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By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ricardo Guzman
YOKOSUKA, Japan – The Coalition of Sailors Against Destructive Decisions aboard the U.S. Navy’s forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) was selected for honorable mention as the 2013 Best Sea Chapter of the Year, Jan. 23.
CSADD is a peer-to-peer mentoring program that promotes positive decisions and allows junior sailors the opportunity to receive education and aid in resolving daily life conflicts, stress and use of alcohol.
“We won the honorable mention in 2011, we won the award in 2012, and we got the honorable mention again this year,” said Sonar Technician (Surface) 2nd Class Benjamin O’Bryan, George Washington’s 2013 CSADD chapter president. “To accomplish this three times in a row is fantastic because we are getting recognized against all U.S. Navy large-deck ships.”
To win the award, CSADD chapters from across the fleet had to submit packages that outlined their chapter’s abilities and contributions to the CSADD message.
“This year’s judging was more difficult than ever,” said Vice Adm. W.F. Moran, deputy chief of naval operations, in a Navy administrative message. “All nomination packages provided great examples of how CSADD Sailors help foster a positive image of our young sailors to our communities in the U.S. and abroad.”
George Washington’s CSADD chapter hosted numerous events underway and in port, and conducted several community service events for local communities within the ship’s area of operations. Events held in port included: free-of-charge bowling events, monthly base and beach clean-ups, food donations to the homeless, free movie nights at the on-base theater and visits to the orphanage Shunko Gakuen. Underway events included: community service events in each of the ship’s 2013 port visits, ice cream socials and a pie-in-the-face fundraising event that resulted in the donation of $8,200.
“One thing that helped tremendously was the growth of our program,” said O’Bryan. “We had 147 members when I took over and we’re now at 315 members. We try to conduct more social events to raise awareness and we get an outstanding response from different people.”
O’Bryan also credits the chapter’s success with its ability to reach out to other CSADD chapters based on Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY).
“I analyzed all the different commands in Yokosuka to find out whether or not they had a CSADD chapter,” said O’Bryan. “I was able to establish three more chapters. I assisted them in their start up and I supported them at a distance when the ship was underway. We helped the CFAY chapter establish their own fundraising events as well.”
The cornerstone of CSADD is its ability to guide sailors and provide solutions that prevent them from making wrong decisions.
“If it wasn’t for my team, this would never have happened,” said O’Bryan. “My [CSADD] officers made this happen; all I did was guide them. They made this chapter grow.”
George Washington and its embarked air wing, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, provide a combat-ready force that protects and defends the collective maritime interest of the U.S. and its allies and partners in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.
| Date Taken: | 01.27.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 01.27.2014 02:50 |
| Story ID: | 119686 |
| Location: | YOKOSUKA, KANAGAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 62 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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