DoD Sponsorship of FIRST

[Martinez]

DeepWater, please send me a PM. I'm a recently laid of Lockheed Martin Contractor who is currently going back to school to be NYS certified in Physics/Math. My desire is to be come a DoDS teacher and as an Air Force Brat would love to see a more active military sponsorship.

Places to start would be the Chesapeake Regional. The Navel Academy has been sponsoring a FIRST competition there for numourous years. The acting Sec of the Navy dropped in on Sat to be a Judge. My guess is what ever was being talked about at Kickoff will be BIG, but is likely still *classified*

Also, there was a team last year at that regional who is sponsored by an Army Research Lab. I can't remember the name exactly, something Hawks, but talking to them is well worth it.

Other food for thought is that Lockheed Martin is one of the largest sponsors of FIRST Teams, yet there are alot of sites that don't have teams, including the largely untapped LM Aero. With a new Utah Regional, it maybe be easier to get the AF Academy on board. If any FIRST students are attending/planning to attend, they might be able to start up a team with our support simularly to what was originally done at Clarkson (229). Also, the Air Force Research Lab in Rome NY also has a mentorship program with the local high school, so while it isn't FIRST, there is a precident.