NMCB 3 Seabees Teach Rota Students Metric Math

ROTA, Spain (NNS) -- Three Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) Three, taught practical uses of the metric system to 6th grade students at the Naval Station Rota Department of Defense Dependent's School (DODDS), May 4.

Engineering Aid 1st Class Willie Blanding, Builder 1st Class Alejandro Gonzales and Lt.j.g. Ernesto Carino talked to the students about how the metric system of measurement is used in construction.

"The Seabees were invited to show the students how math and the metric system are applied," said Tonyota Mack, a 6th Grade Math and Science teacher at the school. "I am glad that they got into some detail about what they do."

The Seabees described to the students how important it is to know the metric system and provided practical examples of how they use metric measurements every day.

"Sometimes it is easier to use the smaller measurements in order to be precise," said Gonzales, to the students. "We are deployed to Europe right now, so a lot of our construction projects are in metric so we have to be familiar with metric measurements to do our jobs."

Following the lesson, the Seabees demonstrated some of their surveying equipment during a lab event.

"We came over to teach the kids how important math is and how the metric system can be used," said Blanding. "We let the children use the transit and auto level, which are surveying tools used to determine land elevation at project sites, to see the metric numbers in a practical sense."

At the end of their presentation, the Seabees stressed to the students how important it was to learn math.

"When I was your age, I used to say that I would never use math," said Gonzales. "Now, I use it daily. Learn the easy basics now, because if you don't it may be harder down the road."

NMCB Three is an expeditionary naval construction element currently assigned to U.S. 6th Fleet's Commander, Task Force 68, to provide construction, engineering, and security services that support national strategy, naval power projection, humanitarian assistance and contingency operations.

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