Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Jeremy Laramore | 180928-N-TF178-1426 SAN DIEGO (Sept.29,2018) Sailors assigned to the amphibious...... read more read more
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SAN DIEGO -- Deep down in the belly of the ship, where most people would never dare go, the engineering department works day after day. Their eyes have grown accustomed to the dim lighting. Their sense of sound has faded to a dull hum. It’s rumored that their skin requires heavy layers of sunscreen if they ever want to step out into the sunlight.
All jokes aside, no one can say the engineering department isn’t one of the hardest working departments aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8). Makin Island’s Chief Engineer (CHENG), Cmdr. Howard D. Watt decided it was time to get his Sailors out of their hot, loud, and dark spaces and into the sun for a day of fun. CHENG’s cup did just that. Sailors from engineering’s four divisions, Main Propulsion (MP), Repair (R), Electrical (E) and Auxiliary (A), competed in basketball, volleyball and tug of war to win the prestigious CHENG’s Cup.
“This is definitely a morale booster,” said Watt. “It builds cohesiveness, and to complete any ship’s mission you need that cohesiveness.”
The day began with a basketball tournament at the Vice Adm. Martin Fitness Center on Coronado Island. Game one pitted the MP-division against R-division. The rules were simple: first team to 15 points advances to the championship. The game ended with MP-division winning 15 to 7.
Game two, between A-division and E-division, was a bit more competitive. With emotions running high, the teams tied at 15. A-division eventually pulled away to 17 for the win, taking them to the basketball final.
In a thrilling back and forth championship match, A-division pulled into the lead with a score of 14 to 12. A risky pass by the MP-division led to a steal by Machinist Mate 3rd Class Demarco Spivey from A-division. Spivey scored the game winning basket with an easy layup.
“I should have dunked on that play”, said Spivey “But this event is all about building camaraderie with my shipmates, and I was glad to be a part of it.”
After the basketball championship game, engineering department retired to Breaker’s Beach for a barbecue and more sporting events.
Sailors enjoyed hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken at the barbecue. It didn’t take long for conversation and laughter to flood the beach in the company of friends and family.
The competition resumed after the barbecue, and volleyball started on two separate nets. The best of three matches would go on to play in the volleyball championship. A-division was put up against MP-division and won quickly with two victories back-to-back.
E-division beat R-division with a score of 2-1, sending them to the final game versus A-division.
A-division took the championship shutting out E-division 2-0, making A-division the winner of the volleyball tournament.
The final event was tug of war. A-division was in the lead for the CHENG’s Cup with E-division in 2nd place. The two divisions lined up to face off one more time. Each division sent their strongest 11 Sailors to represent. The lines were lifted and the tug of war began. A-division yelled, “HEAVE, HEAVE, HEAVE!” in unison while pulling. After a standstill, slowly but surely the flag moved in A-division’s direction. A -division gave one last, “HEAVE,” to win the tug of war, securing their spot as the winners of the 2018 CHENG’s Cup.
“Today we showed that A-division is the most dominant division in engineering,” said Machinist’s Mate 1st Class Diapakha Tandia, leading petty officer of A-division. “We’re going to bring this teamwork back to the ship and get the job done.”
| Date Taken: | 09.28.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 10.09.2018 17:46 |
| Story ID: | 295833 |
| Location: | SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 51 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, A Change of Scenery for CHENG's Cup, by PO2 Jeremy Laramore, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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