USS Emory S. Land Plays Soccer with Local Students

OLONGAPO CITY, Republic of the Philippines (NNS) -- Sailors assigned to submarine tender USS Emory S. Land (AS 39), played soccer against a local team at the East Tapinac Sports Complex in Olongapo city, Republic of the Philippines. Dec. 15.

The event is part of an ongoing series of projects sponsored by the Olongapo City Council to engage Land and the local community.

"This soccer team is comprised of high school and college students from around the area," said Norman Tuzon, an event coordinator. "In the past we've done these types of sporting events between the U.S. Navy and the local community and they've proven to be very successful. Today's game is not about who wins or loses it's about building strong relationships between these two talented teams".

This marks the second soccer game the Land has played while in the Republic of the Philippines. Last month, the team of Sailors played humanitarian ship Logos Hope.
"The last opportunity I had to play Soccer was against Hope," said Operations Specialist 3rd Class Kevin Hanson, a soccer enthusiast assigned to Land. "We've been lucky enough to play the game against the locals today and this is a completely different style than the team is used to, more like street ball it's challenging, fun, and unpredictable."

During halftime, Sailors and students took a break, interacted, and shared their thoughts before the game continued. "This is definitely a unique experience," said Yeoman 1st Class Tam Chau, also assigned to Land. "We're able to interact with the locals wherever we pull into through the spirit of competition; it's amazing that I've gotten to play Soccer throughout Asia through our various port visits."

As the game concluded, Sailors and local players lined up and exchanged congratulations towards one another for playing a very competitive game. "The local team had a lot of skill I can tell that playing Soccer is part of their culture," said Seaman James Benoit, also assigned to Land. "We learned a lot from them today and I hope we will have the opportunity to play them again, this was an awesome experience."

Land is undergoing a voyage repair period in Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines. Homeported in Diego Garcia, Land is a forward deployed expeditionary submarine tender on an extended deployment conducting coordinated tending moorings and afloat maintenance in the U.S. 7th Fleet Area of Operations.

For more news from USS Emory S. Land (AS 39), visit www.navy.mil/local/as39/.