GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Spinstra, or Special Instrument Training, has moved out of the Brandenburg Hall to join the 312th Training Squadron, at the Louis F. Garland Department of Defense Fire Academy, giving them more room and opportunity to train the 9S100s, Scientific Application Specialists.
“We have joined our squadron,” said Master Sgt. Manuel Campo, 312th TRS assistant flight chief. “For the last 20 years we have been separated from our squadron, but the fire academy offers facilities, resources and support unlike anything we have ever had.”
One such opportunity is the NOVA lab, which stands for Neural Optimization via Application, Where students are free to get hands-on experience with 3-D printers, programming computers and real-world application of their lessons with things such as a Tesla coil.
“I have always wanted to build a Tesla coil,” said Staff Sgt. David Hunt, 312th TRS Spinstra instructor. “I had some ideas on how it may work, so I spoke with the students about it and they were extremely interested in it and asked me if I would be willing to come in on a Saturday and help them build one. I was surprised, excited and impressed that they were willing to donate their time to working on the project. For the past couple of weekends we have put in time building our Tesla coil. It has been a tremendous mentoring opportunity.”
Spinstra is the technical school for the 9S100s, and the new location helps them with their training, but the change of scenery isn’t the only thing getting the students on the right path early. The instructors are just as excited about learning and sharing their knowledge.
“I have always had that spark of interest in science,” said Hunt. “Being an instructor, I get to facilitate those who want to learn. I get to be a standing, walking, talking, Wikipedia for them, because I have been there, I have been out to the field, I can answer their questions about the career field, I can answer their questions about computers, science and all of these different topics that I love. Now I get to pass that down to the next generation.”
With small career fields like the 9S100s, the instructors know that they will be seeing their students again out in the field. Making sure the students are excited and wanting to learn helps insure that once the students graduate they will be the best version of themselves as possible for their upcoming journey.