Paducah Tilghman Naval Junior ROTC cadets traveled to Columbia, Missouri and St. Louis, Missouri on April 16-19 for their End-of-Year trip. The annual trip gives cadets the opportunity to experience military sites and STEM activities.
One the first day of their trip, the cadets visited the Hydrofoil Museum to see the USS Aries, a cold war Navy Hydrofoil. They also visited the Missouri Military Museum at the National Guard Headquarters in Jefferson City, Missouri.
On the second day of their trip, cadets visited the University of Missouri in Columbia. While there, cadets had a campus tour and spent several hours with the midshipmen of the NROTC Unit, including a brief with the Professor of Naval Science (Captain Ulmer) and a ship-driving simulator.
On the third day of their trip, cadets visited Scott AFB and were immersed in the USAF Honor Guard (which supports 2800 funerals a year), biomedical safety, and casualty medical training. The Honor Guard Staff performed a mock funeral service which was very impressive and then put the cadets through armed knockout. The cadets learned about water testing and radiation monitoring. Then the cadets got hands-on medical training later in the day. Once their visit was completed at Scott AFB the group visited the St. Louis Zoo and Science Museum.
On the last day of their trip, cadets visited Gateway Arch National Park, the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, and the Missouri National Veterans Memorial in Perryville.