Diversity plays a large role in what makes the United States Navy so great. The union of different cultures and ethnic groups contributes to a well-rounded fighting force with assorted views and skills. Aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), the multi-cultural committee has made it their mission to celebrate these diverse groups.
The multi-cultural committee aboard Nimitz is a small constituent of six Sailors. It is a Department of the Navy program that supports the mission of equal opportunity. For the month of May, they celebrate Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage. Sailors rally together to show pride in their culture and share them with the crew.
“Our mission is to spread awareness, celebrate diversity and represent ethnic groups. We want to ensure that Sailors are educated and understand that the Navy is a diverse force,” said Intelligence Specialist 1st Class Thanh Bui, the multi-cultural committee secretary from Rochester, New York.
As a small demographic on Nimitz, it is important that these ethnic groups have their chance to bring awareness and education of their backgrounds to Sailors throughout the ship.
“Naturally I’ve taken an interest because I’m of Asian descent,” said Bui. “I want to bring this to the light and celebrate our culture by letting people be aware of our voice.”
In celebration of Asian American/Pacific Islander heritage month, the multi-cultural committee, in partnership with the First Class Petty Officers association, coordinated a function consisting of selling a variety of homemade cultural cuisine dishes in the hangar bay during lunch hours to raise money and celebrate their diverse cultures.
“These events are our way of promoting awareness and enlightening the crew about the various cultures and ethnic groups on this ship. I feel that it’s important to bring diversity and different cultures together to make this a tighter knit and effective fighting force,” said Aircrew Survival Equipmentman 1st Class Galo Jurodotapia, a multi-cultural committee member from Silver Spring, Maryland.
Organizations and committees like the multi-cultural committee rely heavily on the volunteering of Sailors throughout the command. Sailors who have a passion for where they come from and to build a stronger command through the celebration of cultures from around the world are encouraged to join.
“We’re always looking for more people. An organization like this could always use more members, so we’re hoping more people are interested in joining and building up the committee,” said Bui.
The multi-cultural committee is looking toward the future to expand their membership and produce additional funding to coordinate command activities dedicated to spreading cultural awareness.
Nimitz is conducting a docking planned incremental availability at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, where the ship is receiving scheduled maintenance and upgrades.
Date Taken: | 05.23.2018 |
Date Posted: | 05.24.2018 13:57 |
Story ID: | 278333 |
Location: | BREMERTON, WA, US |
Web Views: | 95 |
Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Celebrating Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage, by SN Michael Prusiecki, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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