McCool Students Visit Buffalo, City of Corpus Christi
(January 20, 2011) |
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| PITI, Guam (NNS - 1/18/2011) -- USS Buffalo (SSN 715) and USS City of
Corpus Christi (SSN 705) hosted about 75 eighth-grade
students from Cmdr. William S. McCool Elementary/Middle
School while berthed at Polaris Point on Guam Jan. 12.
The students were able to tour the Los Angeles-class,
fast-attack submarines and see firsthand the work areas and
living spaces of the Sailors that make up the submarines'
crews. |
"As a teacher, my goal is to inspire them to consider
different fields and careers," said Cecilio Gonzales, the
McCool history teacher who had arranged the field trip.
"Seeing as how we are a [Department of Defense Education
Activity] school and how a lot of the students' parents are
in the Navy, it would be nice if we could help them to at
least consider a career in the Navy."
Cmdr. Richard Seif, commanding officer of Buffalo, said he
was happy to open Buffalo to the students. |
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PITI, Guam (Jan. 12, 2011) -- Eighth grade students and teachers from Cmdr. William S. McCool Elementary/Middle School pose with Sailors assigned to the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Buffalo (SSN 715) after a tour. The students visited Buffalo during a class field trip to Polaris Point, U.S. Naval Base Guam. U.S. Navy photo by Frank Whitman |
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"The way I
look at it, I've got almost 80 future submariners here,"
said Seif. "It's my great honor to show these future
submariners what Buffalo's all about. The crew's also happy
to have them here and show them what they do."
Although the students were treated to freshly, baked
chocolate chip cookies in the submarine's galley, they were
most interested in the submarine's operational areas.
"I like the torpedo room," said Ethan Russ, a McCool
student. "That's an essential part of the role that the
submarines have in the Navy."
Ethan and his twin
brother, Aaron Russ, had been on submarines before. They
agreed that the field trip was also a good opportunity for
their classmates. Aaron said that he thought his classmates
would be most interested in "either the torpedo room or the
control room, because that's where the action is."
The tour was the first time that Stephanie Vitkovitsky had
been on a submarine.
"I really liked the scope," said
Vitkovitsky. "I didn't expect to be able to move and adjust
it so easily."
It was also the first submarine visit
for Jenna Suchyta.
"The torpedo room was cool," said
Suchyta. "I didn't expect it to be so big. In the movies,
they're always so much smaller."
To make the tours
manageable, the class was broken into groups of six or seven
and assigned to a crew member who acted as a tour guide.
"It's fun to show them exactly what we do," said
Torpedoman 1st Class (SS) Douglas Martin, with Buffalo and
one of the day's tour guides. "We want them to know that
we're just guys doing a job." |
By Frank Whitman
U.S. Naval Forces, Marianas Public Affairs
Copyright 2011 | |
Reprinted from
Navy News Service
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