Sailors assigned to the U.S. 6th Fleet command and control ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) painted a local elementary school in Rijeka, Croatia, March 11-17, 2015.
The Sailors started the community relations (COMREL) project at Nikola Tesla Elementary School in Rijeka, with goals of strengthening and maintaining a strong relationship with the school, its students and the community.
“We are very excited to have the U.S. Navy give us the help that we needed to paint our gym,” said Andrea Kancijanic, the Nikolas Tesla school secretary. “For many of our students, this project is the first interaction that many of them have ever had with Americans. I think that what the Sailors from the Mount Whitney are doing for my school and for my students is a very noble thing.”
During the outreach event, the crew spackled and painted the school’s gymnasium and the locker rooms. Along the way, they received several help as some of the school’s students lent a hand. Appreciative of Mount Whitney Sailors’ efforts, the students were more than willing to help them complete their task.
“Projects like this always touch me the most,” said Ship’s Servicemen 2nd Class Christian Bennett. “I really appreciate the fact that the school has been so responsive to what we are doing here, and I hope that COMREL’s like this will only help to build a stronger relationship with the city of Rijeka.”
The hardest part of the COMREL was leaving the students each day, Bennett said.
“I really enjoy working with kids, and children are very easy to read. It touches my heart to see them so happy, and hopefully our efforts over the past couple of days can make these children maintain their happiness for as long as possible.”
By the conclusion of the COMREL over 50 Mount Whitney Sailors performed more than 200 hours of maintenance on the school’s facilities.
Mount Whitney, forward deployed to Gaeta, Italy, is currently in Rijeka, Croatia completing its scheduled yard period and renovation.
U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied, joint and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.
