7th Grade Live Chat With U.S.S. Normandy Captain

Captain: Here I am!!

Mrs. LaRow: Good morning, Captain. We are here.

Mrs. LaRow: We had snow here last night. Temperatures are in the 20's. What are your temperatures in Norfolk?

Captain: Good Morning everyone. It is a sunny but very cold day here in Norfolk. Temp is 34F

Mrs. LaRow: But, you don't have snow, right?

Captain: That is pretty cold for us southeners! No snow, Thankfully

Mrs. LaRow: I have a 7th grade class with me.

Captain: Great. Nice to talk to everyone.

Mrs. LaRow: Are you by yourself?

Mrs. LaRow: I am in the room with the students and a teacher aide.

Captain: At this time I am alone but people will be walking in and out

Mrs. LaRow: Here comes our first question.

Captain: OK!

Mrs. LaRow: Jordan wants to know why you decided to join the Navy.

Captain: My Grandmother saved pictures of ships that I drew when Iwas 11-12 years old. I think I always liked ships

Mrs. LaRow: Caitlin wants to know how long it took you to make the rank of captain.

Captain: I have been in the Navy 24 years, Caitlin and it took 21 years to become a Captain.

Mrs. LaRow: What were you initial feelings when you first stepped onto Normandy as the captain?

Captain: I was thrilled, very very excited. It is the biggest ship I have ever served on

Captain: I wanted to shout...IT'S MINE>>>ALL MINE!

Mrs. LaRow: Nick wants to know the top speed of the ship. Can you answer that question?

Captain: Yes, Nick...The top speed is about 33 knots. That is a nautical figure of measurement. To find mph multiply knots by 1.15

Mrs. LaRow: What is that in miles per hour? I teach English, not math!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Captain: Multiply 33 X 1.15 = 37.95mph. TSK TSK TSK!

Mrs. LaRow: One of the kids got the answer while we were waiting. He told me before you did. Tee hee

Captain: They must be very smart!

Mrs. LaRow: Can you tell us the names of the missiles on the ship?

Mrs. LaRow: And, they want to know which ones are the most "powerful."

Captain: Yes we have several types. For enemy aircraft or enemy missile we use the Standard Missile with a range greater than 80 miles

Mrs. LaRow: Is that called SAM Missile?

Captain: For use against other ships we use the Harppoon missile with a range greater than 70 miles

Captain: Yes the Standard is a SAM Surface to Air Missile S A M

Mrs. LaRow: Did we see SAM Missiles being fired in your video?

Captain: Against land targets we use the Tomahawk missile range greater than 900 miles

Captain: Our videa may have shown a SAM being fired. The night shots were Tomahawk

Mrs. LaRow: Wow, I never knew they had that range. Hey, you could reach us if you wanted!

Mrs. LaRow: Have you named all the missiles?

Captain: Yep Watch out..

Captain: Yeas, three types

Mrs. LaRow: Okay, so now we know all the types of missiles you have.

Captain: Yes

Mrs. LaRow: Which one is the most powerful, the Tomahawk?

Captain: Well, I suppose that is true. It has a 1000 lb warhead

Mrs. LaRow: They want to know where you are right now.

Captain: And it is a smart missile. It has three computers onboard to guide it

Mrs. LaRow: And, I'm a smart teacher!!!! You can ask me that anytime.

Captain: I am in my cabin, my living and working quarters in the superstructure of the ship

Mrs. LaRow: What's the "superstructure"?

Captain: The area above the main deck. The main deck is where you came aboard. The superstructure is all the area above that

Mrs. LaRow: Does term "superstructure" have a significance? In other words, does it mean protected better than the rest of the ship?

Captain: No it is just a nautical term for the above deck structure 

Captain: super meaning above

Mrs. LaRow: Aekta wants to know how many missiles are onboard the ship.

Captain: Dis any of these students write letters last year?

Captain: Did

Captain: We can carry over 130 missiles of the three types I mentioned

Captain: But Aketa, we usually carry only 8 harpoon missileas and divide up the rest

Mrs. LaRow: Yes, I have six students in here who wrote last year. I teach both 6th and 7th grade on a split team. Some of the kids I had last year are on the team this year. So, they did, in fact, write your ship.

