WABI, WVII Cover Maine Army National Guard Educator Flight
WABI (Channel 5) and WVII (Channel 7) reported on the Maine Army National Guard’s inaugural Educator Flight. Officials from the University of Maine, Husson University and other local schools gathered at the Army Aviation Support Facility in Bangor to get hands-on experience with lifesaving equipment used by the Maine Army National Guard as part of an organized tour for educators. Members of the military demonstrated training gear such as night vision goggles and iStan, a realistic mannequin that can cost up to a quarter of a million dollars. They also offered rides in a small Black Hawk helicopter. “We flew with the doors open the whole time and I got a door seat, so that was very exciting. It was a bucket list thing to be able to do. I had never done that before,” said Jeff Hunt, director of UMaine’s Campus Recreation. The educators also learned about opportunities and benefits offered by the Army Guard and UMaine’s ROTC program, which includes 100 percent tuition assistance and job training in more than 100 career fields that are all part time with full-time benefits, WVII reported.