Ramstein High School volleyball team gets inside look at 521st AMOW mission

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany – Members of the Ramstein High School volleyball team visited the 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing at Ramstein Air Base, Sept. 16, 2026, to learn more about the U.S. Air Force and explore the missions its Airmen support across the globe.

Used to teamwork on the court, the students got a look at what it means to operate as part of a team on a much larger scale supporting Rapid Global Mobility.

“Just how many people are actually involved,” said Daniel Torres, a high school senior and boys team captain, “I guess seeing it in numbers is just kind of mind-boggling.”

For some of the students who have grown up in the military-connected community around Ramstein, the visit provided a different perspective on the installation and the work taking place behind the scenes.

“The level of input that everyone has, like how many jobs are going into it,” said Noelle Murphy, a high school senior and girls team captain. “It’s just really fascinating because it’s a whole other side of things that I didn’t know.”

Ella Yost, a high school junior and girls team captain, said the visit provided an opportunity to learn more about a branch of the military she was less familiar with.

“For me, I’m not really familiar with the Air Force, because we’re connected by different branches,” Yost said. “So, to learn more about what goes on in the Air Force is very, very interesting.”

During the visit, the students also stepped aboard a static C-17 Globemaster III, giving many of them their first opportunity to see the aircraft from the inside and learn about the different roles that support the air mobility mission.

Yost, who is interested in the medical field, said the medical capabilities aboard aircraft particularly caught her attention.

“The whole [idea] of having medical personnel on the plane dealing with patients is really cool,” Yost said. “They are able to work in the air, and treat people, and take care of them.”

Gavin Griffith, a high school sophomore, said he sees similarities between leadership on a volleyball team and the responsibilities he has observed through his mother’s military experience.

“I think my mom, from what she’s told me, is like a team captain,” Griffith said. “Her job is to help people and take care of her troops.”

The Air Force is often described as a “team of teams,” with individuals and organizations working together to accomplish a common mission. The students said they recognized similar principles in their own team environment.

“Having to depend on other people and having other people depend on you in order for things to work,” Torres said. “You have to be sure that everyone is doing their job well, and that takes some trust.”

Hayden Negrillo-Lopez, a high school senior and boys team captain, said the tight-knit nature of both his team and the Air Force stood out.

“We’re all working as a team, we’re all basically a family,” Negrillo-Lopez said. “So if something happens, we’re all trying to do our best to do it together.”

Griffith said his mother’s military experience has also exposed him to new opportunities and sparked his interest in becoming a pilot.

“I’ve had a lot of opportunities to try all these new things because my mom has done a lot,” Griffith said. “It’s actually been really kind of cool, and it has given me an interest in becoming a pilot. That’s my goal in life.”

The visit offered students a look at the people, aircraft and teamwork behind Air Force mobility operations, showing them that the teamwork they know on the court also plays out every day across the 521st AMOW.

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