Members of the Washington Redskins and USAA visited the 113th Wing of the Air National Guard on Monday to tour the base, meet with personnel and learn more about the duties of unit.

Current Redskins players Ryan Grant, Anthony Lanier II and Ondre Pipkens along with former Redskins safety Kyshoen Jarrett were in attendance for the military interaction at Joint Base Andrews, getting a look at the role that the base plays and what kind of equipment is housed there.

The tour started out with an informational session on the base, followed by a hands-on look at the jets that are kept there. While the cockpits of military jets are not generally built to support NFL linemen, both Lanier and Pipkens were able to fit inside and got a first-person perspective of a replica jet.

The tour concluded with a meet-and-greet and autograph session for guard members to interact with the Redskins players that were present.

"It was a great learning experience of getting to see some stuff you'd never think you'd see in your lifetime," Lanier said.

Nearly half of the 113th Wing personnel are part-time employees on the base, with many of them working other full-time jobs outside of their service on the Air National Guard. For Lanier, the flexibility of the institution is something that he wants to promote to others.

"Bringing awareness to the upcoming generations, letting them know that there's job opportunities as well as common job opportunities within the army itself and with the air force and everything...it's a great place to be," he said.

For the members of the 113th Wing, there was an added buzz around the facilities on Monday with the Redskins players in attendance, said Col. Robert Bowie. The meet-and-greet was well attended by the personnel, giving fans the opportunity to get an up-close look at the players in attendance. More importantly, however, the event represented a chance for athletes to get a look at the significance of the base as well as a behind-the-scenes perspective on the work that goes on there. 

"It's very important to us, because it's the interaction with the community. Obviously, we see professional athletes play, but this is the opportunity for the athletes to come see what we do, so this is kind of very, very important," Col. Bowie explained.

"And hopefully, like I said, when someone asks them questions or they're talking to people, they can spread the word to their friends and the folks on the team."