USPS Publication Number 16300
T h is C o m mu n i t y N ewsp a p er is a pu bl ica t ion of E sca m bia / S a n t a Rosa B a r Assoc ia t ion
Se r v i ng t he Fi r st Jud icial Ci rcu it
Section A, Page 1
Vol. 18, No. 46
Visit The Summation Weekly Online: www.summationweekly.com
November 21, 2018
1 Section, 12 Pages
National Flight Academy: Summer Camp for Adults
by Kaitlyn Peacock
If you haven’t been to the National Naval Aviation Museum onboard Naval Air Station Pensacola yet, you haven’t really seen Pensacola. If you have, then you might not know about the National Flight Academy (NFA) just next door. If you do know about NFA, you might not know that it’s not just a summer camp for your children. NFA offers unique experiences for children and adults alike. NFA’s Adult Team Training Program may be new to most, but it’s actually been a part of NFA for many years. Director of Marketing and Public Relations for the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation (NAMF) Malerie Shelton said she is always surprised at how many people don’t know that they can get a similar experience at NFA as their children. “It’s almost like a little secret,” she said. “People don’t know this is right on the base or what we offer. A lot of the local community understand that if they have a middle or high school student that would be interested in this field, they can send them for our summer deployment program, which are overnight for kids. But they don’t realize that we do have a really unique to come through and customize your own team building.” The Adult Team Training Program focuses more on corporate and business teambuilding and leadership training, but the program can be tweaked to include communications training among other lessons. While the children programs include learning math and science along with leadership skills, the adult program focuses more on the more advanced critical learning and thinking skills. Although the programs are very similar, the leadership, communication and other skills learned from NFA are universal for children and adults, and can be used in and out of the work place.
“Depending on what the client is asking for, they essentially go through missions that are very similar to what the kids do,” Shelton said. “We just take out some of the math, the science, and we turn it into if they want to focus on planning and executing, or something like that. So we can tweak our programing and aviation has so many facets that we can apply to what they are looking for.” The program is run aboard NFA’s simulated aircraft carrier the USS Ambition (CVT-11), a more than 100,000 square-foot, four-story structure. It boasts an impressive array of technology that includes 42 networked flight simulators, board rooms, a fully functioning galley and several breakout rooms. Special effects within Ambition
simulate an actual aircraft carrier, with the sound and feeling of what it would be like to be out on the water aboard a giant ship. “Everything at the National Flight Academy has a purpose, all the decals on the wall, everything on the ship is supposed to mimic what a real aircraft carrier is like,” Shelton said. “I’ve had people who have been aboard real aircraft carriers tell me it’s the closest you can get to the actual thing.” The immersive environment is important to the experience of the program, according to Shelton. People aboard Ambition are thrown into a new environment that no one is used to and no one knows quite what to do. This all lends to a better experience during the program, as well as lending a bit of fun and adventure. With no one knowing what to expect, everyone is put on the same level at the start of the program. “We are putting you in a unique environment that’s outside of your comfort zone,” Shelton said. “All the egos, all of the titles are dropped at the door. When everybody is in an uncomfortable, new environment they are more apt to pay attention and learn more and take it all in.” Programs take at least 12 partici-
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pants to work effectively, but NFA can accommodate up to 200 people at a time, and can take place over several days or a few hours. The program is led by professionals who have experience as team trainers who act as guides to the participants. Depending on what experience you want, NFA’s programs can be changed to fit any need and can focus on one particular skill, say planning and executing, over something like leadership. Among those who have come through NFA include Navy Federal Credit Union, Ascend Materials, the Delaware Chemical Company and more. Shelton said they have had people from all over the country come to experience the program, and many of those who get the chance come back again or send their children the next summer. She said one woman in particular came through the program twice and sent her child to learn at NFA. Between the adult and children programs, NFA has had people from all 50 states and at least seven countries come to experience the program. Shelton said even those who are not interested in aviation or the military find something to enjoy, as they do not center their programs strictly around military teachings, but rather the skills important to communicate and lead successfully. If you find yourself aboard Ambition, Shelton recommends if you do nothing else that you fly the simulators. The 42 simulators are all networked together, meaning everyone in a simulator can see others in the simulators around them as if they were flying in formation. In addition, people in an adjacent room on headphones can also see the “planes” and can communicate with everyone as if they were air traffic controllers. This is just one of the experiences the program offers, and it is unique only to Pensacola and NFA. “There are plenty of unique teambuilding trainings around the world, but for one of them to be here in your backyard, I think a lot of people just don’t know it’s available,” Shelton said. NFA is an educational program operated and supported by NAMF, a 501(c) (3) nonprofit which also supports the National Naval Aviation Museum.
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