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U.S. Navy sailor Anthony Garecht, center, poses with administrators from his alma mater. This week, Lodi High School principal Bill Atterberry and career counselor Becky Jauregui visited Garecht on board the USS John C. Stennis, which is anchored in international waters off the coast of San Diego. (Courtesy photo)
'Principal's office' goes to aircraft carrier for reunion at sea
Bill Atterberry, Becky Jauregui and Melody Knee screamed as the airplane took flight. They tried to ignore the odor of hydraulic fuel that filled the steamy morning air.
They couldn't hear themselves, because each wore earplugs and helmets. They couldn't free themselves, because they were strapped into their seats. They couldn't gaze at the waters of San Diego Bay or the foggy morning sky, because the cargo plane didn't have any windows.
But no matter how scary the flight or its "125 to zero in three seconds!" tailhook landing, these Lodi educators were about to reconnect with a hometown boy — aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis.
Anchored in international waters outside San Diego, more than 5,000 sailors live, work, fly and train aboard the USS Stennis. Among them is Anthony Garecht, a 2002 Lodi High graduate.
Lodi High principal Bill Atterberry, Tokay High and Lodi High career counselors Melody Knee and Becky Jaregui, along with about a dozen other educators and business owners, were invited through the "distinguished visitors," or BossLift, program of the U.S. Department of Defense's Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve (ESGR).
"He was really jazzed to see us," Atterberry said of Garecht. "They live for mail call, emails, anything that puts them in touch with home."
Garecht normally works at night, so in order to meet with the Lodi group he had to keep himself awake.
They all loved his sense of humor — he even let fellow sailors rib him about the "permanent record" file Atterberry brought, complete with school portraits from kindergarten through graduation. Jauregui brought some homemade cookies and a card signed by Lodi High alumni.
Atterberry also presented Garecht with a 2006 Lodi High yearbook, which has an inscription to his sister Kelly Garecht, one of two teenage pedestrians killed in a motor vehicle accident last Christmas Eve in Lockeford.
Dennis Hall, the ESGR's director of employer events, found out about Garecht's service on the USS Stennis through a Web site dedicated to Kelly. Hall started organizing the trip with Captain Chuck "Slick"
Henry of San Diego, who turned out to be a 1967 graduate of Lodi High School.
Fighter jets prepare for exercises on the Flight deck of the USS Stennis, in international waters off of San Diego, this week. (Courtesy photo)
BossLift visitors are mainly employers who observe the work and training of National Guard and Reserve members. The program started years ago; Hall has managed it for about 10 years. The committee has worked with about 20 educators and Hall said he hopes to include more.
Transportation to and from San Diego, and the $50 fee for room and board, was paid by each individual. Atterberry drove to San Diego, while Knee and Jauregui took round-trip flights from Sacramento. The cost to the government is not known because the operating costs are incurred regardless of a BossLift (which is conducted during training).
The visitors toured the entire carrier. They saw the officers' quarters, admiral's bridge and equipment rooms. At sunset, they ended up on deck, where they saw fighter jets perform exercises.
While taking part in an overnight visit of the USS John C. Stennis this week, Lodi High career counselor Becky Jauregui and principal Bill Atterberry reconnected with 2003 alumna Lindsay Honae while shopping for souvenirs on the aircraft carrier's gift shop. (Courtesy photo)
Atterberry, a former sailor and Vietnam veteran, was impressed with the sense of camaraderie and teamwork among the sailors — whose average age is 20 — as well as their concern for safety.
The career counselors learned more about the variety of sailors' jobs. There are four civilian professors who teach classes, and sailors can also enroll in online college courses, Jauregui said.
The USS Stennis' captain remained calm and relaxed whether he was having lunch or overseeing fighter plane exercises, Atterberry said.
He noted, however, a fundamental difference between a Navy captain and a school principal: "In the military, it's not just a job that's on the line but lives that are on the line," Atterberry said. "I couldn't imagine making every decision in that school. It still comes back to setting a standard and sticking to it."
Atterberry said they incidentally met another Lodian, 2003 Lodi High graduate Lindsay Honea, who is an aircraft captain.
The Stennis has a small store where the group was shopping for souvenirs. "All of a sudden I heard someone say 'Mr. Atterberry?' and it was Lindsay," he said.
"Small world, even on a carrier," Hall said.
Contact reporter Kendyce Manguchei at kendycem@lodinews.com.
The USS John C. Stennis at a glance
The USS John C. Stennis is named after the former U.S. senator, who served with eight presidents, beginning with Harry Truman in 1947 and ending with Ronald Reagan in 1988. Reagan nicknamed him "The father of America's modern Navy."The mission of the USS John C. Stennis and her embarked Air Wing is to conduct sustained combat air operations worldwide. The embarked Air Wing consists of eight to nine squadrons.
Attached aircraft are the F/A-18 Hornet, F/A-18E Super Hornet, EA-6B Prowler, S-3 Viking, E-2C Hawkeye, and SH-60 Seahawk.
Facts and Figures
Dimensions
• Length of flight deck: 1,092 feet
• Width of flight deck: 257 feet
• Height, keel to mast: 244 feet (equal to a 24-story building)
• Area of flight deck: 4.5 acres
• Weight of carrier: 97,000 tons
Propulsion System
• Type: Nuclear reactor
• Number of reactors: 2
• Maximum speed: More than 30 knots
• Number of screws: 4 (5 blades each)
• Weight of screws: 66,200 pounds each
Flight Deck/Air Wing
• Number of catapults: 4
• Number of aircraft elevators: 4
• Size of Air Wing: 80+ tactical aircraft
Miscellaneous
• Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding Co.
• Contract Date: March 29, 1988
• Christened: Nov. 11, 1993
• Commissioned: Dec. 9, 1995
• Crew size: 5,000 (including air wing)
• Meals served daily: 16,600
• Number of compartments: 2,700
• Weight of anchors: 30 tons each (there are two anchors)
• A/C plant capacity: 2,900 tons (enough to service 950 homes)
• Distillation plant capacity: 400,000 gals (enough to serve 2,000 homes)
• Number of telephones: 2,000
• Tons of structural steel: More than 60,000 tons
• Miles of cable and wiring: over 900
• Number of light fixtures: more than 30,000
• Required technical manuals: A stack as high as the Washington Monument (555 feet)
• Bed mattresses: If lined up end-to-end, they would stretch more than nine miles.
• Sheets: 28,000
• Pillow Cases: 14,000
• Cost: $3.5 billion
• Projected service life: 50 years
— Source: http://www.cvn74.navy.mil/layer2/index2.html
First published: Friday, June 30, 2006
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Tffanie Alvarez wrote on Jul 3, 2006 7:29 PM:
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