Education professionals from San Diego and Seattle who took part in the Educator Orientation Visit (EOV) toured Training Service Center (TSC) Great Lakes and learning sites Nov. 3.

The purpose of the visit was to demonstrate the training used at TSC and LSs that provided 24-hour supervision, leadership, training, and professional development of accession Sailors prior to their arrival to the fleet.

Their tour began at student indoctrination's Life Skills training. Sailors arriving from boot camp attend the training before any rate-specific courses. Subjects taught in the course cover issues such as sexual assault intervention, military pay and entitlements, healthy relationships, navigating stress, operations security, banking and financial management service, and responsible alcohol use.

"The Life Skills curriculum is designed to give Sailors the tools and resources to succeed in the fleet and beyond, with the skill sets needed to thrive as adults," said Lt. Katy T. Bock, staff and student training coordinator at TSC. "The training is an important first step in these young Sailors lives, some of whom have transitioned directly from high school to the Navy, not having much knowledge of these skills."

Among the 30 educators on the tour was Gina Schyuler, Lake County High Schools Technology Campus workforce development coordinator for 22 high schools in Lake and McHenry counties, Illinois, and education for employment coordinator at the Lake County Vocational Center.

"The importance placed on Life Skills training means a great deal to me," Schyuler said. "Part of my job is to implement a foundational curriculum for our students. It would be great to partner with the Navy on those skills preparation. Having that training as a first step in the educational process is so critical, because if you do not have those basic skills you are not able to build on that. If you do not have that brick and mortar at the bottom, you are unable to build parts on top of that."

At Surface Warfare Officers School Unit (SWOSU) Great Lakes, Lt. Cmdr. Preston Marshall, executive officer, and staff led a tour of the training facilities of Basic Engineering Common Core (BECC).

BECC balances computer-based training with hands-on training labs, instructor-led classroom training with realistic simulations creating an Integrated Learning Environment (ILE). They also visited the Purifier Lab, LPD 17 Maintainer Course, and Engineman Apprentice School.

"The work that our staff does every day is amazing," said Cmdr. Eric Williams, commanding officer of SWOSU. "Showing off their work, along with the technology and training curriculum that makes SWOSU a top-notch training facility, allows us to pass on lessons that we learned in training our Sailors. It also gives us the opportunity to let educators know the opportunities that are available in the Navy so they can take that back to their students."

At Center for Surface Combat Systems Unit (CSCSU), the EOV group toured Fire Arms Training Simulator and the T1 RADAR partial task trainer.

"Getting the opportunity to show educators around the nation how we efficiently and effectively prepare new Sailors is a tremendous privilege," said Lt. Drew Serrecchia, executive officer of CSCSU. "This visit enables us to provide a snapshot into how we are leveraging technology to stay current with the needs of today's fleet Sailors, while being responsible stewards in today's fiscally-constrained environment."

The final leg of their tour of TSC and LS was at the galley's Windy City Cafe, where they enjoyed lunch with the Coalition of Sailors Against Destructive Decisions (CSADD). CSADD puts junior Sailors in a position to stop their shipmates from making decisions that will have negative impacts on their lives and their Navy careers. The program is geared toward Sailors E-5 and below, between ages 18-25. They promote positive choices and develop leadership through organizing local social networks, facilitating discussion, producing visual messages, promoting community involvement and hosting recreational events.

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