Theodore Roosevelt Sailors use Navy PT Test to Mentor Local Students

By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Cory C. Asato, USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Public Affairs

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (NNS) -- Students from Lindenwood Elementary School in Norfolk, Va., participated in the Navy Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA) with USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Sailors at Huntington Hall in Newport News, Va., April 26.

Sixty Sailors aboard Roosevelt have taken weekly turns being involved with Lindenwood since December 2010 to emulate First Lady Michelle Obama's initiative, "Lets Read, Let's Move", which encourages communities to become involved with helping children to not only read in their down time, but maintain an active lifestyle.

During these sessions, 100 children have received mentoring from Roosevelt Sailors about the Navy's culture of fitness to prepare them for participation in the Navy's semi-annual PFA.

At the PT event, which coincided with the ship's actual PFA, Roosevelt's command fitness leaders measured the student's body weight and height and demonstrated stretches, Navy standard curl-ups and push-ups. Some students did as many as 40 push-ups and 50 sit-ups. Following the exercises, the students completed a one-mile run, or five laps around Huntington Hall's track.

Incorporating the Lindenwood children's involvement into Roosevelt's PFA made an impact on the Sailors, according to Lt. Cmdr. Jared Tharp, Roosevelt's command fitness leader.

"It provided an opportunity for TR Sailors to reach out into the community and interact with today's youth," said Tharp. "By spending the time to go to Norfolk to interact with the children showed them the Navy's culture of fitness, and the importance of preparation and effort towards a specific goal."

Lt. Cmdr. Pickett, ship's nurse aboard Roosevelt, explained the importance of nutrition to Lindenwood students.

"It's really [about educating and encouraging children] to make healthy choices towards nutrition," said Pickett. "If we start now to train these children with healthy habits toward a lifestyle, then this will carry on with the children into adulthood. Obesity is a chronic problem among adults and children, so what we are teaching them here correlates to battling that as well as other illnesses such as diabetes and heart problems."

Darrick Person, a physical education teacher at Lindenwood, said Roosevelt's involvement with the school and its physical education program models exactly what they want the students to learn.

"Physical education is becoming more important in the lives of our children as it helps to battle childhood obesity, and helps to build social skills," said Person. "TR's Sailors come to Lindenwood and emit a positive influence and reinforce what we teach."

"I've learned that nutrition and exercise are healthy," said fifth grader Davion Rochelle, the student with the fastest mile-run time at the event. "I want to be a basketball player, and the Sailors' help is good for me."

Roosevelt's drive for investment in the community is similiar to the Navy's investment in its Sailors, according to Pickett.

"These children are our future, our leaders and our replacements," said Pickett. "We need to foster good habits and mentor these children. We need to show them that we care about them."

Theodore Roosevelt is currently undergoing its scheduled mid-life Refueling Complex Overhaul (RCOH) at Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries. During the 39-month maintenance period, TR's fuel will be replenished and significant upgrades will be made to the ship's combat and communication systems to extend the ship's service life for 25 or more years. All Nimitz-class aircraft carriers go through RCOH near the mid-point of their 50-year life cycle.