Two Sailors at Center for Information Warfare Training (CIWT) Site Yokosuka received some help celebrating their birthdays from the local USO at Fleet Activities (FLEACT) Yokosuka as part of Operation Birthday Cake, Oct. 28.

Jeny Gilmore, the programs coordinator for USO Yokosuka, delivered a cake in honor of Petty Officer 1st Class Mathan Tracy and Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin Mashaw. She also presented them with birthday cards made at the USO by home-schooled children.

Pacific USO centers, as well as other locations around the world, offer a program which allows families back home to celebrate their service member's birthday from afar. In this case, the Sailors' chiefs ordered the cake.

"This program keeps the service members connected to home and family," said Gilmore, who oversees delivery of about 100 cakes each year. "I had one Sailor who had recently left his parents after he joined in the States tell me that it really meant a lot to him."

The staff at CIWT Site Yokosuka joined in the celebration to sing happy birthday, and share in the cake and fun.

"I didn't expect this," said Mashaw, who is a network security and vulnerability technician instructor, as well as a qualified master training specialist. "It was really great that the handmade cards from the home-schooled kids were a surprise."

Gilmore said the USO asks the community to help by having local children of service members or civilian employees make the handmade cards.

"Recently, we had a field trip for the home-schooled kids of (FLEACT Yokosuka)," said Gilmore. "They came to the center to help make cards for Operation Birthday Cake. We feel the handmade touch really adds something special to Operation Birthday Cake deliveries."

CIWT, with headquarters at Naval Air Station Pensacola's Corry Station, delivers information warfare professionals to the Navy and joint services, enabling optimal performance of information warfare across the full spectrum of military operations.

For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy, or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more on the USO in Japan, visit http://www.japan.uso.org.

For more news from Center for Information Warfare Training organization, visit http://www.navy.mil/, http://www.netc.navy.mil/centers/ciwt, http://www.facebook.com/NavyCIWT, or http://www.twitter.com/NavyCIWT.