Alaska Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6
Good Morning!! Today was another fun filled day with tons of stuff that had lined up for us! We went to Fort Wainwright Army Base where we hosted a meet and greet at the Warrior Zone. They gave us a tour of the Warrior Zone, and we got to see some of the electronics they were provided with to keep the troops entertained. It was so amazing to see some of these things! One room had just tons of big screen TVs in a circle and a couch in front of each TV with PlayStations and XBOXs hooked up to each! There was also one huge projector screen covering an entire wall with tons of theater seating for movies and game days!
We then got to experience the troops' Winter Tactic Exercise. This was unbelievable! They had "good guys" and "bad guys". One group of guys was in a striker, and when they pulled up, they immediately got out and started sneaking toward the other troops who were set up hiding behind some snow mounts and ready to fire their weapons. They each began "shooting" at each other (no ammo in the weapons). This experience felt so real because the guns made noise as if they were actually shooting, but nothing was launched! When they first began shooting, all of us cheerleaders dropped to the ground. We weren't officially convinced apparently! The troops got quite a kick out of that! Before concluding the training, they allowed us to ride in the Striker with them. It was a complete adrenaline rush to be in such a powerful vehicle! After leaving this site, we saw moose! We were thrilled! We had been on a moose hunt the entire trip, and finally the moment came. They were gigantic! I don't think any of us were prepared to see how big they truly were.
We went back to our hotel to freshen up and prepare for our cheer camp we had set up for the kids. All of the activities here were put on by volunteers, so it is important that there are people who will dedicate their spare time to these children in order for these kids to remain active. We, the cheerleaders, had one side of the gymnasium to have our cheer camp, and the football players had the other side to host their camp. We let all of the girls show us a fun trick or cheer move that they had, then we taught them a fun routine! We handed out pompoms for them to use. They loved it! Some of the girls had never owned poms before. At the end, we got the football players and mascot side to come over for all of the girls to perform for them! It was a blast! We wrapped up the evening by allowing everyone time to ask any questions they wanted to know. The one question they really wanted to know was how to get to the professional world. We all told the kids to always follow their dreams, stay focused, and never give up. These were some amazing children.
We ended the night with our team dinner, sharing many stories about our day. We have all gotten so close to one another already. Still can't believe I am on this powerful journey right now. Sleep well Titans Nation!
Tandra
