Sailors assigned to U.S. 6th Fleet Blue Ridge-class command and control ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) participated in a language exchange community relations (COMREL) project with Croatian high school students in Rijeka, Croatia, April 28.

During the COMREL at Prva Suaeka Hrvatska Gimnazija, Sailors helped engage the students by conversing with them in English and answering questions for them.

"The most important thing about this visit is that my students get a chance to practice another language with native speakers," said Sanja Padavic, a language teacher at Prva Suaeka Hrvatska Gimnazija. "It also introduces them to a culture very different from Croatia. Maybe the next time they see an American person, they will see them in a different light because of this meeting with the Sailors."

The COMREL was such a success that the school requested the Sailors return for more visits, as more than 300 students signed up for the event.

"Language exchange COMRELS are a favorite of the Sailors," said Cryptologic Technician Technical 2nd Class Justin Clemons, a Mount Whitney COMREL coordinator. "They provide the best possible opportunity to go out and foster relationships with the local community, especially with the younger community. It's refreshing to hear what their hopes and aspirations are and hopefully be able to contribute to them with an outside perspective that these teenagers may not be able to get anywhere else."

This is the first visit Mount Whitney has had with Prva Suaeka Hrvatska Gimnazija.

Mount Whitney, forward deployed to Gaeta, Italy, operates with a combined crew of U.S. Navy Sailors and Military Sealift Command civil service mariners. The civil service mariners perform navigation, deck, engineering, and supply service operations, while military personnel support communications, weapons systems, and security. It is one of only two seaborne joint command platforms in the U.S. Navy, both of which are forward deployed.

Mount Whitney is in Croatia for routine repairs and upgrades.

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