MANADO, Indonesia -- U.S. Marines and sailors with Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 225 visited Sekolah Menengah Eben Haezar Manado High School in Manado, Indonesia, Nov. 9, 2016.
As part of a community relations event, the visit offered service members the opportunity to engage in cultural exchanges and build relationships within the local community.
“This event helps foster positive relations between the U.S. and Indonesia,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Pomai Rosete, a religious program specialist with Marine Aircraft Group 12.
To begin the event, U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Philip Park, command chaplain with Marine Aircraft Group 12, exchanged gifts with Jemmy Jermias, the school principal, symbolizing each other’s appreciation for cultural exchanges and community relations events.
The students were then afforded the opportunity to ask the Marines and sailors questions before U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Matthew Nightwine, quality assurance chief, Cpl. Jonathan Castillo and Cpl. Zachary Gustin, airframe mechanics with VMFA(AW) 225, demonstrated Marine Corps Martial Arts Program techniques.
“I enjoyed the martial arts demonstration the most,” said Jemmy Jermias, the school principal. “I think the Marines have been very well trained, and I was able to learn a couple of self-defense techniques.”
The Marines and sailors then played basketball against the school basketball teams, losing 50-22 after playing three games.
“I enjoyed interacting will all the Marines as well as the basketball game,” said Flo Leimema, a high school student. “I remembered a couple of the Marines’ names and was rooting for them, but I didn’t expect them to lose.”
Finally, students had the opportunity to take photos with the service members to end the event.
“We feel honored to be visited by the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy,” said Jermias. “We consider our school as one of the lucky ones. It is a rare occasion to have foreign guests visit our school and feel this event will have a very good impact on our students. I am looking forward to having more visits in the future.”