Forty-six San Benito High School students were able to spend a
week on board the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln from Oct. 22
to 29, made possible through their involvement in the school’s Navy
Junior ROTC program.
Forty-six San Benito High School students were able to spend a week on board the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln from Oct. 22 to 29, made possible through their involvement in the school’s Navy Junior ROTC program.
“The kids were really able to soak up the whole experience,” said Stefani Rogers, trip chaperone and mother to Shelby Rogers, a NJROTC participant. “They got to see the whole ship stern to aft, port to starboard and top to bottom, and get a realistic picture of what life at sea is like.”
The SBHS students shared the trip with a NJROTC group from Soledad High School, making for a total of 79 students on board. It was organized by Soledad’s Naval Science instructor Peter Flores, a recently retired command master chief whose friend, Michael Anjola, is master chief of the Lincoln. When SBHS Naval Science instructor, Master Chief Wade Willingham, learned about the sea cruise, he was quick to seize the opportunity.
“I recognized that this would be a wonderful opportunity for the cadets to get out and see first hand what we talk about in the classroom,” said Willingham.
The Navy furnished all students with new khaki work uniforms, and provided for their food and lodging on board the Lincoln. The only expense students were required to cover was the bus ride to Naval Air Station North Island, near San Diego.
“The focus really wasn’t on us needing to prepare for this trip,” said Sheila Vervosa, an SBHS senior and lieutenant junior grade within the NJROTC. “It was on us being able to gain knowledge from within the Navy.”
While almost all interested students were able to participate in the cruise, strict academic eligibility requirements were enforced.
“We’re just like any other sport or club,” said Willingham. “If you can’t keep up that ‘C’ average, you can’t participate. All the cadets had to get prior approval from their teachers, and every night on board they were required to complete two hours of homework.”
Once on board, the cadets were quickly assimilated into Navy life. Each day students were broken into groups and learned everything from how to man a post office on board an aircraft carrier, to how to use radar to track incoming planes.
“As a fourth year student, our curriculum really emphasizes leadership,” said Vervosa. “And that’s something that really impressed me. The officers could be buddy-buddy with the enlisted personnel, but when it was time to work, they were very professional, and commanded a lot of respect.”
For many students, teachers and parents, however, it was the one-on-one time with individual sailors that made the experience a unique one.
“The kids were totally integrated with the crew, especially at meal time,” said Rogers. “And the sailors were able to be really honest with them, and tell stories both good and bad about why they served and how they lived at sea.”
“A lot of the crew are just like us,” said SBHS sophomore and Petty Officer Second Class Demetri Amaro. “You’d walk through the ship and in the different shops you’d hear the same popular music we listen to back at school.”
Willingham says that only a very few of his cadets are seriously committed to a career in the service. Some are undecided, some are happy to take the naval science class instead of traditional physical education, and some just like being a part of a smaller community at school. But he is confidant that each student took away something positive from the cruise.
“One of our big objectives is to help them understand what the service is about, so that they make informed decisions as adults, when they’re taxpayers,” he said. “But this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for them, and the crew of the Lincoln. These kids really love the Navy, and the crew fell in love with them.”
For recent history buffs, the USS Abraham Lincoln is the carrier on which President George W. Bush landed in May, 2003 to declare “Mission Accomplished” in Iraq.
