thedrifter
11-04-03, 06:09 AM
Waianae youth experience life of Corps
Submitted by: MCB Hawaii
Story Identification Number: 20031031172759
Story by Sgt. Joe Lindsay
MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii(Oct. 24, 2003) -- Forty-two seventh graders from Waianae Intermediate School on Oahu's Leeward side got a chance to take a field trip Oct. 24, but this was not a "run of the mill day" off from school.
That's because the students traveled to MCB Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, for an opportunity to witness Marine Corps life up close and personal, including a Martial Arts Instructor demonstration, tour of Explosive Ordnance Disposal, and a chance to fire on what some students called "the ultimate video game," - the Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainer, or ISMT.
"This was a very important trip for these kids to make," said Lt. Col. William Akana, Marine Forces Pacific Air Officer for the G-3 operations department, and organizer of the visit. "Most of these kids are either part-Hawaiian or Samoan, and come from financially disadvantaged backgrounds.
"Percentage-wise, the majority of them will not graduate high school, and a good number of them won't even finish junior high. Those are just statistics though. We are not giving up on a single one of them."
The belief that each and every one of the students at Waianae Intermediate can make it through the educational system, through high school graduation and beyond - and go on to lead a productive and happy lives - was the driving force behind Akana organizing the visit.
"By bringing the kids to the base, I wanted to show them that there is a life outside the streets of Waianae, outside of poverty, and outside the temptations of drugs and crime," said Akana. "These are good kids, and they need good role models."
Send in the Marines.
"What better role models could there be than the Marines," commented Akana. "I just wanted the kids to get a chance to see what life can be like if they make positive choices. I wanted the kids to observe life in the Marine Corps. More importantly, I wanted the kids to meet Marines."
The students from Waianae Intermediate got a chance to do just that, with a surprising twist.
"I think the kids were a little shocked when they saw that the Marines who came in to talk with them were of Hawaiian and Samoan heritage," said Akana. "But that was the plan, to show them that people who grew up just like them have made it in life."
Fitting that bill were a group of Marines of Hawaiian and Samoan ancestry, including Sgts. Keonekealoha Fatiaki and Arona Teo, Cpl. Telea Tuasivi and retired Gunnery Sgt. Kimo Troché.
According to Troché, a Desert Storm combat veteran and native of Kauai, the four met with the students during the visit "to let them know that regardless of what circumstances they come from, they can make it in life with drive, determination, and the right attitude."
The message didn't seem to be lost on the students of Waianae Intermediate.
"I've got a really good impression of Marines now that we visited the base," said Maleezshs Auelus, 12. "I never really knew that Samoans and Hawaiians were in the Marine Corps before. Every day we got people telling us what to do and what is in our best interest and all that, but to hear it from people who came up just like us and made it in the world really means a lot. It gives us hope to do better."
For another visitor, the trip to base seemed to be a life changing experience.
"I think I might want to join the Marines someday now," said Zirtroro Ahaee, 12. "After talking to 'da uncles (Fatiaki, Teo, Tuasivi and Trocheé), it made me realize there is no reason I can't be a Marine, too, if I work hard in school and stay out of trouble. If they can do it, I can do it."
And that, according to Fatiaki, makes meetings such as this so important.
"To see that these kids look up to us is a good feeling, but more than that it is a responsibility," said Fatiaki, "a responsibility to show them the right path in life, a responsibility to make a difference."
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2003113224819/$file/mcmatlow.jpg
Martial arts instructors aboard Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, volunteer their time to teach youth visiting the installation from Waianae, on the island of Oahu, hand-to-hand combat skills. Photo by: Sgt. Joe Lindsay
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/100C44AD62350B9585256DD0007B6974?opendocument
The Drifter
:marine:
Submitted by: MCB Hawaii
Story Identification Number: 20031031172759
Story by Sgt. Joe Lindsay
MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii(Oct. 24, 2003) -- Forty-two seventh graders from Waianae Intermediate School on Oahu's Leeward side got a chance to take a field trip Oct. 24, but this was not a "run of the mill day" off from school.
That's because the students traveled to MCB Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, for an opportunity to witness Marine Corps life up close and personal, including a Martial Arts Instructor demonstration, tour of Explosive Ordnance Disposal, and a chance to fire on what some students called "the ultimate video game," - the Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainer, or ISMT.
"This was a very important trip for these kids to make," said Lt. Col. William Akana, Marine Forces Pacific Air Officer for the G-3 operations department, and organizer of the visit. "Most of these kids are either part-Hawaiian or Samoan, and come from financially disadvantaged backgrounds.
"Percentage-wise, the majority of them will not graduate high school, and a good number of them won't even finish junior high. Those are just statistics though. We are not giving up on a single one of them."
The belief that each and every one of the students at Waianae Intermediate can make it through the educational system, through high school graduation and beyond - and go on to lead a productive and happy lives - was the driving force behind Akana organizing the visit.
"By bringing the kids to the base, I wanted to show them that there is a life outside the streets of Waianae, outside of poverty, and outside the temptations of drugs and crime," said Akana. "These are good kids, and they need good role models."
Send in the Marines.
"What better role models could there be than the Marines," commented Akana. "I just wanted the kids to get a chance to see what life can be like if they make positive choices. I wanted the kids to observe life in the Marine Corps. More importantly, I wanted the kids to meet Marines."
The students from Waianae Intermediate got a chance to do just that, with a surprising twist.
"I think the kids were a little shocked when they saw that the Marines who came in to talk with them were of Hawaiian and Samoan heritage," said Akana. "But that was the plan, to show them that people who grew up just like them have made it in life."
Fitting that bill were a group of Marines of Hawaiian and Samoan ancestry, including Sgts. Keonekealoha Fatiaki and Arona Teo, Cpl. Telea Tuasivi and retired Gunnery Sgt. Kimo Troché.
According to Troché, a Desert Storm combat veteran and native of Kauai, the four met with the students during the visit "to let them know that regardless of what circumstances they come from, they can make it in life with drive, determination, and the right attitude."
The message didn't seem to be lost on the students of Waianae Intermediate.
"I've got a really good impression of Marines now that we visited the base," said Maleezshs Auelus, 12. "I never really knew that Samoans and Hawaiians were in the Marine Corps before. Every day we got people telling us what to do and what is in our best interest and all that, but to hear it from people who came up just like us and made it in the world really means a lot. It gives us hope to do better."
For another visitor, the trip to base seemed to be a life changing experience.
"I think I might want to join the Marines someday now," said Zirtroro Ahaee, 12. "After talking to 'da uncles (Fatiaki, Teo, Tuasivi and Trocheé), it made me realize there is no reason I can't be a Marine, too, if I work hard in school and stay out of trouble. If they can do it, I can do it."
And that, according to Fatiaki, makes meetings such as this so important.
"To see that these kids look up to us is a good feeling, but more than that it is a responsibility," said Fatiaki, "a responsibility to show them the right path in life, a responsibility to make a difference."
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2003113224819/$file/mcmatlow.jpg
Martial arts instructors aboard Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, volunteer their time to teach youth visiting the installation from Waianae, on the island of Oahu, hand-to-hand combat skills. Photo by: Sgt. Joe Lindsay
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/100C44AD62350B9585256DD0007B6974?opendocument
The Drifter
:marine: