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SAN DIEGO – Good relationships with the local community can be
very valuable to a recruiting command. These connections are often
the key to finding the best and brightest next generation of Navy
Sailors. One of the ways a recruiting command strengthens these
relationships is through Educator Orientation Visits or EOV for
short.
Educator Orientation Visits provide educators and
school administrators a first-hand look at Navy life to better
inform them about the opportunities a career in the Navy has for
their students.
Navy Recruiting District San Francisco hosted
13 faculty members, from central and northern California schools, on
a four day get-away to San Diego, Sept. 21-24, 2015. The emphasis
for this EOV was the large role female Sailors play in the Navy and
the variety of roles they fulfill. Several of the educators in
attendance came representing all-girl Roman Catholic high schools.
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September 23, 2015 - Lt. Caitlin Calhoon, assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Fifteen (HSC-15), describes life as a female pilot in the Navy, to a group of Educators from the northern California area, during an Educator Orientation Visit. Educator Orientation Visits provide educators and school administrators a first-hand look at Navy life to better inform them about the opportunities a career in the Navy has for their students.
(U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Mark R. Alvarez)
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“I feel like this opened my mind to what's available to
students,” said Nora Anderson, guidance counselor, Saint
Francis High School Sacramento. “It was great to talk to the
females that are in the Navy right now, it's interesting to
get their perspective.”
This trip accomplished
several goals that are important to both the Navy and Navy
Recruiting District San Francisco.
“First and
foremost, the young people graduating from the schools
represented on this trip are some of the top talent in
northern California,” said Cmdr. Ray Stromberger, commanding
officer, Navy Recruiting District San Francisco. “It's a
priority of mine to present the Navy as a career option to
them.”
The EOV started with the group visiting Sea
Combat Helicopter Squadron Fifteen where they spoke with a
female pilot and a female search and rescue medical
technician about their experiences in the Navy. Next they
visited Naval Medical Center San Diego, where they were
treated to an extensive tour of one of the Navy's premiere
medical facilities.
“When we tell them about the
Navy, we're just one more group of people talking to them,”
said Stromberger. “When we show them the Navy, we leave a
much more indelible and accurate impression.”
The
next day the group received a harbor tour of the Naval Base
San Diego waterfront. Here they got to experience the sea
spray in the air as they viewed Navy ships from a
perspective few outsiders get to see. The day finished off
with a tour of the nuclear submarine USS San Francisco (SSN
711). There they were exposed to the pungent experience of
working in tight quarters with 127 of your closest friends.
“I consider it an important mission to bring awareness
of what the Navy is, what the Navy does, and what kind of
people make up the Navy to as many people in my District as
I can, especially those who may not ever have thought about
the Navy seriously before,” said Stromberger. “The people on
this trip are all respected members of their school
communities, and their words touch a lot of people every
day. This is a very efficient way of bringing a firsthand
look at the Navy to a very large number of people for years
to come."
On the fourth and final day, with a plane
ride in sight, the educators made the most of their last
morning with a visit to the guided missile destroyer USS
Stockdale (DDG 106).
They were escorted by two
female junior officers who took the group from top to bottom
of this finely tuned American warship.
“Getting these
educators to come out and have a positive experience with
the Navy is what we're all about,” said Chuck Roeder,
education specialist, Navy Recruiting District San
Francisco. “There is no better tool, that I have for
building these relationships, than EOV trips; they are
absolutely crucial to our success with the schools.”
Each Navy recruiting district is allotted one EOV per year;
however, if they have a dedicated education specialist, they
can find the money for more. As Roeder would tell you, he
will get-in as many EOVs as he possibly can. For Navy
Recruiting District San Francisco, this was their second EOV
this fiscal year.
These visits help the recruiting
commands put a personal face on the Navy and build
relationships that are mutually beneficial for the Navy and
the schools, on into the future.
By U.S. Navy Chief Mass Communication Specialist Mark Alvarez
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2015
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