thedrifter
01-03-07, 07:42 AM
Cadet's reflexes prevent accident
January 3, 2007
By Jan Ramming sun-times news group
The U.S. Navy's Sea Cadet Corps is training today's youth to be tomorrow's heroes. For 16-year-old Mike Bellavia of Geneva, a hero's challenge came early - while he was on vacation.
Mike, his 15-year-old brother, Steve, and his parents, Nick and Rhonda Bellavia, were recently on a hotel shuttle bus at the Port of Miami. The bus was making frequent stops to pick up travelers and their luggage. At one particular stop, the driver got out to help some passengers, and the bus started moving forward.
"At first we thought it might be just rolling a few inches, but it kept on rolling and rolling, faster," Rhonda Bellavia said. "There was another shuttle bus stopped ahead of us, and people were standing behind that bus. We were on a collision course with them."
Mike, who was sitting closest to the driver's seat, jumped up and applied the brakes - just in time.
"The two vehicles got so close that one of the people behind the other bus put his hand up on our front bumper to try and stop it," Rhonda Bellavia said.
What could have been a catastrophe turned out safely for everyone, thanks to Mike Bellavia's quick action.
"I just did what I thought to do first," Mike Bellavia said. "I looked back at everyone else on our bus, and they were all just freaking out."
Mike Bellavia kept a cool head, perhaps due to the training he is receiving from the Sea Cadets. The program is open to Americans ages 13 to 17 who have a desire to learn about the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Merchant Marines.
Mike and Steve Bellavia have been in the Sea Cadet program since June 2005. Their cadet unit meets twice a month in Naperville for full-day drills. The unit is structured after the military and is headed by a commanding officer.
All new cadets enter the program at the rank of Seaman Recruit. To move up through the ranks, they must complete the training courses and exams. The highest rank is chief petty officer, to which Mike Bellavia already has been promoted. The high school junior is happy to accept the responsibility.
"It's great," he said about the program. "We get to wear actual Navy uniforms, and we can go to Naval bases all over the world. There are foreign exchange programs, so that I can spend two weeks in England or China or anywhere."
The cadets' advanced training consists of schools in every aspect of the Navy, from airman and air traffic control to shipboard and submarine training.
"There are hundreds of programs to choose from," Mike Bellavia said. "You can even go through a mini Seal camp - that's pretty hard-core stuff."
Mike Bellavia enjoys anything aviation-related, and he was able to go to a Naval Air station in Fort Worth, Texas, last summer. He worked alongside the Navy petty officers at their jobs.
"I got to work as a mechanic in three different squadrons, and we got to work right on the flight line when the planes were out," he said. "Pilots who have been in the Navy for 20 years had no idea that a 16-year-old kid was guiding those huge multi-million dollar planes around the tarmac. It was just amazing."
For more information on the Navy's Sea Cadet program, log on to www.seaca dets.org.
The Beacon News
Ellie
January 3, 2007
By Jan Ramming sun-times news group
The U.S. Navy's Sea Cadet Corps is training today's youth to be tomorrow's heroes. For 16-year-old Mike Bellavia of Geneva, a hero's challenge came early - while he was on vacation.
Mike, his 15-year-old brother, Steve, and his parents, Nick and Rhonda Bellavia, were recently on a hotel shuttle bus at the Port of Miami. The bus was making frequent stops to pick up travelers and their luggage. At one particular stop, the driver got out to help some passengers, and the bus started moving forward.
"At first we thought it might be just rolling a few inches, but it kept on rolling and rolling, faster," Rhonda Bellavia said. "There was another shuttle bus stopped ahead of us, and people were standing behind that bus. We were on a collision course with them."
Mike, who was sitting closest to the driver's seat, jumped up and applied the brakes - just in time.
"The two vehicles got so close that one of the people behind the other bus put his hand up on our front bumper to try and stop it," Rhonda Bellavia said.
What could have been a catastrophe turned out safely for everyone, thanks to Mike Bellavia's quick action.
"I just did what I thought to do first," Mike Bellavia said. "I looked back at everyone else on our bus, and they were all just freaking out."
Mike Bellavia kept a cool head, perhaps due to the training he is receiving from the Sea Cadets. The program is open to Americans ages 13 to 17 who have a desire to learn about the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Merchant Marines.
Mike and Steve Bellavia have been in the Sea Cadet program since June 2005. Their cadet unit meets twice a month in Naperville for full-day drills. The unit is structured after the military and is headed by a commanding officer.
All new cadets enter the program at the rank of Seaman Recruit. To move up through the ranks, they must complete the training courses and exams. The highest rank is chief petty officer, to which Mike Bellavia already has been promoted. The high school junior is happy to accept the responsibility.
"It's great," he said about the program. "We get to wear actual Navy uniforms, and we can go to Naval bases all over the world. There are foreign exchange programs, so that I can spend two weeks in England or China or anywhere."
The cadets' advanced training consists of schools in every aspect of the Navy, from airman and air traffic control to shipboard and submarine training.
"There are hundreds of programs to choose from," Mike Bellavia said. "You can even go through a mini Seal camp - that's pretty hard-core stuff."
Mike Bellavia enjoys anything aviation-related, and he was able to go to a Naval Air station in Fort Worth, Texas, last summer. He worked alongside the Navy petty officers at their jobs.
"I got to work as a mechanic in three different squadrons, and we got to work right on the flight line when the planes were out," he said. "Pilots who have been in the Navy for 20 years had no idea that a 16-year-old kid was guiding those huge multi-million dollar planes around the tarmac. It was just amazing."
For more information on the Navy's Sea Cadet program, log on to www.seaca dets.org.
The Beacon News
Ellie