Manchester Students Welcome Joint Base General

MANCHESTER, NJ — Manchester Township Elementary School students got a chance to hear a little bit about life in the Air Force as Maj. Gen. Christopher J. Bence, the commander of the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, visited the school recently.

The entire student body gathered in the school’s all purpose room to welcome Bence, who is a two-star general. The high school's JROTC cadets provided an honor guard and color guard, assisted by the Junior Impact Club students and color guard at Manchester Township Elementary School.

Bence, who was dressed in a flight jumpsuit, talked about his job, the Air Force and some of the many places he has lived, district officials said in a news release.

"Our motto is close to your school’s," Bence told the students. "It is 'Excel in All We Do' and it means we always try to do our best." Manchester's motto is Excellence by Example.

Bence told the students he is in charge of the large planes at the base that carry all kinds of cargo and he still flies those planes sometimes. He and his team recently helped with hurricane relief efforts, flying into affected areas to bring water, food, electric generators and construction supplies. Sometimes these planes serve as flying ambulances with all kinds of medical equipment and doctors and nurses on board.

One of the more unusual things he has transported was live dolphins, which the Navy uses for port surveillance.

Bence explained the different types of Air Force uniforms, pointing to his accompanying staff members as examples of dress uniform, patrol battle unit, and aircrew uniform. The jumpsuit he wore is the aircrew uniform, which is fireproof.

"Safety is always first," Bence said.

Students asked him why he joined the Air Force. “I wanted to be a pilot, I wanted to fly airplanes,” he replied. He starts his work day about 7:15 a.m. and usually leaves around 6 p.m.

"My job is fun," he said. "I am in charge of an organization with people in 23 countries."

After the schoolwide assembly program, the general spoke separately to fifth-graders and then fourth-graders in the school media center. He went into more detail explaining his job and his unit’s mission, showing models of the planes he flies, a flak jacket, a flight helmet, headphones, and a signal mirror. Students were able to get a closer look as they passed some of the items around.

“We are so grateful for this extraordinary opportunity for our students,” MTES Principal Linda Waldron said. “Thank you so much to Maj. Gen. Bence and his staff for taking so much time to meet with our students. They were so excited and will remember this visit as a highlight of their time at MTES.”

Photos by Lee Bruzaitis, Manchester Township School District public information officer