiences in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Adding a sense of continuity, Staff Sgt. Brian Ackerstrom, from the National Guard, joined the veterans to give an update on the current structure of the military today. On stage in the afternoon, Army Master Sgt. Gregory Miller, Staff Sgt. Isaac Allender, and Sgt. Major Gerald Schreck exhibited the power of two different robotic models, heavily used by the military to detonate explosives and mines. The robots, worth about $120,000, also can launch weapons. “Without these robots, I’m convinced we wouldn’t be here today,” Miller explained as he told students how an Iraqi bomber watched and waited as soldiers approached a roadside explosive in 2004, detonating it as they drew closer. Miller and Allender escaped with their lives, but their robotic counterpart was decimated. Students at the 7-12 school in Hampton Township watched as the robot model called Talon rolled and reached on the auditorium stage. The soldiers operate the robots from computers 300 to 500 meters away. Equipped with cameras, the robot lets soldiers capture a view of what lies ahead of them. Soldiers also demonstrated the force of the Pac Bot, a smaller military robot weighing 40 pounds. Because of its relatively light weight, troops can carry the Pac Bot on their backs. Miller told students a funny story about an encounter in one of his tours overseas. He and his colleagues were trying to defuse a rocket pointed at an Iraqi home when a strange dog arrived on the scene and chased the robot for nearly an hour. The high-tech presentation stood in contrast to the many stories related by the veterans of other conflicts. There are at least four veterans teaching at Kittatinny, one of whom volunteered to talk to students about his experiences. Former Air Force Staff Sgt. Mark Schulte, who is currently a physical education teacher at Kittatinny, doubled up in the classroom with Bill Berliner, who had been a chaplain in the Korean War. Kittatinny Superintendent Bob Walker, who couldn’t be on hand to greet the visitors, said, “Kittatinny administration and staff recognize the courage of our veterans and their unselfish devotion to our country. I thank them, not only for their service, but also for volunteering to share with our students their history and background, which represent invaluable hands-on lessons that cannot be learned from textbooks. I appreciate also that our local military personnel are willing to give us their time to demonstrate the latest technological tools that are designed to help our troops when they put themselves in harm’s way.” Sgt. Major Schreck urged students to reflect about how much our veterans have contributed to the United States and the freedoms enjoyed today.