USS Lake Champlain Sailors Visit Students in Saipan

Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Nathan Serpico | 170213-N-FT178-021 SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands (Feb. 13, 2017) Sailors assigned to Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG 57) speak with students at a Saipan elementary school during a community outreach project. Lake Champlain is on a regularly scheduled Western Pacific deployment with the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group as part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet-led initiative to extend the command and control functions of the U.S. 3rd Fleet in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. Navy aircraft carrier strike groups have patrolled the Indo-Asia-Pacific regularly and routinely for more than 70 years. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Nathan K. Serpico/Released)  

SAIPAN, NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS

02.13.2017

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Nathan Serpico 

Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet           

While at the schoolhouse, Lake Champlain Sailors spoke to the students and teachers as they gathered in a common area to begin the school day. Saipan SDA School is a private school that students from countries all around the world attend.

“I have done close to seven years in a school setting before my life as a Navy Chaplain,” said Lt. Aman Grant, from Seattle, Lake Champlain command chaplain and coordinator for the event. “The joy and fulfillment of watching Sailors making kids smile, while at the same time, the kids making my Sailors smile just as much, was priceless.”

Sailors split into groups and visited each classroom to interact with small groups of the school’s nearly 170 students. Students were eager to ask questions about a wide range of topics, including Navy life and favorite colors.

“The students were excited and looking forward to meeting the service members,” said Dr. Randy Yates, principal of Saipan SDA School. “It gives the them the opportunity meet, talk with and ask questions to the service men and women and hear about their experiences. It also shows the students that no matter where you come from or what your gender is, you can become or do anything.”

Sailors took photos with each class and thanked the students and teacher for spending time with them. As the groups of Sailors left each classroom, the chatter and laughter coming from the children’s wide smiles let the Sailors know they had left as big of an impact on the students as the students had on them.

“Interacting with all of the students was such an awesome and humbling experience,” said Sonar Technician (Surface) 3rd Class Bryce Cameron, from Manistee, Michigan. “Things that we see and experience every day get wide-eyed reactions. This was my first time doing a community outreach project like this and I wasn’t sure what to expect, but after this I will be volunteering for as many as I can”

The visit ended with vigorous waves and requests for the Sailors to come back to visit soon.

U.S. Navy aircraft carrier strike groups have regularly patrolled the Indo-Asia-Pacific for more than 70 years and will continue to do so. Lake Champlain is a part of the Carl Vinson Strike Group, which has deployed to the region several times, starting with a deployment to the Western Pacific in 1983, a year after commissioning. Most recently in 2015, Vinson conducted port visits and exercises with regional navies in the South China Sea.

U.S. 3rd Fleet leads naval forces in the Pacific and provides the realistic, relevant training necessary for an effective global Navy. Third Fleet constantly coordinates with U.S. 7th Fleet to plan and execute missions based on their complementary strengths to promote ongoing peace, security, and stability throughout the entire Pacific theater of operations.

For more information please visit the ship’s website:
http://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/cg57/Pages/default.aspx or
http://www.facebook.com/UssLakeChamplain/

• Date Taken: 02.13.2017
• Date Posted: 03.06.2017 19:14
• Story ID: 225759
• Location: SAIPAN, MP
• Hometown: MANISTEE, MI, US
• Hometown: SEATTLE, WA, US