Children living at the Maestral orphanage received a guided tour aboard the High Speed Vessel Swift (HSV) 2 at Lora Naval Base Split, Croatia, April 5.
The tour provided the children a chance to meet Sailors and help increase ties between Croatia and the United States.
“ It’s always nice to have the kids come on board and show them what it’s all about,” said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Jose Vargas . “It’s cool to see how wide their eyes get when they see the ship up close.”
The children saw several parts of the ship, including the gym, the galley, and the flight deck. At the end of their tour Lt. Cmdr. Charles Eaton , Swift’s officer in charge, presented the children with the ship’s coin as a memento of their visit.
“ This was something special for all of us, ” said one of the children through a translator. “It was something we’ve never seen before. Everyone is also very glad that we got a memento of the ship.”
Swift, homeported out of Norfolk, Va., is a U.S. Military Sealift Command-chartered High-Speed Vessel, and is currently deployed to the U.S. Navy’s 6th Fleet area of responsibility in support of theater security cooperation efforts.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff , April 09, 2012;