Friday, May 9, 2003
|
Friday, May 9, 2003 |
|
Naval officer returns to alma mater to address students By MICHAEL BOYLAN
In August of 1990, Andrew Roy entered J.C. Booth Middle School as part of its first sixth-grade class. Within several months the United States began Operation Desert Storm and students followed the news in class. Roy, 24, is now a first lieutenant in the United States Navy with the USS Paul Harrison. He spoke to current sixth graders at Booth Tuesday afternoon, explaining that the events that are taking place around them now will affect them in the future, as it did for him. Roy graduated from McIntosh High School in 1997 and was a part of a state champion cross country squad. After high school he attended the U.S. Naval Academy and graduated with honors. He has spent two years in the fleet, is an officer and loves the experience of being at sea. The USS Paul Harrison is based out of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and just returned to the states after a nine month deployment. Roy's parents still live in Peachtree City and students at Booth sent letters to Roy and others on his ship. In November of last year, Roy and his colleagues were part of a Maritime Interdiction Operation near the Persian Gulf. They would board boats trying to leave Iraq, making sure that they were not trying to smuggle out goods that went against sanctions. Roy told students that he would board everything from cargo ships to small ships and once boarded six ships in two hours. He met many interesting people and found that generally, the Iraqis did not like Saddam Hussein and were just trying to make money to get food for their families. The USS Paul Hamilton is an AEGIS Guided Missile Destroyer that is larger than a 45-story building. After its work in November the ship made its way to Australia for New Year's Eve with hopes for heading home soon afterwards. The very next day the USS Paul Hamilton was told to head back to the Gulf in preparation for war. Their first mission was to escort ships full of supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. In March, they began their strike operations, using Tomahawk missiles on the third day of the war. Roy states that the ship fired 50 missiles and each missile firing costs one million dollars a pop. Roy then gave advice to the students. "You are nearing a time in your life when you begin to make more decisions for yourself," said Roy. "As you make them be a man or woman of action. Don't just talk about something, do it." Roy also told the students to be loyal to yor friends. He relayed a story about working with members of the Australian and British Navy, learning about their cultures and the history that the three countries share. The students then got to ask Roy questions, which ranged from "Were you scared?" to "Were there any girls on the ship?" The answer to both questions was yes. Roy told the students that there was a brief chemical scare after the war started, but it turned out to be nothing. Roy said that during the scare, everybody kept their cool and did their jobs while wearing gas masks for three hours but were a little scared when thinking of it afterwards. As for girls, there are a few on the ship. One student asked if Roy had fun and he answered that it was much like winning the state championship in cross country. "It wasn't always fun and it was a lot of hard work but it was a good experience," Roy said. "Don't define a good experience on only if it was fun or not." Roy then told students about a typical day, which included waking up at 6 a.m. and working a lot of hours. He explained that the quarters on the ship are very close and that in his free time he would typically either sleep or read and send e-mail. He also told the students about a prank a high ranking officer pulled on a new guy. "As we neared the equator, the officer had the sailor out looking for it." The students had dozens of questions and Roy answered them flawlessly with sincerity and respect. This was especially evident when one girl asked what his thoughts were about war in general. "War is a terrible thing," Roy said. "But there are things worth fighting and dying for and if you don't think so, I feel sorry for you." When one student asked if he knew Saddam's whereabouts, Roy joked that he was last seen at McIntosh. Roy will return to Hawaii soon and will then transfer to the USS Princeton in October, which is based in San Diego. "One of the great things about being in the Navy is that by nature the bases need to be near the beach," Roy said. He then explained that he had seen all sorts of marine life while at sea, including dolphins and whales. After the assembly a number of students went up to greet him personally. Several came away with autographs and a few students got to try on his hat, but all of the students came away with the message that someone who once walked the same hallways that they do every day now makes a difference in the world.
|
||