On September 2, 2017, approximately 80 students faculty, staff and alumni from USC, CSULB, UCI, and UCLA  participated in LA Fleet Week tours, sponsored by METRANS.  Some added the experience of local transit to their trip, meeting at USC’s University Park campus, walking two blocks together to the local Metro Silver Line station, and forty minutes later, arriving to participate in the numerous festivities San Pedro had to offer. The U.S. Navy hosts Fleet Week in Los Angeles each year to recognize and celebrate the U.S. armed forces, and offers ship tours, military demonstrations, entertainment, and educational activities.

The participants first toured an active duty submarine and a battleship, then gathered for lunch and ended by touring the retired U.S.S. Iowa Battleship. Military personnel and search dogs guarded the active duty facilities, and visitors were granted a unique and wonderful opportunity to enter a submarine where military personnel gave a tour of their living facilities and also allowed them to view the Pacific Ocean through a periscope and an active battleship where they viewed an active demonstration of search and rescue by helicopter, among other things.  “I really enjoyed the trip because it gave be both the opportunity to learn more about ships and meet very interesting people,” remarked Yilin Zhang, Master of Planning Student at the University of Southern California. “This is my second year attending the METRANS Fleet Week trip, and each year I learn something new.”

During lunch, participants chatted with one another about the tours, and their careers and educational pursuits. This brief interlude also allowed the opportunity to enjoy the demonstrations by the U.S Army and Navy, including a quite popular one featuring specialized robots. Finally, everyone in the METRANS tour group made their way to the U.S.S. Iowa, commissioned during World+ War II.

METRANS also received an honorary membership from the Pacific Battleship Foundation on while they were there and the curator for the U.S.S. Iowa offered METRANS an exclusive private guided tour of the ship for 2018. "We are excited for our students to take advantage of this opportunity. Attending Fleet Week is becoming a METRANS tradition," said Victoria Deguzman, METRANS Associate Director, Administration. "We are grateful for the support of the U.S. Navy, USC Navy ROTC, UCLA Navy ROTC, the Fleet Week Foundation, and the Pacific Battleship Foundation which made this trip possible."

 About the Author: Diana De Los Santos

Diana De Los Santos is a second-year graduate student studying Planning at the University of Southern California. She is interested in active community engagement and transportation planning. She can be reached at [email protected].