Sailors assigned to the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 54) visited Guam High School to speak to the Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC) Panther Company students during class, March 5.

Sailors discussed topics about the military with the students over the course of three hours and answered any questions they had. NJROTC is meant to assist students with school and a possible career in the military.

"When active military comes to my class, they give my students different perspectives about joining the military," said Chief Special Warfare Operator Mark Franchino, the naval science instructor at Guam High School. "They hear about the military [from] me, or maybe their parents, but when they hear it from someone else and listen to their life's journey and why they joined the military, it becomes more significant."

Students develop respect for constructed authority and it promotes high school completion and community service. Approximately 60 percent of the NJROTC cadets who are graduating seniors continue to higher education.

"As you get to help young people become more professional in life, whether they're going into the military or not, it's a great feeling that we get to help them excel," said Franchino.

USS Antietam is operating as part of the Ronald Reagan Strike Group in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations, a combat-ready force that protects and defends the collective maritime interest of its allies and partners in the region.

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For more news from Commander Task Force 70, visit www.navy.mil/.