A Stonemason’s Work: Monterey Airmen get a glimpse of the finished product

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Steven Boles
  • 311th Training Squadron
PRESIDIO OF MONTEREY, Calif. --  In medieval Europe, a cathedral could sometimes take decades, even centuries, to build. After a plot was selected, workers would lay the foundation stone by stone before building upward into an awe-inspiring structure. While the drawings and words of motivation from a foreman may have been enough to keep a stonemason hard at work, it was nothing compared to a Notre Dame Cathedral visit in Paris to see what the end result of their efforts could be.

Although we're not building cathedrals, the Air Force is working to produce trained linguists, a process that requires a solid foundation of language skills built through the intensive training environment at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. Like a stonemason's trip to Notre Dame, we too try to inspire and motivate Airmen with a field trip to show them the end result of their efforts.

On Sept. 24, 100 Airmen from the 517th Training Group at the Presidio of Monterey, Calif., were given a reprieve from the intense work of laying the foundation stones of language and were treated to a visit to a "cathedral." Early in the morning, while the coastal fog was still creeping between the dormitories, the Airmen began their five-hour journey to Beale Air Force Base, Calif., to witness intelligence squadrons in action.

The Airmen received capabilities briefings from the 9th and 13th Intelligence squadrons and over the course of the presentations, professionals from these intelligence units provided the Airmen a detailed look into the world of Imagery Intelligence and how imagery is used to support the warfighting effort worldwide. They explained the importance of having well trained, culturally perceptive intelligence professionals to provide the analysis needed to transform raw data into useful products for intelligence customers worldwide.

In addition to the briefings, professionals from the 13th IS escorted Airmen into a secure area giving them a first-hand view of intelligence professionals performing operational missions - many who were only a few years further along the same career path as the students.

Of course no visit to an Air Force base would be complete without a visit to the flightline. The Airmen were treated to a hands-on display of both the U2 Dragon Lady and Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft. They received detailed explanations of the two aircraft including capabilities, characteristics, history and possible future applications.

Although these linguists-in-training didn't visit a famous cathedral, the idea behind the trip was similar. In place of flying buttresses at the cathedral, they were shown flying collection platforms related to their career. In place of ribbed vaults, they entered a secure vault and got a glimpse behind the curtain where they may one day sit. There were no Latin crosses like those of the historic cathedrals, but the aircraft tails proudly displayed the iron crosses as a symbol of the Air Force's proud heritage in combat. This visit may have not been to Notre Dame, but it provided the Airmen with significant inspiration and motivation as to the important mission and careers they have ahead of them.