Exclusive engineering experience

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Heather Ley
  • 5th Bomb Wing Public Affairs

Six Airmen from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota were selected to participate in the Engineer Week Immersion to learn the various jobs within the 5th Civil Engineer Squadron, Feb. 21, 2019.

From operating an excavator to putting on full bunker gear, participants got to experience a day in the life of a Team Minot Engineer.

“The immersion was an opportunity for people [in different career fields] to see what we do,” said 2nd Lt. Tyler Rodriguez, 5th CES project programmer. “We have our hands in a lot of different things on base and we try to make sure everything runs smoothly.”

To show the various aspects of 5th CES, the participants were taken to several different shops to get a hands-on experience.

“As people mature and progress in their careers, they have opportunities to see what other career fields do,” said Lt. Col. Matthew Altman, 5th CES commander. “If we can expose what engineers do to other Airmen earlier on in their careers, it will give them a broader perspective to take back to their work centers.”

The participants traded a day at their work centers for a day dedicated to the tour, so they could fully immerse themselves into the engineering world.

“The Airmen were selected by their first sergeants to give us high performers who they thought would be good ambassadors to share what they learned from the immersion with their squadrons,” said Rodriguez.

The tour included visits to the following: power production, heavy equipment, water fuel maintenance systems, engineering flight, emergency management, the fire department and the explosive ordnance disposal team.

Throughout the day, each shop was eager to show the tour members their shop’s responsibilities and the importance they have on the mission.

“The engineers are excited to be a part of Team Minot,” said Altman. “We are very proud to contribute to the important missions of both wings and glad to have the opportunity to expose people to what we do.”

Although the participants for the Engineer Week Immersion were selected by their first sergeants, anyone interested in engineering has the opportunity to find out more.

“Anytime we have people interested in 5th CES, even outside of engineer week, we are more than happy to show other Airmen what we do,” said Rodriguez.