Students pay an educational visit to Vandenberg

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Yvonne Morales
  • 30th Space Wing Public Affairs
Fifty-eight students from Colorado School of Mines visited the base May 19, 2014, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The college juniors are majoring in petroleum engineering and got together for the first time as a class to get an overview of the industry they will be working in.

Jay Pritchard, Vandenberg Space and Missile heritage Center director, gave the students a tour of the museum, enriching them in the history of the base and mission here. Following the museum tour, students explored Lompoc Landing with Anthony Nelson, 30th Civil Engineer Squadron installation restoration program project manager. Nelson walked around the shore showing students the geological rock fractures and how they were created.

The 10 day trip involved visiting petroleum sites around the coast to include Huntington Beach, Bakersville, Vandenberg, and Ventura. The objective of the trip was to expose the students to oil and gas operations, production drilling, and structural geology to get a better understanding of the course they will be taking.