Guam School Hosts Luncheon for CSS-15 Sailors

Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Kelsey Hockenberger | 190802-N-VR954-1004 SANTA RITA, Guam (July12, 2019) Sailors from Commander, Submarine Squadron Fifteen pose for a photo after completing a community relations volunteer event. The Sailors and staff at Guahan Charter Academy School spent more than 20 hours rebuilding flooring, painting classrooms, and cleaning the school grounds. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kelsey Hockenberger/Released)  

TIYAN, GUAM

08.02.2019

Story by Lt.j.g. Meagan Morrison 

Commander, Submarine Squadron 15

TIYAN, Guam (Aug. 2, 2019) – Sailors from Commander, Submarine Squadron Fifteen attended an appreciation luncheon at Guahan Academy Charter School, Aug. 2.

The Chamorro style luncheon honored more than 15 Sailors who assisted the assisted the school and local community in preparing the classrooms for the upcoming school year.

“The faculty and staff are very appreciative of the help the Sailors gave us,” said Dr. Judith Won Pat, the school’s chief academic officer. “The best way for us to show this appreciation is through food. It’s something we do as part of our culture.”

To help prepare the classrooms, Sailors worked with a local carpenter to install new plywood flooring in four classrooms. The Sailors also assisted the faculty and staff in painting classrooms, moving furniture, and cleaning the school grounds. Some of the classrooms had not been painted in more than five years.

“We finished a lot faster than we would have without help,” said Won Pat. “Without the Sailors help, we would have been here working on evenings and weekends.”

Guahan Academy Charter School is non-profit public school of the Government of Guam that serves students from kindergarten to 12th grade. Sailors on the island routinely help local schools throughout the year as part of the Navy’s Sister School, Sister Village community relations program.

The purpose of the program is to create, foster, and develop sustained positive relationships between the military and the local Guam population.

“This was a great opportunity for our Sailors to work together with the local community,” said Electrician’s Mate (Nuclear) 1st Class Lukas Barbour, a native of Tacoma, Washington. “My hope is that our efforts make a positive impact in the upcoming school year and the education of the students at Guahan Academy.”

CSS-15 is located at Polaris Point, Naval Base Guam in Santa Rita, Guam, and includes four Los Angeles-class attack submarines.

The squadron staff is responsible for providing training, material and personnel readiness support to these commands. Also based out of Naval Base Guam are submarine tenders USS Frank Cable and USS Emory S. Land.

The submarines and tenders are maintained as part of the U.S. Navy's forward-deployed submarine force and are capable of meeting global operational requirements.

For more news from CSS-15, visit our official website at http://www.csp.navy.mil/css15 and our official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SubmarineSquadron15/.

Are you interested in taking orders to Guam? Want to learn more about the duty station and life on our island? For more information, check out the ‘Go Guam!’ website at http://www.csp.navy.mil/go-guam/ and download the ‘1st Fifteen’ checklist.

• Date Taken: 08.02.2019
• Date Posted: 08.04.2019 21:32
• Story ID: 334505
• Location: TIYAN, GU
• Hometown: TACOMA, WA, US