ACE Students get Mo. National Guard Tour

This story appeared on the Missouri National Guard web site March 1.

By: Silas Allen
Unit Public Affairs Representative

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri National Guard recently hosted a group of nine South Korean students visiting Missouri.




The students’ visit was a part of American Courses in English, a program that supports Asian college students during six-week visits to Missouri. The program is operated by the University of Missouri’s Asian Affairs Center, Missouri International Training Institute.

The students’ visit was hosted by members of the Missouri National Guard’s strategic plans, policies and joint exercises department, which also handles Missouri’s State Partnership Program with the Panamanian government. During their visit, the students toured the Missouri National Guard state headquarters at Ike Skelton Training Site on Feb. 8. Representatives from both the Army and Air National Guard briefed the visitors about the Guard’s mission.

Staff Sgt. Crystal Jansen, of the strategic plans, policies and joint exercises department, acted as a guide for the students. Jansen holds a bachelor’s degree in international business, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in the same subject, so officials in the directorate thought coordinating the visit would be a good fit for her.

“It was just kind of a project that my leaders thought that I would be able to handle,” said Jansen, who works for the department.

Col. Kathleen Hancox, of the Air National Guard, gave the students an overview of the major Air Guard units in Missouri, as well as the Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center, a school at Rosecrans Air National Guard Base in St. Joseph. Hancox also explained the Air National Guard’s duties to the nation, the state and the community.

Jansen then explained the history of the National Guard to the students. She described the National Guard’s dual role on the state and federal level.

“We provide federal support when we’re called upon, and we provide state support when we’re needed,” she said.

Jansen used the National Guard’s response to Hurricane Katrina as an example of the Guard’s role of supporting civilian authorities during times of crisis. She then went on to describe her own experiences during deployment to Kosovo as a part of Kosovo Force 10.

Jessica Fitzgerald, the American Courses in English coordinator, said that, because there was nothing comparable to the National Guard in South Korea, the students were being exposed to something new. Also, while it is common for American women to join the military, Fitzgerald said, South Korean women tend not to have any exposure to the military. The fact that Jansen led the tour gave the students a chance to see a woman in uniform, Fitzgerald said.

“The men in Korea are required to do two years in the military, but the women have no experience with it at all,” Fitzgerald said.

Also, because of South Korea’s compulsory military service policy, several of the students found it odd that anyone would volunteer to join the military. Jansen explained that Soldiers join the military for a variety of reasons, including pay and benefits, and also out of a sense of duty.

“Some of us join because we feel it is our duty to our country as a whole,” Jansen said.

During the tour, Charles Machon, a Missouri National Guard historian, showed the students a Black History Month display featuring black Soldiers serving in the Missouri National Guard. Jansen then took the group into the Electronic Skills Trainer 2000, a video-based weapons simulator. Because two of the students had already completed their two years of military service, they were already familiar with the M16 rifles the simulator uses.

Following the visit to the headquarters, the students traveled to Jackson to visit Sgt. Maj. Chad Craft’s home. During the week, Craft serves full-time with the department. Craft said the visit provided the students with an opportunity to see what military life looks like outside of the context of the working day.

“Not only did they get a briefing, but they got to see it in normal life, as well,” he said.

Craft said this was the first event the department has hosted with MU’s Asian Affairs Center, and it happened more or less by accident. Because Fitzgerald is a cousin to Craft, she knew the department regularly hosted events of this kind for Panamanian visitors, and asked if it would be possible for the students to visit the training site.

Craft said the department hopes to pursue the partnership in the future. Brig. Gen. Stephen Danner, adjutant general of the Missouri National Guard, has made it clear that he would support any ties the department can forge with MU, Craft said.

“Anything we can do to formalize and improve ties within the community, we want to do,” he said.

Jansen agreed, saying she hoped the Missouri National Guard and the Asian Affairs Center would be able to build on the success of the initial visit.

“I think everybody had a good time, and I think they were able to walk away with a better understanding of the National Guard,” she said. “I think that both sides were pleased with the outcome.”