Last Thursday, four Wahkiakum High School students boarded the USS Scout, a US Navy minesweeper, in Astoria to take a trip upriver to Portland for Fleet Week.

Kaleo Silva looking thru the "Big Eyes" on the approach into Portland.

The four, including Nai'a Freeman, Michael Martin, Nalani Schultz, and Kaleo Silva, got a hands-on experience with the US Navy crew. They got to spend time on the bridge and witness "the complexity of navigation in a restricted maneuvering environment," according to Wahkiakum School District's Administrative Director and future Superintendent Brent Freeman, a retired Navy officer who was able to make this adventure possible.

The students got to handle firefighting and hazardous material equipment, participate in a weapons demonstration, learn about mine warfare, including the use of robotics to disable mines, and witness the communication and professionalism of the crew, Freeman said.

The next day, seven more WHS students traveled to Portland for a VIP tour of the USS Scout and a destroyer, the USS Michael Murphy.