A group of teenagers ranging from recent graduates to current high school seniors visited U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground to learn about the opportunities the U.S. Army offers.

Some are already committed, others are close. On Jan. 29, they all had the opportunity to learn how the Soldiers with the Airborne Test Force (ATF) at Yuma Test Center support the Army.

One by one, test parachutists jumped on to the drop zone as the recruits along with their recruiters and the ground support crew for the jumpers looked on. The future Soldiers saw both low and high-altitude jumps.

Anthony Cardone, a Senior at Gila Ridge High School, has already committed to the Army and hopes to serve as a parachutist.

“I am here to see hopefully some of what I will doing in the Army with the military free fall jumps,” said Cardone.

In 2019, San Luis, Ariz. resident Sgt. Briana Corona, a current Soldier with ATF, attended a similar tour at YPG just after enlisting and getting her Military Occupational Specialty assignment as a 92R, which is a parachute packer.

“It was pretty cool because I got to see what 92 Romeos actually do. We went to the shop, and I saw them packing, then they rigged me up.”

Now, she’s the one who hopes to inspire these recruits and open their minds to the possibilities an Army career provides.

“I hope they get to see all the opportunities they have. They don’t have to just go there and do their job. They can go to school to become jumpmasters, jumpers, go to free fall school.”

ATF Staff Sgt. Kyle Dunwiddie coordinated the visit along with the local Army recruiter Staff Sgt. Bernardo Figueroa. Dunwiddie is serving a second tour of duty at YPG, the first having been from 2013 to 2018. At the time, he established the alliance with the local recruiter and upon his return he reestablished the connection because of its success the first time.

“A lot of them weren’t initially going in on airborne contracts and that’s something they started asking the recruiters about,” he said.

During the visit, ATF Master Sgt. Donald Bullock educated the students on the Ranger regiment, opening their eyes to another career opportunity.

Dunwiddie is just shy of two years from retirement. He said the Army has given him skills, training and the opportunity to see seven counties while helping partner forces. Yet it’s Army life that’s impacted him the most.

“More than anything it’s given me experience and friendships,” remarked Dunwiddie.

For Cardone, seeing the world is an experience he looks forward to along with personal growth, saying he hopes to, “come out a new person, hopefully transform into something better, someone new.”

And with that determination his career will likely soar.

“I always wanted to join the Army, and then as I got older, I wanted to be part of the special operation forces like what they have here. Then I also decided I wanted to be a ranger my freshmen year of high school and set my path when I was 15 and I have been working towards it ever since.”