KEEPING HISTORY ALIVE
RPI students continue tradition of service aboard USS Slater
ALBANY, N.Y.>> At the Port of Albany sits the USS Slater, a small museum ship and the last floating member of the U. S. Navy’s destroyer escort class.
A remnant of World War II, the Slater was once in a grievous state of disrepair after being returned by the Greek Navy in 1993. Since then, a mostly volunteer effort made up mainly of retired Navy sailors has been slowly restoring the ship to its former glory while maintaining its World War II authenticity at every turn.
More than 15 years ago a student in the Naval ROTC program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute volunteered to assist in the restoration, and, as more midshipmen began to follow suit, the unit began regular trips there as a community service and training opportunity. These future officers were able to learn firsthand the inherent difficulties and importance of the maintenance they would later oversee by performing similar work themselves, doing everything from running electrical cables and painting to fishing dropped tools and bolts out of the bilge.
Today, the RPI midshipmen that board the USS Slater every Saturday work on a wide variety of tasks. Many smaller points of maintenance, such as painting, hanging insulation and removing rust, are nearly always available. Exercises will occasionally arise in the form of damaged hardware needing replacement, which often turns out to be far more difficult than is initially apparent.
These challenges test midshipmen’s problemsolving abilities, leading to increasingly creative solutions. Students who volunteer frequently are trusted with more demanding tasks, with midshipmen led by recently commissioned Ensign Tulsa Scott succeeded last year in restoring the ship’s firefighting system to the point where it could hold pressurized water. They are currently assisting in renovating the Slater’s aft berthing compartment into museum space for the variety of World War II artifacts on board.
Guiding the midshipmen is Barry Witte, a retired nuclear surface warfare officer and a volunteer on the ship since before the first midshipman arrived. Witte has been the ROTC unit’s liaison from day one and coordinates the midshipmen during their time on the ship. His wealth of knowledge from his time in the Navy and his technical mastery, especially in the electrical field, have proven invaluable to the quality of training these midshipmen receive.
With the help of the RPI midshipmen under his guidance, the volunteers may one day allow the USS Slater to set sail once again.