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USS Farragut (DDG 99) hosts ‘PT 4 Life’ Event
$2227 raised for Suicide Awareness by Farragut Sailors
GULF OF OMAN—$2227 was raised for suicide awareness and intervention in a single day by the Coalition of Sailors Against Destructive Decisions aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Farragut during a ‘PT 4 Life’ event during the ship’s deployment in U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.
Even with a heavy schedule the following day, more than 50 Sailors participated in the event with some acting as participants performing repetitions of either squats, push-ups, pull-ups or sit-ups with other Sailors sponsoring them a minimum of $.25 cents per rep.
“Due to scheduling conflicts, this was our third attempt to make PT for Life happen, and even then, it conflicted with the ship’s schedule as we were preparing for a huge replenishment-at-sea the following day,” said Machinists Mate 2nd Class Krista Garza, a member of CSADD.
“At first, we thought no one was going to show up because of the ship’s schedule, but once we got started, the forward gym was packed with participants,” said Cryptologic Technician Collection 2nd Imani Bradley, the president of CSADD aboard Farragut.
75% of the proceeds were donated to the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society to support the programs they provide Sailors and Marines.
“The CSADD committee decided that the majority of the proceeds should go to support the programs that the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society offers to support service members struggling with suicide,” said Bradley.
Not all the money was raised through physical training, some Sailors donated money directly to ‘PT 4 Life’ to support the cause.
“About $300-$500 was donated directly to ‘PT 4 Life’ without a participant or a sponsor,” said Bradley. “The physical aspect was to encourage Sailor participation, but the focus was on raising awareness for suicide prevention and helping those in the fight against suicide with our donations.”
One Sailor, who wishes to remain anonymous, gave a $500 donation after he promised Machinists Mate 2nd Class Krista Garza that he would pay $5 for every repetition she did in squats.
“The generosity of all the Sailors who participated or donated was awe-inspiring,” said Garza. “We more than doubled what we raised in last year’s PT 4 Life, showing how serious Farragut Sailors are about suicide prevention.”
Suicide is becoming more common in the military with 58 Sailors taking their lives in 2018 alone.
“While a small donation may not be much; knowing that people will come together to help other service members means everything,” said Garza. “While we are Sailors first, no matter our rank or standing, we are still human.”
Six Sailors from the air department, attached to the “Proud Warriors” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 72, challenged themselves to complete as many push-ups as they could in 10 minutes. The sponsors: Lt. Johnnathan Garcia, Lt. Porter Windom, Lt. Patrick Swain, Lt. j.g. Greg Bohmke, Lt. j.g. Jake Lindsey, Chief Aviation Structural Mechanic Jonathan Shorley, and Aviation Electrician’s Mate 3rd Class Judah Opgenorth, agreed to pay out the total at $.30 a repetition. After 10 minutes and 1,682 push-ups later, the sponsors collectively donated more than $500 to CSADD.
“It was a lot of yelling and motivating, but when the cause is as good as this one, it didn’t take much to motivate the guys to do as much as they did,” said Aviation Electrician’s Mate 3rd Class Judah Opgenorth. “Also, I got to yell at my officers and that’s just got to be worth the 72 bucks alone.’
“It’s always noble when Sailors put their shipmates before themselves and do anything they can to support something as important as suicide awareness and intervention,” said Master Chief Roy Garcia, Farragut’s command master chief. “This is a great example of how seriously Farragut Sailors take this issue and how determined they are to assist in countering this epidemic.”
The mission of CSADD is to create a culture in which Sailors help Sailors maintain a course of success through good decision making.
Farragut is part of the East Coast Surface Action Group and is operating in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and the Pacific through the Western Indian Ocean and three strategic choke points.
| Date Taken: | 11.07.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 02.21.2020 06:39 |
| Story ID: | 354975 |
| Location: | GULF OF OMAN |
| Web Views: | 31 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, USS Farragut hosts 'PT 4 Life' Event, by PO2 Jack Aistrup, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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