Teens courted in visit aboard Navy assault ship

By Greg Gaudio

NORFOLK

Andrew Mebane decided to become a doctor the day his mother revealed a secret: She'd almost been pressured into having an abortion.

"Ever since that day, I felt like I wasn't really supposed to be here," the 16-year-old said. "So the one thing I want to do with my life is save other people's lives."

Mebane, who lives at the Westhaven Boys Home in Portsmouth, said he's trying to decide whether he should go through the military to accomplish his goal. He was one of about 120 Hampton Roads teenagers who climbed aboard the amphibious assault ship Kearsarge on Friday for a youth program day sponsored by the National Naval Officers Association.

"We reached out to the inner-city kids," said Lt. Cmdr. Michelle Layne, who chairs the association's youth committee. "It's very important to expose them to something positive."

The NNOA promotes the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard in minority communities and schools, and supports the development of a diverse officer corps. It held its annual conference this week in Portsmouth.

The teens began their day bleary-eyed, with some rising as early as 4 a.m.

"Oh, they were sleepy, yes," Layne said. "But you had plenty that were bubbly and ready to go." After a galley breakfast at Norfolk Naval Station, the teens embarked on a tour of the 40,500-ton Kearsarge, a large-deck troop and helicopter carrier. The ship maintains a regular crew of 1,200.

On the flight deck, Lt. Clint Ceralde pointed out the surface-to-air missile system. "That one up there that looks like R2-D2, it can fire 4,500 rounds per minute," he said.

The teenagers stopped in the combat information center - "the brains of the ship" - and the sick bay before heading to the mess deck for lunch and a speech from Vice Adm. Jeffrey Fowler, superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy.

Fowler talked about the broad range of military careers, the importance of studying math and science, and the differences between enlisting right out of high school and waiting until after college.

"I think you should set your dreams on going to college," he said. "The goal of the Navy is to get everybody a college education either way."

Keon Moore, 15, said he plans to enlist when he graduates from Booker T. Washington High School in two years.

"I don't want to live paycheck-to-paycheck," he said. "I weighed out all the options. With this one, I can travel the world and get paid."

Sixteen-year-old Alyssa Jessup, a junior at Bayside High School, said she's keeping her options open.

"My main reason for going into the Navy is they pay for college," she said. "Based on what I've heard today, it could get me a lot of places."

Workshops later in the day touched on issues such as peer pressure, health and staying out of trouble.

On Thursday, Adm. Gary Roughead, the chief of naval operations, spoke at the NNOA conference on the need to increase diversity in the military, particularly in the upper ranks. Data show that blacks make up about 17 percent of the total force, but just 9 percent of officers, the AP says.

Today marks the 60th anniversary of President Truman's executive order to integrate the military.

Greg Gaudio, (757) 222-5125, greg.gaudio@pilotonline.com