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SASEBO, Japan - Sailors and Marines line up in the mess line to fill their trays. The crew’s mess deck is spotted with shades of blue and green. A couple of Sailors bag and pass out fresh popcorn. There’s a feature movie playing on the televisions, but the sound is completely drowned out by the conversations and laughter of brothers and sisters bonding on a Saturday night.
It’s “Movie Night” underway aboard the “Revolutionary Gator.”
Movie Night every Saturday underway is just one of the many events the Junior Sailor Association (JSA) takes part in to promote positive reinforcement aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6).
Sailors sporting their JSA t-shirts can be found behind the serving line, in the scullery and scooping popcorn for all shipboard members. JSA teams up with Coalition of Sailors Against Destructive Decisions (CSADD), the First Class Association and Moral, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) to serve and clean up the mess deck once the feature presentation comes to an end.
President of BHR’s Junior Sailor Association Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Brittany Haynes says they present movie night as a morale booster, as a chance to give the Culinary Specialists and Food Service Assistant’ a break from the constant galley grind.
JSA’s involvement with other command associations exemplifies teamwork amongst junior Sailors. According to JSA by-laws, their mission is “to create a positive impact to our ship, our shipmates and our community,” and to accomplish this “through team building, positive mentorship, positive leadership, teamwork and professional guidance.”
Haynes says JSA’s goals are driven by their maxim: “to learn, to lead, and to mentor.”
JSA’s most recent “CAP (Career Advancement Program) Chat” on January 30th in the hangar bay was a well-defined display of junior leadership and mentorship within our community.
Executive Assistant of JSA, Aviation Electronics Technician Airman Joseph Walker says, “it’s a great way to get things broken down and explained to you that normally you wouldn’t have the availability to do so.”
Walker says months of planning went into organizing the event, which covered career advancement topics such as brag sheets, profile sheets, educational opportunities, financial management and more.
JSA events like “CAP Chat” primarily promote career development, but they also foster deeper connections within the junior Sailor community.
“I’ve met fellow Sailors with like-minded ideas that otherwise I wouldn’t have met,” said Walker. “ We wouldn’t have known each other was into those types of things. But through JSA I actually got to know them better, and I got to spend time with them out in town doing things that are just more productive.”
About eleven months ago Walker was hesitant about joining JSA, but he gave it a chance and got involved with their community service events. He now holds the position of JSA’s official executive assistant.
“At first I thought it would be a waste of my time, but once you go out and you do it, you feel better about yourself,” said Walker. “If you just apply yourself to be involved, it really makes the difference in your mental state and outlook on the command in general. It’s something that’s truly enriching.”
Walker said JSA has allowed him to give back to his command and community, and he welcomes all junior Sailors to take advantage of JSA’s opportunities and upcoming events.
| Date Taken: | 02.13.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 02.14.2016 00:44 |
| Story ID: | 188824 |
| Location: | SASEBO, NAGASAKI, JP |
| Web Views: | 49 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Junior Sailor Association: Promoting postive impact, by PO1 Jeanette Mullinax, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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