Captain: WOW, I am gad to be able to talk to you all...Those letters really helped boost my morale last year

Captain: And the sailors truly enjoyed them

Mrs. LaRow: Here are the names of the kids who wrote last year. And, they are sitting in this room now: Aekta Shah, Ben Hemmendinger, Matt Miller, John Montana, Kate Callahan, and Quentin Thomas.

Mrs. LaRow: Oops, I missed one, Nick Cook. I told you I didn't teach math!

Captain: Well, it is truly a pleasure to be able to talk to you six...When we were out in the middle of the ocean last year, your letters brought many smiles to some sad faces

Captain: Did I write to Nick...I seem to recall a Nick

Mrs. LaRow: Jonathan wants to know the "acoustic signature" of the ship. (And, I must tell you, I don't have any idea what he's referring to, but he said you'd know.) And, we want to know the nickname of the ship.

Captain: The letters are really important... My family writes to me when I am away but many men have no family so when you write to them you become like their family

Mrs. LaRow: You didn't write to Nick Cook.

Mrs. LaRow: Can you tell us more about the meaning of receiving letters from us? We are about to do our rough drafts, right after Thanksgiving.

Captain: Jonathan...WOW I am surprised. The acoustic signature is something I cannot divulge except to tell you that we are very very quiet. We don't put much sound in the water

Mrs. LaRow: So, did my little Jonathan come up with a classified question?

Captain: The ship does not really have a nickname. Sorry

Captain: Well little Jonathan came up with a question in the terms I would not have expected form a 7th grader

Mrs. LaRow: Can you tell us anything about phased array radar?

Mrs. LaRow: Jonathan says he saw it on a Discovery Channel program about the Navy.

Captain: Certainly...The phased array radar is called the SPY-1 radar. It has a range of about 250 miles and can detect a flock of birds at 100 miles. It is very powerful and sensitive

Captain: We use SPY to track airplanes and lissiles

Mrs. LaRow: Are you worried about the enemy being able to jam that radar?

Captain: Those letters you all wrote were really nice to recieve. Iwas in the crew's cafeteria called the mess decks when the men were reading them

Captain: The men were so so happy to get some mail at the holiday season

Captain: The SPY radar has many many unique capabilities and is almost jam-proof

Mrs. LaRow: Did you hang up our banners in the mess decks? We sent you four long, colorful banners.

Captain: Two of the banners went to the crew's mess, one to the Chief Petty Officers Mess and one to the Officer's mess. The helped decorate an otherwise pretty dull place. The colors were neat

Mrs. LaRow: Jennifer wants to thank you for being out there, protecting us. She says she wasn't in my class last year, but she is looking forward to writing this year. We will do our rough drafts on Monday. On Tuesday, we go to the computer lab.

Mrs. LaRow: Captain, do you have your own eating quarters and your own, personal cook as we've heard other captains have?

Captain: Great, well of course the ships just left so they will be alone at Christmas. Your letters and cards and other stuff will be a big help

Captain: I have a kitchen up here near my cabin, but I prefer to eat with the officers in their mess. I hate eating alone!

Mrs. LaRow: Will you tell the kids which captains you spoke with on our behalf? I told them that you spoke to some about our project and recommended us.

Captain: I like being around people.

Mrs. LaRow: Do you eat in the Ward Room?

Captain: Yes, in the Wardroom, the officers mess. 

Mrs. LaRow: If you hate eating alone, I can send you 115 guests for your table. They are a bit short. They talk a lot, but they are cute. Interested?

Mrs. LaRow: I just got a big laugh here.

Captain: I spoke to Captain James Phillips of the Vella Guklf He is called Stretch because he is 6"9" tall. He is excited about the letters

Captain: We h

Captain: CHEESEBURGERS AND FRIES EVERY wEDNSDAY, COME ON DOWN.

Mrs. LaRow: You know, we'd love to have you come up here. You'd be welcome any time. We have pizzas every Thursday.

