Miss Arizona teens learn Air Force ways at Luke

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jasmine Reif
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Winners of the 2009 National American Miss Pageant and their family members visited units across Luke Air Force Base Monday for a base tour and to give photo opportunities to Airmen.

The National American Miss Pageant helps girls, ages 6 to 18, gain poise, self-confidence and valuable communication skills to help them succeed in life.

The queens and their family members began their tour by visiting the 62nd Fighter Squadron, where they were outfitted in flight suits and given flight patches embroidered with their names.

They received a mission brief, looked inside an F-16 cockpit and toured a maintenance hangar.

Kelly Seiberlich, Miss Arizona junior teen, grew up in the Air Force, and her mother wanted to give the other queens the opportunity to learn more about the military.

"The National American Miss Pageant is a very patriotic organization," said Debbie Seiberlich. "Kelly's dad is retired Air Force and Jessica Reed's (Miss Arizona preteen) dad was an Army Ranger. The whole group loves the armed forces and while parades are fun, this is a chance for them to learn something."

The girls took a lunch break at 56th Operations Support Squadron wing life support before learning about the Emergency Global Rescue, Escape and Survival System and parachute training from Senior Airman Domenic Biasotti, 56th OSS EGRESS trainer.

"So far I liked the parachute training the best," Miss Reed said. "I have been to the base many times but never got a chance to see how everything works."

Some of the queens want to become veterinarians, and were looking forward to visiting the military working dog facility.

"My favorite part during the first half of the tour has been the rattlesnake at life support, but I really liked the military working dogs, because I want to be a veterinarian," said Dylan Hendricks, Miss Arizona teen.

After arriving at the MWD facility, Tech. Sgt. John Pillarella, 56th Security Forces Squadron MWD NCO-in-charge, told them about how the program works and gave them a tour of the facility. Staff Sgt. Kyle Alltop, 56th SFS MWD handler, brought out his dog, Chrach, for an attack and obstacle course demonstration.

"We like doing our dog demos because it gives the dog the recognition they deserve," Sergeant Pillarella said. "The handlers work hard training their dogs and enjoy showing off the dogs' capabilities to anyone, whether it's a distinguished visitor or a Girl Scout troop."

The tour concluded with a ride in the F-16 simulator, which gave the girls the opportunity to experience how it feels to fly in a jet.

Throughout the tour, Airmen across the wing were given an opportunity to talk about wing operations and how it ties into the Air Force mission.

"Chrach and I love being a mentor to kids by teaching them right from wrong," Sergeant Alltop said. "We enjoyed the Miss Arizona teens because most of them wanted to be veterinarians when they grow up, and we were able to teach them some things they really enjoyed."