THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 2, 1994 TAG: 9406020137
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940602 LENGTH: SUFFOLK
And 20 of the 26 students in the classroom sent their hands skyward, a sight to bring joy to any recruiter.
{REST} Only trouble was, these particular recruits-to-be were second-graders from Nansemond Parkway Elementary School.
And today, they know more about the Navy than most kids anywhere near their age.
A three-hour tour a few days ago on the destroyer tender Yellowstone did the trick.
The ship is docked at Norfolk Naval Base.
The visit was arranged by Chief Petty Officer Bob Dusanic, hull technician chief, whose son, Brandon, is in Toni Harbage's second-grade class.
The class and the chief exchanged letters during the ship's recent Mediterranean deployment.
They were not abbreviated letters, but lengthy tomes about life aboard ship and the ports he visited.
Each letter had one common denominator, Dusanic's closing sentence: ``Always remember that the world is an exciting and wonderful place to learn about.''
The second-graders found that out as they kept track of the ship's travels, following its routes on a large map.
Souvenirs from Dusanic also helped the learning process. The items - including foreign currency and picture postcards - now occupy a fair amount of classroom space.
``It's been a wonderful geography and social studies lesson,'' Harbage said.
The best part of the lesson was the trip aboard the ship the children had been studying.
The weather, appropriately, was letter perfect - sunshine and comfortable temperatures.
The kids were ready. For weeks they had been studying sharp salutes and the art of barking the request, ``Permission to come on board, SIR.''
They looked shipshape in the classroom. But when they got to the Yellowstone, they didn't get a chance to use their training.
Instead, the children marched single-file up the gangplank, stepped aboard and hiked to the anchor chain locker space for a personal welcome from the commanding officer.
Capt. Ronald Charles Berning wrote to the second-graders before they arrived, so a camaraderie already existed.
``I'm the old man,'' Berning said. ``That's what the crew calls me.''
Everywhere the youngsters went sailors pointed at them, smiled and said to anyone within earshot, ``This is the new crew.''
The ``new crew'' made many stops for explanations about what goes on in the ship's various departments.
Some of those explanations were a bit too technical for second-graders.
``They're over my head,'' one accompanying mom said.
But the important ingredients were the atmosphere, adventure, excitement and hospitality.
On the other hand, some of the children impressed their hosts with what they did know.
``I'm surprised they have a gunnery, since it's a supply ship,'' said student Hunter South.
Fellow second-grader Kristl Haines knew the purpose of the radar on the bridge.
``It shows where other ships are,'' Kristl said. ``I saw that on TV.''
The bridge was their second favorite place. Each of the youngsters got the opportunity to get behind the wheel and ``steer'' the Yellowstone.
Their favorite place, of course, was the mess.
The choices were chicken, hot dogs and beans, and ravioli, plus plenty of salad, dessert and drinks.
The food was good, and chowing down in the enlisted mess was fun.
There were other things to do and see, some of them particularly fascinating because of the Yellowstone's job.
The ship's primary mission is to support other ships, performing maintenance on them and taking care of the crew's many needs.
The ship has complete medical and dental facilities for its sailors and those aboard other vessels, and it can feed crews other than its own.
The Yellowstone has a crew of 1,508 men and women. It has woodworking and machine shops, a foundry and an electronics machine shop.
In one of those shops, a sailor on break was playing a video game on a computer screen.
Someone noted that it looked out of place.
Second-grader Maria Winslow put them in their place.
``Hey,'' Maria said, ``they gotta have fun sometime.''
Another surprise was the array of Pepsi and Coke machines scattered throughout the ship.
``I didn't think they'd have them,'' Neal Christopher said.
Vanessa Haines was surprised about something else.
She looked at the sleeping quarters - no place for the claustrophobic - and noted, ``I liked the teddy bears in the girls' bunks.''
There was a lot of walking, a lot of steps to go up and down, a lot to see, a lot to learn.
When the tour ended, Capt. Berning was once again on hand.
``We'll sign you up for the Navy,'' he said.
The kids were ready.
``Yaaayyy!'' they shouted in unison.
by CNB