Captain: My friend, Storekeeper Harold Murphy just walked in.

Captain: He works in the ship's supply department and also takes care of me

Mrs. LaRow: Also, kids want me to tell you I have a boyfriend who is three feet tall. He's five years old and sends me pictures that he draws via his sister Erika, who is in my class. He likes to draw me pictures. I hang them in the classroom, on the file cabinet.

Mrs. LaRow: Hello, Mr. Storekeeper Murphy. Nice to meet you!

Captain: Does your husband know about this boyfriend???

Captain: Hello kids how ya doin?

Mrs. LaRow: Yes, and he's jealous. He wants to know what he looks like. Sometimes I get email from my boyfriend, and my husband looks over my shoulder.

Mrs. LaRow: We say hi.

Mrs. LaRow: We want to know about your job on the ship.

Captain: Murphy did write someone from Niskayuna a letter last year

Mrs. LaRow: John, not Jonathan, wants to know the highest caliber gun on your ship.

Captain: So he received one of your letters last Christmas

Mrs. LaRow: Mr. Murphy, whom did you write? I have a bunch of owls in here next to me saying, "Who, who, who."

Captain: John, we have 5 inch guns on this ship

Mrs. LaRow: Is that the canon?

Captain: Yes those are the cannons on the ship 5"

Captain: Murphy can't remember the name but recalls that it was a girl

Mrs. LaRow: Is that the big one we can see in the picture?

Captain: The paymaster just wallked in. We always treat him nice

Captain: Yes the big gun on the front of the ship

Mrs. LaRow: Okay, we want to know about the Phalanx gun. How many rounds per minute, and is it true you have to teflon coat the bullets so barrel doesn't melt?

Mrs. LaRow: Hello, Mr. Paymaster. Nice to meet you. Do you have a first name? Or,should we refer to you as Mr. Paymaster of Normandy?

Captain: The Phalanx shhots 3000 rounds per minute

Mrs. LaRow: Captain, this class has to leave now. Next one will be coming in.

Captain: His name is Ensign Milt Troy, from South Carolina. He says Hi

Mrs. LaRow: You just sat through a 45 minute class.

Captain: Ok will be standing by for the next class.. Keep up the good work and thanks for the letters

Mrs. LaRow: They want to say Happy Thanksgiving to you.

Captain: Same to them..don't eat too much bird or ham

Mrs. LaRow: Wait, I have another question. Jordan wants to know if the government tests the equipment for your ship before the Navy buys it, or does the Navy just buy it?

Captain: We give it extensive testing before we buy anuything

Mrs. LaRow: Anna wants to know if you "wanted" to become a captain or were you "chosen" to become a captain?

Mrs. LaRow: They are standing here as they are supposed to be leaving. They have lots of questions I didn't get to.

Mrs. LaRow: Lindsy wants to say goodbye and happy holidays. There are about 10 standing behind me, giving me last minute questions.

Captain: I have always wanted to be a Captain but the Navy chooses men and women to be Captains of ships. I have been lucky

Captain: Thanks Lindsy

Mrs. LaRow: Caitlin wants to thank you for all you've done in the Navy and happy holidays. The next class is already arriving. Hey, this is like having a top movie playing. They can't wait to get here to speak with you.

Captain: Thanks Caitlin

Mrs. LaRow: Next class is almost all here. They are finding their seats.

Captain: OK

Captain: I need two minutes for necessary things be back soon

Mrs. LaRow: Okay, we will wait for you.

Captain: Hello, I am the Gunnery Officer. My name is LTJG Craig Hackstaff. I control all of the guns and ammunition on board the ship.

Mrs. LaRow: Hi, LTJG Hackstaff. Nice to meet you.

Mrs. LaRow: Can you tell us more about your job?

Captain: Are there any questions you have for me while the Captain is busy.

Mrs. LaRow: This is a new class, and they didn't see the captain's answers about your missiles.

Mrs. LaRow: The captain told us you have 3 kinds of missiles. Can you tell this class?

Mrs. LaRow: He told us about Harpoon, Thomahawk, and SAM.

