Middle school students learn to 'Stay on Track'

The 12 students from Colonial Hills Christian School stand in front of a counter drug helicopter with Task Force commander Lt. Col. Brock Gaston, Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Herndon, instructors, pilots and crew members. (Georgia National Guard photo by Spc. Amanda Kenny)

By Spc. Amanda Kenny
Georgia National Guard
Public Affairs Office

LITHIA SPRINGS, Ga. -- The Counter Drug Task Force welcomed their first class of graduates from the "Stay on Track" program at Colonial Hills Christian School where 12 middle school students graduated the pilot program.

“This is a great day for us as American Soldiers to be standing in front of you,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Hurndon, command sergeant major of the 48th Infantry Combat Brigade and the Governor’s Counter Drug Task Force.

“This is a nationally recognized program,” he continued. “We met with the governor last week to try and implement the program through out the state.”

Students learned different skills including how to deal with peer pressure, conflict resolution and drug resistance. Hurndon told the students that these were skills the students could take with them for the rest of their lives.

“Soldiers have to keep their skills honed and polished,” he told them. “These are skills you can take with you  to high school and beyond.”

Hurndon also spoke to the students about how their attitude can affect anything they do, and how a positive attitude is continuous.

“We are all faced with things we don’t want to do, but we have to do them,” he explained. “Next time your parents ask you to take out the trash or you have homework, instead of hanging your head and grumbling about it, grab that trash bag and run outside yelling HOOAH!”

While "Stay on Track" teaches about not giving into peer pressure, it's not always negative, said Hurndon. Students can pressure friends to do good things like get good grades, or to stay away from drugs.

The students also were given a chance to see a helicopter used by the task force, that was landed on the back field of the school.