Math in the Military Published March 26, 2015 By Airman 1st Class Chip Slack 27th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- Volunteers from Cannon took part in the Math in the Military event at Gattis Middle School in Clovis, New Mexico, Thursday. Air Commandos had the opportunity to put their Air Force practices into a hands-on event for the students of Gattis, which included learning about ratios involving equipment on a helicopter to calculating the center balance of a vehicle. Cannon’s youngest Air Commandos rotated through various stations that tested their mathematical skills in new and exciting ways. As students lined up to sample Meals, Ready to Eat, Airman 1st Class Melissa Birdsong, 27th Special Operations Force Support Squadron food apprentice, explained the benefits of the packaged meals. "Each meal contains around 2,000 calories," she said. "When we are out in the field, these meals come in handy because they are fast, portable and can last for about 25 years!” Outside, students had the opportunity to properly counterweigh a vehicle with Airman Nicholas Machado, 27th Special Operations Logistics Readiness Squadron air transportation apprentice. "It is important to know the proper weight and center-of-balance of the vehicles so when we load them in an aircraft, we can balance the plane properly,” he explained to the group. While the event was geared to be entertaining for the students of Gattis Middle School, participants were amazed at discovering a connection between math and the military. “I think it is phenomenal we had the volunteers that we did,” said Keri McDonald, 27th Special Operations Force Support Squadron community readiness consultant. “They made this night a huge success. Having the opportunity for students to see how math is used in a real-world setting is very important. Whether it is understanding the importance of proper calorie intake or putting the Pythagorean Theorem into practice, students had the chance to see that math is everywhere.”