Captain: I was one of the officers who responded to the letters sent to our ship during our cruise

Mrs. LaRow: Do you remember the names of any of the students you wrote to?

Captain: No I do not remember the name.

Mrs. LaRow: I have 4 kids here who wrote letters last year. And, can you tell us how you felt when you received our letters while you were at sea?

Mrs. LaRow: What is it like getting mail from home when you are away for 6 months at a time?

Captain: I felt great that there were people who were concerned about the sailors who were not going to make it home for Christmas.

Mrs. LaRow: Lt, can you tell us what a gunnery officer does?

Captain: It feels good to know your family is still thinking about you while you are away.

Captain: I am in charge of 2 5-inch guns, all small arm weapons, and control all ammunition onboard.

Mrs. LaRow: Are the 5 inch guns the canon?

Mrs. LaRow: They want to know what the most powerful weapon is that you have onboard.

Captain: It is similar to a canon. There is one forward and one aft of the ship. Here is the Captain.

Mrs. LaRow: Welcome back, Captain. We are now in Period 2. This is another 7th grade class.

Captain: Hi everyone, I am back. The most powerful weapon in the Tomahawk missile. It has a 1000 lb warhead and can travel over 900 miles

Mrs. LaRow: And, I have 4 kids who wrote to your ship last year: Hayden Boska, Keira Sokolowski, Jordan Hoerl, and Kevin McDevitt.

Mrs. LaRow: How much does it cost? And, how is it guided?

Captain: Hi folks. I sure did appreciate the letters you wrote last year. They brought many smiles to some sad faces at Christmas time

Captain: The missile costs over 1 million dollars and it is guided by computes and satellites

Mrs. LaRow: Did we see Thomahawk Missiles being shot in the video tape you sent us? And, we noticed it was dark. Why didn't you turn lights on the ship while you were firing them?

Mrs. LaRow: Do you use technology similar to the Global Positioning Devices?

Captain: Yes the night shots were the Tomahawk missile firings. At night we keep the lights off so that we can see in the dark The ship does have special "running lights" to identify itself to other ships. ALl ships are dark at night except cruise ships

Mrs. LaRow: How many Tomahawk Missiles are onboard your ship?

Mrs. LaRow: We don't know why you run dark at night. Why?

Captain: The Tomahawks are equipped with Global Positioning Systems for guidance

Captain: There are usuall abouty 50 Tomahawks onboard.

Mrs. LaRow: I wonder if your Tomahawk Missiles are "smarter" than my students.

Captain: At night, on the sea there are no street lights or house llights so it is very dark Imagine yourself in a dark room for five minutes then turn on a light. Your vision gets blurry

Captain: So we keep the lights out so we can see in the dark

Captain: I don't now if they are smarter but they probably eat less!!!

Mrs. LaRow: Okay, we also want to know where you store them. We saw you onloading in Augusta. We saw tall, long, white rectangular things being lowered into the ship. Were those the missiles? We saw them on your video.

Captain: Yes the missiles are kept in those white containres and the entie container is lowered into the launcher. When the missile is fired, it literally burts out of the container

Captain: bursts

Mrs. LaRow: Do you have "chaf" on your ship?

Mrs. LaRow: Are the containers reusable, or are they destroyed in processing of firing?

Mrs. LaRow: Is it true that your Combat Information Room can take control away from a pilot of a plane and fly the plane?

Captain: These kids must be watching the Discovery channel a lot. Yes we have chaff we use it to decoy enemy missiles from our ship

Captain: The senior enlisted man on the ship just walked in

Mrs. LaRow: Can you tell them how chaf works?

Captain: He is my personal advisor and good friend

Mrs. LaRow: Is this your Command Master Chief?

Captain: Chaff is actually little pieces of aluminum foil that are shot in the air and present a radar target to another rtadar

Mrs. LaRow: Chris wants to know if you ever had to use your Phalanx guns? 

Captain: Yes his name is Carl Van Deusen, from upeer Michigan

Mrs. LaRow: Can you tell us a little about his job and how he might advise you?

