Photo By Sgt. Tayler Schwamb | MCAS FUTENMA, OKINAWA, Japan – Yuta Miyagi poses with his prizes after the Bowling...... read more read more
Subscribe
The sounds of crashing pins and cheers echoed off the walls of the bowling alley as the local and military community gathered for Bowling with Friends Aug. 12 on Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.
The bowling alley was filled as 60 local bowlers met with approximately 120 service members.
This is the third time that Futenma Single Marine Program has hosted Bowling with Friends and was the largest event they have had so far.
“The reason Bowling with Friends is so important is two-prong,” said Col. Mark Coppess, commanding officer of MCAS Futenma. “One, we get a chance to get all the Marines together and enjoy a good time bowling. It’s fun. Second of all, when we bring the local residents in we get a chance to expand our horizons, make new friends and experience new things.”
As bright pink, red and yellow bowling balls flew down the lanes, participants shared pizza and sushi.
“It’s just one of many different events where we reach out to the local community and get to have the honor of building a partnership and friendship,” said Coppess. “It’s so important to all of us that our relationship with the local community is strong. We have a very serious mission here and it’s vital that we honor and respect each other’s cultures and values.”
After bowling a few frames, the crowd gathered in a large circle to participate in a Wasabi eating game.
There were five rounds, each round had five participants and five plates. Each plate had a white bowl marked with a letter to show which plates had a large portion of wasabi hidden inside of the sushi. If the contestant could chew and swallow the sushi they received a prize brought by the local residents.
“We hope to host one of these events every quarter,” said Montique Bowser, the Futenma SMP coordinator. “The hours on a flight line are long and tiring and the Marines work hard all day long. We try to give back and have them re-motivated and reenergized. We exist to improve the quality of life for the Marines. When they asked to host another Bowling with Friends we were excited. It helps us stay engaged with our local friends, and I can’t wait to see how the next one goes.”
| Date Taken: | 08.12.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 08.14.2017 01:00 |
| Story ID: | 244721 |
| Location: | GINOWAN, OKINAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 82 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Bowling brings the Local and Military Community together, by Sgt Tayler Schwamb, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
