Lower School parent Major Aaron Teller (Kenley ’28 and Scarlett ’30) and fellow members of the U.S. Army’s 707th Ordnance Company (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) visited CWA yesterday to show the Wright Angle robotics team and young members of the Tech Club for a demonstration and presentation.
Major Teller shares that the 707th Ordnance Company is one of two EOD companies located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. There are six companies spread across the western U.S who are responsible for the safe disposal of any found military munitions both on and off federal property. They also provide bomb squad support for military installations, to cities without their own civilian bomb squads, and back-up support to other bomb squads. They also routinely work with local and federal law enforcement.
Staff Sergeant Jordan Lindsey gave a presentation on the capabilities for two of their primary robotic platforms, the Talon robot and the PacBot robot, explaining how the robots are designed to keep EOD techs safer by allowing work to be done on hazardous items from a distance. “Tech Club members were excited to see real-world applications of robotic, engineering, and programming skills,” said Lower School science teacher and Tech Club advisor Gabriel Newton. “And…cool robots!” Wright Angle co-coach Jim Albers concurs. “For our FTC robotics team, we were really interested in the design and function of the robots, along with the real-life application as to how robotics and programming can be used in the real world as a career,” he says.
Tarriers were offered hands-on time with the robots and challenged the 707th team to direct the PacBot to climb the stairs outside of the Lower School Commons. “It’s a real pleasure for us to be able to do community engagements both to showcase what we do and educate,” Major Teller says. “Hopefully the presentation nested well with what the students are learning in Tech Club and on the robotics team. The students asked some great questions with regard to range of the robots, the frequency range of the robots, robot grip strength and lift capabilities. Our 707th team was impressed with how engaged the students were. Hopefully this lends to additional innovation ideas for the robotics team and increased interest in technology for the younger students.”
Students from all three divisions were able to participate and learn from this visit. “The Wright Angles and Tech Club students want to thank Major Teller and his team for taking the time to share with us the role of the bomb squad in real-life scenarios and for adding insight as to how robotics can be used to enhance and improve the lives of others—and in this case, ensure the safety of those who must work with explosives,” Mr. Albers says.
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