Captain: I have never had to use my Phalanx against real enemys, and I am glad about that. But we do practise a lot

Mrs. LaRow: Do you leave the Phalanx guns "on" for protection when you are in dangerous waters?

Captain: He is the direct connention to the elnlisted crewmen. He gets around the ship, talks to them, finds out how they are doing and advises me on many other matters

Mrs. LaRow: Jordan wants to know if you have any nuclear warheads on your ship.

Captain: Yes, when we are underway the guns are on

Mrs. LaRow: And, he wants to know if the subs have nuclear warheads.

Captain: Jordan, President Bush ordered all nuclear weapons to be removed from ships many years ago

Mrs. LaRow: Even the subs?????? We know the subs were designed to carry ICBM's.

Captain: Some submarines are capable of carrying nuclear tipped ICBMs

Mrs. LaRow: Yes, but do they still have them?

Mrs. LaRow: Maybe you can't tell us.

Captain: True

Mrs. LaRow: Phil wants to know how many wars you've been in, and which ones.

Mrs. LaRow: Are there any submarines in port with you now?

Captain: Phil I have served in the Navy in the Vietnam war and have been in a few smaller scrapes since then, in the Persian Gulf in 1987 and last year in Bosnia

Mrs. LaRow: Chris wants to know if there are any women onboard. 

Captain: Yes there are about 8 subs in port today

Mrs. LaRow: Captain, we wrote to 10 ships during the Persian Gulf Crisis. Which one were you on in 1987? We may have written to you.

Captain: Chris there are no women assigned to my ship as of today however the first women is expected to report aboard next year

Captain: I was CO of USS Inflict, a tiny minsweeper

Mrs. LaRow: I received a letter from an XO a few years ago telling me he remember receiving letters from us in 1987. When he wrote, he was now XO of Samuel B. Roberts, I think, and we did a ship-to-shore ham radio conference.

Mrs. LaRow: We even wrote to a minesweeper back then. I'll have to look up the name. They were very surprised we bothered with them. We told them they were important too.

Captain: Yes, I recall the Roberts. You can see how important those letters are when a saiolr remembers from years ago that a student in NY sent him a Christmas Letter

Mrs. LaRow: Has anyone ever fallen off the ship, and what did you do about it?

Captain: My typing is getting worse, I will slow down

Captain: No one has ever fallen overboard but if they did we would turn around and pick them up

Mrs. LaRow: Hey, these kids are criticizing my typing if I make just one mistake. So, don't worry.

Captain: OK 

Mrs. LaRow: Dave wants to know: Does the Navy have any connection to the Merchant Marine Academy? He has a brother at that academy.

Mrs. LaRow: They want to know why you have time off after you've been on deployment, and how much time do you have off before you get sent out again?

Captain: Merchant Marine Academy graduates have an option to become Navy officers

Mrs. LaRow: What is the average age of the sailors onboard the ship?

Captain: We do get some time off when we return, about 30 days, then we usually begin at sea periods again right after that but not deployed

Mrs. LaRow: Deanna wants to know if your ship has ever hit a mine in the water. I showed them a tape of Persian Gulf Crisis I had gotten from the R K Turner, and it showed mines in the water.

Captain: The average sailor is about 20 years old

Mrs. LaRow: How soon can the Normandy be deployed for six months again?

Captain: Deanna, I have never been in a ship thathit a mine, But the Samuel B Roberts did in 1987

Mrs. LaRow: Have you ever gotten seasick, Captain?

Captain: We almost deployed last month!! We could be deployed as soon as 3 months after our return, but normally it as about 15 months

Captain: OH YES! and I wanted to die!

Mrs. LaRow: Do you get seasick every time to go out?

Mrs. LaRow: Or, are you used to it now?

Mrs. LaRow: Clarissa wants to know if you were ever wounded.

Captain: No, it has only happened once or twice to me . Most people get used to the motion in a short time

Captain: Clarissa, I have never been wounded, thank the Lord.

Mrs. LaRow: Is it difficult being on a ship for 6 months at a time?

Mrs. LaRow: Conor wants to know how long it took you to reach rank of captain.

