In May, crew members aboard the Wheeler hosted a community event for a Saipan school group of about 20 students ages 9-12. The event was focused on survival skills and coincided with an overnight “survival” camping excursion on Managaha Island. Skills taught by the crew included making a fire without matches, gathering fresh water for drinking, and signaling for help.
Chief Yarbrough, Captain Glenn Macario and 3rd A/E Jeff Polek rode over to Managaha with survival gear in tow to conduct the event. The group of students learned how to start a fire with a magnifying glass, how to use distress flares and how to make a solar still to condense water with a plastic bag and a cup. The kids asked many questions and their teachers were very appreciative of the time the crew spent doing the instructing.
