Education, education, education! Lieutenant General Ben Freakley U.S. Army

I want to follow-up on my earlier post about what I saw and heard during my time with the U.S. Army, Don Schumacher Racing and the NHRA at the 56th Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.

One word sums up the focus I saw in many of their events.  Education.

I had a chance to sit down with Lieutenant General Ben Freakley to discuss today’s Army and why they are involved in NHRA.

 Here is that interview.  I think you’ll hear some surprising information.  Judge for yourself as I did.

**As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have spent this Labor Day weekend at the NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis as a guest of the U.S. Army. Although they paid my transportation costs, no editorial direction was given. I was allowed access to all events and personnel surrounding the Army’s 10th anniversary of partnering with the NHRA and Don Schumacher Racing.***

NHRA & U.S. Army team up for more than just drag racing

Let me start by saying that the U.S. Army invited me to cover their 10th anniversary celebration this weekend of sponsorship in the NHRA. That invitation included them paying my travel expenses. However, they did not tell me what to write or report.

Something I saw very early this Friday morning at O’Reilly Raceway Park and the NHRA U.S. Nationals was very eye-opening.  A few thousand high school age men and women came to the track at 8AM to participate in the NHRA/U.S. Army Youth Education Services program. (www.nhra.net/YES)

 

Yes they did get a chance to do various “Army” things but they also got to hear from NHRA drivers about how an education and teamwork helped them achieve their dreams.

U.S. Army top-fuel driver and the man that has won six straight NHRA Top Fuel crowns, Tony Schumacher,  talked about how as a youngster he put off doing the hard work in high school until “tomorrow” until tomorrow became today.

There were also inspirational stories from a few Army members themselves who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hopefully these young men and women that attended the YES program will remember what they heard and saw today.  Not to have them sign up to be a member of the U.S. Army per se, but to become better students and citizens.  That in itself is a worthy outcome.