Captain: Being deployed is something that you accept and get used to. It is hard being away from home and friends. Letters llike the ones you wrote last year really help brighten up our lives

Mrs. LaRow: Captain, they want to know about your family. Julia asked that question. The kids asked in the last class, but I didn't get to it.

Captain: Conor, I have been in the Navy 24 years and it took 21 years to become a Captian.

Mrs. LaRow: Captain, since we will do rough drafts next week, what might be important for us to put in the letters? And, what might we mail to the sailors that they would like?

Captain: Julia, I have been married to Beth for 24 years and we have two wonderful sons, Christopher a sophomore at Hampden-Sydney College and Steven a Senior at Virginia Beach Cox High School

Mrs. LaRow: They want to know how old your sons are.

Mrs. LaRow: They are figuring out the ages.

Captain: CHris is 19 and Steve is 17

Mrs. LaRow: Jordan, wants to know if you have any medals.

Mrs. LaRow: Kelly wants to know if you have Marines onboard, or is it just the amphibious assault ships that have Marines?

Captain: Yes, I have been awarded the Bronze Star with combat V, the Meritorious Service Medal five times and several others

Captain: Kelly, Cruisers do not carry marines, only aircraft carriers and amphibious ships

Mrs. LaRow: By the way, we have a 6th grader whose father is an active, Marine captain. You will meet her later.

Mrs. LaRow: What was the Bronze Star for?

Captain: HOO-RAHH...a grunt!

Captain: I was involved in an action in the Persian Gulf in 1987

Mrs. LaRow: Captain, are there any others in room with you now? It's just the kids and me in here now. This class ends in 4 minutes.

Mrs. LaRow: David wants to know what college you graduated from before you were in the Navy.

Captain: Just the Command Master Chief and I. We both really enjoyed the letters last year. Keep up the great work they are very very important

Mrs. LaRow: Is the food good on a ship?

Mrs. LaRow: Do either of you have questions for us?

Captain: I graduated from Mansfield University of PA and University of Southern California

Captain: The food is excellent, 

Captain: How did you get so smart to ask these types of questions,,, from the CMC

Mrs. LaRow: Chris wants to know if either of you ever had any friends killed while in the service.

Captain: Yes, Chris I have

Mrs. LaRow: CMC, I have been doing this project for 14 years. Over the years, I have learned a lot from you folks. I pass on what I know to the kids. Once, I even sailed on the USS Biddle from Boston to Earle. I learned, observed, and remembered! There's an old saying, "Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember. Involve me, I learn."

Captain: Thanks Carol. 

Mrs. LaRow: Some of their questions are coming from their own knowldege. These kids are pretty sharp. 

Captain: Sure seems that way, much smarter than us when we were in 6-7 grade

Mrs. LaRow: This class is ending. Hold on a minute.

Captain: OK standing by

Mrs. LaRow: The kids are gone now. How was it for you? 

Captain: This exchange was fine for me...seemed to short I suppose the kids could have gone on for hours

Mrs. LaRow: It's a challenge to keep them motivated and challenged.

Captain: Well they certainly seem bright. CMC says it has got to be fun to teach these kids

Mrs. LaRow: Yes, they had some questions I didn't get to. There were lots more questions.

Mrs. LaRow: Afternoon classes are 6th graders. They will be much different from the 7th graders.

Captain: OK well, I need to get some work done. I will see you online at about 140

Mrs. LaRow: CMC, I must be on my toes at all times with them . Teachers need a quick wit with these kids.

Captain: Sounds like your up to it

Mrs. LaRow: Okay, I will see you then. Did you see my question about logging this chat? You can log this. I am logging it.

Captain: Don't reall logging..what is that?

Mrs. LaRow: I don't think you can log it after the fact. I'd be interested to see if you got this. If not, I'll send it to you.

Mrs. LaRow: I will go and close it now, and it will save to my HD.

Captain: Could be won't know till later so please send it if you can

Captain: OK I'll see you at 1:40.

Mrs. LaRow: No problem. I'll do that. See you later.

Captain: Bye