Peleliu celebrates the new year with steel beach, hangar celebration
1/7/2013
by MC3 Alex Van'tLeven, USS Peleliu Public Affairs
USS PELELIU, At Sea (NNS) -- Sailors and Marines aboard amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu (LHA 5) celebrated the new year with a festive pizza night and steel beach picnic Dec. 31 - Jan. 1.
The festivities began with a New Year's Eve celebration in the ship's hangar bay, where the crew played games, sang karaoke and danced while counting down to the new year.
"It's important to provide these guys an outlet so they're not sitting in their racks thinking about home. If you get them out and about together, laughing and having a good time, it takes away the stress," said Information Systems Technician 1st Class Amy L. Tucker, from Carrollton, Ohio, a member of the ship's Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) committee. "We try to do things like this to take their mind off of where they are, and what they're doing."
Officers and chief petty officers prepared and served 350 12-inch pizza pies to the crew.
"The chiefs and officers decided to do the pizza this New Year's Eve to give back to the troops," said Lt. Dee L. Barnes, from East Orange, N. J. "They work hard for us every day so why not give back to them on one night?"
For some, it was a new experience to spend the holidays away from friends and family.
"Spending the new year away from home is different," said Fire Controlman 3rd Class Joshua E. Miller, from Long Island, N.Y. "We're all like a big family here, we can't really replace the families we were born to, but they make it easier with events like these."
The night concluded with a final countdown to the midnight hour as a makeshift ball was lowered from the hangar bay's overhead.
The following day, the crew relaxed with a New Year's Day steel beach picnic held on the flight deck. The event was hosted by the Mustang Association with help from Marine Corps officers to grill and serve hotdogs and hamburgers.
"People definitely had a good time," said Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Fuel) Airman Brad W. Porter, from Louisville, Ky. "They played football, hung out, and ate. It's a great break from our normal routine."
The time off also helped ease the stress of being deployed during the major holidays.
"Normally it's a 12-to-14 hour day through flight quarters, but today we were given the day off, good food and we got to hang out with people we don't normally get to see on a regular basis," added Porter.
During the steel beach, Capt. John D. Deehr, Peleliu's commanding officer, counted down the last 10 seconds of San Diego's New Year's Eve, where Peleliu is homeported.
The crew enjoyed the rest of the day by playing sports, sumo wrestling and relaxing under the sun, a break that some leaders felt was good for the crew.
"It's a way to show appreciation to all hands, enlisted and officers, E-1 through O-6," added Barnes. "It's a great way to get together, do something good, and forget about where we are, for a few hours."
Peleliu is the flagship for the Peleliu Amphibious Ready Group and, with the embarked 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, is deployed in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility.

Peleliu CSADD sponsors holiday celebration
1/7/2013
by MC3 Derek Stroop, USS Peleliu Public Affairs
USS PELELIU, At Sea (NNS) -- Members of amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu's (LHA 5) Coalition of Sailors Against Destructive Decisions (CSADD) organization sponsored a holiday celebration in the hangar bay entitled "A Global Celebration," Dec. 22.
The celebration featured a play "Petty Officer Scrooge and the Ghosts of Sailor's Past," a choir with members of the Diversity Team and Second Class Association and a slide show presentation of how other cultures celebrate the holidays.
"We've been planning this event since October," said Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Fuel) Airman Liz Camacho, Peleliu's CSADD co-chairman. "This is a lot of Sailors' fi rst deployment, and we didn't want them to be alone for the holidays. Everyone is family here."
The story plot consisted of Sailors trying to convince Scrooge feel the holiday spirit.
"It's been a great experience working on this play," said Seaman Shawn Wolfe, an actor in the play. "It was fun, and I think we did a great job."
In between acts, CSADD presented slides describing how other cultures celebrate the holiday season. The slides included Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, holiday celebrations in India, Latin America and European Christmas origins.
The show also featured a choir comprised of the ship's diversity team and Second Class Association. They sang songs such as "Winter Wonderland," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "Deck the Halls." Ship's Serviceman 3rd Class Joseph Sawyer sang a solo of "O Holy Night."
Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class George Busto, vice president of the diversity team and choir coordinator, was pleased with the choir's work. "I am so happy with the work they've done to put on the show," said Busto. "The fact that they commit their off-time and many hours to practice is amazing. They make it easy for me to work with them."
This event served as a way for many Sailors to connect, whether first-deployers or seasoned seafarers, in a time from family, relatives and friends.
"We are just trying the spread the holiday message, and help the Sailors and Marines feel more at home," said Aviation Support Equipment Technician 3rd Class Maurice Williams, a CSADD member. "This is our first Christmas away from home for a lot of us, and we just want to bring everyone together."
The show had an impact on the audience as well.
"It put me in the Christmas spirit," said Yeoman 2nd Class Nicholas Jones. "It's great that CSADD takes an interest in how we feel around the holidays being away from home."
Peleliu's CSADD team recently won Navy Region Southwest's Best Sea Chapter of the Year and received an honorable mention on the national chapter level.

Peleliu CFC contribution tops goal by 50 percent
1/7/2013
by MC3 Alex Van'tLeven, USS Peleliu Public Affairs
USS PELELIU, At Sea (NNS) -- Sailors aboard amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu (LHA 5) contributed $107,000 to the 2012 Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) Sept. 1 - Dec. 15.
During the annual campaign, federal employees were offered the opportunity to donate any amount of money to support different charities. Peleliu's crew exceeded the intended goal of $70,000 as a command, an approximate 53 percent increase.
"It's unbelievable. I'm incredibly touched by the generosity of this crew," said Capt. John D. Deehr, Peleliu's commanding officer. "We set a very high goal for ourselves as a command."
The amount raised this year by Peleliu was the largest sum of money witnessed in recent history on board.
"I think Peleliu's contribution to the CFC this year was the best so far that I have seen," said Boatswain's Mate 3rd Class Markel D. Ancrum, from Charleston S.C., Deck department's CFC representative. "I know Deck department raised way more than we had before. It seemed like everyone was willing to donate this year." This year's contributions highlighted the character of the crew, and their willingness to give to respective causes.
"Not only are they hard working, they're exceedingly generous," said Deehr. "Even in these tough financial times, they're willing to give a portion of their income to a deserving organization or cause."
According to the command CFC coordinator, Chief Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Handling) Michael Ridgeway, CFC is the only authorized solicitation of federal employees in their workplaces on behalf of more than 4,000 pre-approved charitable organizations. Peleliu volunteers represented CFC in their respective departments and divisions. This allowed for the dissemination of information about the campaign to all personnel.
"The responses were quite overwhelming," said Ridgeway. "I was really surprised at how many people wanted to participate."
The representatives explained what the campaign is and the step-by-step procedures on choosing and donating to the selected organization.
The motivation to donate is different for many Sailors.
"I feel like I'm a very fortunate person to have a steady job in the Armed Forces. It's our duty to serve so why not take care of people back home by giving a little to those in need," said Intelligence Specialist 3rd Class John J. Carmody, from Chesapeake, Va., who donated toward CFC.
The wide range of charities listed by CFC offer service members the opportunity to find a group or cause that they can relate to.
"I tell Sailors that if they take a few moments to look through the CFC book, they will find an organization that has impacted their life on a personal level. Maybe they have a relative or friend who has passed away from cancer, or who has Alzheimer's. Or maybe there is an environmental cause or charity organization that is important to them," said Deehr. "I encourage them to find those organizations and give whatever amount they feel comfortable giving. It's not the amount that is important, it's the fact that they are giving to an organization or cause that is important to them on a personal level."
Service members decide how much they are willing to donate. Their donations can be made in one sum payment or by allotment.
"You can give as little as a dollar a paycheck, which equals out to 24 dollars a year," said Carmody. "People spend more than that on useless stuff, so why not take that extra money and give it toward something like helping people."
For more information about the Combined Federal Campaign, visit http://www.opm.gov/cfc/.
Peleliu is the flagship for the Peleliu Amphibious Ready Group and, with the embarked 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, is deployed in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility.