Page 3 - Aerotech News and Review 9-4-15

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by A1C Jake Carter JPO or myself is doing, the program will crum- Rose said. “As the leader of the Joint Program right sight picture and they’re heading in the
Nellis AFB, Nev. ble. So the key is integrity.” 2I¿FHKH¶VLQFKDUJHRIGHYHORSPHQWDQG¿HOG- right direction and it’s a challenging task.”
ing the entire F-35 program. It speaks volumes
The American Flag hangs from the draps “When I come to work everyday I work for when the leader of that organization comes to the “People love to criticize the F-35,” Rose said.
RYHUWZR)/LJKWQLQJ,,¶VDVÀRUHVFHQWOLJKW WZRJURXSVRISHRSOH,ZRUNIRUWKHZDU¿JKWHUV base and talks to the airmen about the program “The reality is usually far different, as someone
¿OOVWKHKDQJDU7ZRJUDQGVWDQGVVLWFRLQFLGLQJ and I work for the taxpayers,” Bogdan said. “My and how it affects them.” who has been involved in the F-35 program since
to each other full of eager Airmen and civilian concern everyday when I come to work is spend- 2009, the airplane is actually quite impressive,
contractors as they wait for Lt. Gen. Christopher ing every dollar the taxpayer gives me as wisely “His speech was promising. It’s obvious that the capability that it brings is awe inspiring, we
Bogdan as he will update them on the future of as I can and making the right decisions for the the program is shifting from a developmental need to be patient, we need to work hard and we
the program. ZDU¿JKWHUVKRUWDQGORQJWHUP´ IRFXVWRDZDU¿JKWLQJ¿HOGHGRSHUDWLRQDODLU- need to work hard to make it into the airplane
plane,” Rose said. “It’s obvious they’ve got the we need it to be.”
$V%RJGDQHQWHUVWKHURRPWKH¿UVWWKLQJKH “Lt. Gen. Bogdan is here for communication,”
lets Airmen know that he is proud of them for
everything they have done and all the accom- Lt. Gen.
plishments that have been made at Nellis. Christopher
C. Bogdan,
“I want to say thank you and congratulations the program
to the whole team here,” Bogdan said. “The fact executive
that the U.S. Marine Corps, on July 31 they went RI¿FHUIRUWKH
IOC, which was a right step in this program and F-35 Lightning
it takes an entire team to get this done.” II Joint
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“To be able to come from where we were four in Arlington,
DQG¿YH\HDUVDJRWRQRZKDYHRQHRIWKHVHU- Va., speaks
vices able to take the airplane in to combat is a to Airmen
pretty darn good achievement,” Bogdan said. “It and civilian
was done mainly with you folks.” employees
who work on
Bogdan, who was referring to Operational the F-35A
Testing that is conducted at Nellis, see the pro- Lightning II at
gram increasingly picking up steam as it head for Nellis Air Force
Air Force IOC on Aug. 1, 2016. Base, Nev.,
Aug. 27, 2015.
“From 2011, when we rebased the program
to now, we are making some pretty slow but U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Siuta B. Ika
some good progress,” Bogdan said. “We are at a
point now in the program where because of that
progress, we are no longer slow and steady. We
are past the slow and steady progress; we are
now growing and accelerating rapidly on this
program.”

“We will do everything we can to give the Air
Force everything they need,” Bogdan said. “If
we fall through, the responsibility falls on me.
But I need you to also do your part as well.”

“This program runs on two things; money and
trust,” Bogdan said. “If people cant trust what

Space PALMDALE, Calif.—“Amazing,” classroom instruction?”
Camp: “inspiring” and “motivating” were a The academy’s selection committee
Once in few of the words Space Camp gradu-
a lifetime ates Lauren Baker and Ethan Calde- reviewed the essay responses and se-
experience rone used to describe their experience lected the best. Those applicants were
recent experience at Space Camp. offered the opportunity to travel to
Huntsville, Ala., for the experience of
Ethan Calderone, a Palmdale Aero- a lifetime. Industry partner Northrop
space Academy 8th grade student, saw Grumman, sponsored the trip for one
Space Camp as a great opportunity. student and one teacher from the
Aerospace Academy.
³,¿QGDHURVSDFHDQGDVWURVFLHQFH
extremely interesting and fun; and I Past Palmdale Aerospace Academy
saw this as an opportunity to improve students who attended Space Camp
my comprehension in these subjects.” sponsored by Northrop Grumman,
It wasn’t just about the science, Calde- include Lindsay Onofre (9th grade)
rone said. “I had a chance to learn and Manuel Puyot (10th grade) who
about something so exciting and meet attended in the summers of 2014 and
new people.” 2013, respectively.

Applying the experience of space Onofre noted that a lot of what she
camp to the classroom was what in- learned at camp she was learning in
trigued Aerospace Academy life sci- her classes at school. The students
ence teacher, Lauren Baker, the most. and teacher that attended space camp
know one thing is for sure, if anyone
“I plan to use the different En- is given the opportunity to go, you
gineering Design challenges and should.
techniques they taught us [at camp]
throughout the course of the year.” Calderone reiterated, “There is just
Baker described her experience at so much to learn about and do, that
space camp as, “It was more fun than you just have to go.”
I’ve ever had. They put us in some
real-life stressful situations, but even The Palmdale Aerospace Academy
those were thrilling and a great time.” charter school is a joint venture be-
tween the City of Palmdale, the AERO
Selection for space camp was based Institute and the Palmdale School Dis-
upon the students’ response to several trict. Inspired by the accomplishments
different essay prompts; Calderone of Palmdale’s aerospace heritage, the
chose to write a response to each of academy is a project-based learning
WKH¿YHHVVD\SURPSWVWRLQFUHDVHKLV environment within a STEM-centric
“opportunities to learn”. professional learning community. For
more information, visit www.tpaa.org.
Similarly, Baker had to respond to
the question: “How would your expe-
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September 3, 2015 Aerotech News and Review 3

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