thedrifter
05-30-09, 04:40 AM
SOUTHGATE: Marines give students a different view on life
Thursday, May 28, 2009
By Anne Sullivan
SOUTHGATE — Riann Ferris got quite a look around her school Tuesday, viewing the grounds from the top of a tank.
Marine Master Sgt. Gerald Morse and Staff Sgt. Edward Esposti drove a Light Armor Vehicle 25 to Creative Montesorri Academy to give students an up close look at the tanks being used in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I liked being all the way up on top,” Ferris said. “Jumping off was fun too.”
The 11-year-old from Lincoln Park said it was cramped quarters inside the tank but it also was “amazingly cool.”
Unable to stand up inside the vehicle, she followed her classmates, crawling through it.
When she saw so many buttons and levers inside the tank, Ferris said it was a little tempting to push one of them to see what it would do, but she remembered the pledge she and her classmates took not to touch any of the buttons, switches or levers, so she didn’t touch.
It was big. It was awesome. It was fun to climb on. That’s what some of Ferris’ classmates thought of the LAV25 at their school.
Esposti, a 13-year Marine, said the tank can travel 62.5 mph and move through water and mud.
The Marines also brought a replica rubber weapon so students could see what the weapons are like, as well as a helmet and a vest Marines wear under their uniform shirts.
Esposti and Morse work with engineers designing upgrades to the vehicle and suggesting the best location for upgrades in terms of ease of use in combat. They also are part of a team that trains Marines to use new equipment.
The Marines have used the vehicle for 25 years, he said. The one they brought to the school is new.
“Young kids are in awe to climb on it,” Esposti said.
The students were allowed to check out the tank and climb all over it and through it.
A teacher reported a student saying he touched the buttons while inside the tank. Not to worry, Esposti said, it wasn’t the first time a pledge was broken while the Marines had the tank on tour. They have a backup plan if a pledge is broken.
“We make it safe, where they can’t actually start it and drive off,” Esposti said. “And we check everything before we start it.”
Some students couldn’t wait to get into the tank while others had questions, he said.
“Some of the little kids’ questions are not appropriate,” Esposti said. “But that’s the great thing about kids, they don’t hold back. They tell you what they think.
“When they ask you if you’ve killed anybody, obviously that’s something you don’t want to talk about with a third-grader.”
But most of the students just wanted to get into the tank with their friends, have some fun and look around, he said.
For Jacob Pinkoson, 10, of Lincoln Park, the steering wheel stood out as one of the most interesting features in the tank.
“It’s flat instead of up,” he said comparing it to the positioning of a steering wheel in a car.
All the buttons and levers also caught the attention of 10-year-old Brittany Branch of Brownstown Township as she crawled through the tank. She doesn’t know what they all do, but she was wondering.
“It looks very cool,” she said. “I want to know how to drive it because it looks interesting to drive.”
And Branch said she’s learned some things about tanks she didn’t know before.
“They can swim in water,” she said. “They can sometimes drive through the mud.”
To her the most interesting thing about the vehicle that is nearly as big as a school bus is that it can be driven in the water.
In the spring, the Marines frequently are called out to schools, Esposti said. They came to Creative Montessori because a parent affiliated with the Marines thought it would be interesting for the students to see.
The tank was parked behind the school and each classroom took turns going outside to look at it.
Ellie
Thursday, May 28, 2009
By Anne Sullivan
SOUTHGATE — Riann Ferris got quite a look around her school Tuesday, viewing the grounds from the top of a tank.
Marine Master Sgt. Gerald Morse and Staff Sgt. Edward Esposti drove a Light Armor Vehicle 25 to Creative Montesorri Academy to give students an up close look at the tanks being used in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I liked being all the way up on top,” Ferris said. “Jumping off was fun too.”
The 11-year-old from Lincoln Park said it was cramped quarters inside the tank but it also was “amazingly cool.”
Unable to stand up inside the vehicle, she followed her classmates, crawling through it.
When she saw so many buttons and levers inside the tank, Ferris said it was a little tempting to push one of them to see what it would do, but she remembered the pledge she and her classmates took not to touch any of the buttons, switches or levers, so she didn’t touch.
It was big. It was awesome. It was fun to climb on. That’s what some of Ferris’ classmates thought of the LAV25 at their school.
Esposti, a 13-year Marine, said the tank can travel 62.5 mph and move through water and mud.
The Marines also brought a replica rubber weapon so students could see what the weapons are like, as well as a helmet and a vest Marines wear under their uniform shirts.
Esposti and Morse work with engineers designing upgrades to the vehicle and suggesting the best location for upgrades in terms of ease of use in combat. They also are part of a team that trains Marines to use new equipment.
The Marines have used the vehicle for 25 years, he said. The one they brought to the school is new.
“Young kids are in awe to climb on it,” Esposti said.
The students were allowed to check out the tank and climb all over it and through it.
A teacher reported a student saying he touched the buttons while inside the tank. Not to worry, Esposti said, it wasn’t the first time a pledge was broken while the Marines had the tank on tour. They have a backup plan if a pledge is broken.
“We make it safe, where they can’t actually start it and drive off,” Esposti said. “And we check everything before we start it.”
Some students couldn’t wait to get into the tank while others had questions, he said.
“Some of the little kids’ questions are not appropriate,” Esposti said. “But that’s the great thing about kids, they don’t hold back. They tell you what they think.
“When they ask you if you’ve killed anybody, obviously that’s something you don’t want to talk about with a third-grader.”
But most of the students just wanted to get into the tank with their friends, have some fun and look around, he said.
For Jacob Pinkoson, 10, of Lincoln Park, the steering wheel stood out as one of the most interesting features in the tank.
“It’s flat instead of up,” he said comparing it to the positioning of a steering wheel in a car.
All the buttons and levers also caught the attention of 10-year-old Brittany Branch of Brownstown Township as she crawled through the tank. She doesn’t know what they all do, but she was wondering.
“It looks very cool,” she said. “I want to know how to drive it because it looks interesting to drive.”
And Branch said she’s learned some things about tanks she didn’t know before.
“They can swim in water,” she said. “They can sometimes drive through the mud.”
To her the most interesting thing about the vehicle that is nearly as big as a school bus is that it can be driven in the water.
In the spring, the Marines frequently are called out to schools, Esposti said. They came to Creative Montessori because a parent affiliated with the Marines thought it would be interesting for the students to see.
The tank was parked behind the school and each classroom took turns going outside to look at it.
Ellie