Sailors and Marines aboard the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) held the second round of the ship's talent show, "Gator's Got Talent", in the hangar bay July 12.

"Gator's Got Talent" is an opportunity for Sailors and Marines onboard to showcase their special talents and abilities in a competition for prizes sponsored by the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Committee (MWR) and The Second Class Petty Officer Association (SCPOA).

The first day of "Gator's Got Talent" kicked off with open auditions, which consisted of 27 Sailors and Marines. Four contestants did not advance from the open audition and five more were cut during the second staging. The cut-off rate will remain consistent at five contestants each round and the event is slated to end Sept. 6.

Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Amanda Bower, vice-president of SCPOA, took charge with the idea of holding a talent show for Essex and sponsoring it with the help of SCPOA members and MWR. Bower brought the idea up during an SCPOA meeting and coordinated a schedule of events for the talent show process. The association executed their plan with the utmost intention of bringing morale to the crew during their deployment.

"I didn't do it alone; we did this as a Second Class Association," said Bower. "It is a collective goal for all in the SCPOA to raise morale for the crew."

"Gator's Got Talent" has been a success aboard Essex and its crew has been actively participating in scheduled shows.

Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Derrick Johnson, SCPOA president, said that none of the success from "Gator's Got Talent" would have been possible without MWR's help in publicizing the event. The audience for both events showcased Sailors and Marines from different rates coming to show support. MWR helped spike that attendance rate and get the crowd fired up.

"I didn't think we'd have so many participating, but seeing so many people come out the first night was a great change in tempo. I loved seeing people smiling and laughing on deployment," said Bower. "I got a really warm feeling, as dumb as it sounds, seeing people content with the event so far."

Behind all the fun and games of "Gator's Got Talent" is a world of networking between various parties. From Supply Department providing tables, to board members publicizing the event, "Gator's Got Talent" has been a collective effort.

"Our prizes come from the supply officers, we talk to supply to get tables and chairs, we talk to air for the stage and the space and we talk to the interior communications electricians (IC) for sound," Bower said. "You have to talk to a little bit of everybody. I've really learned to network being in SCPOA and it goes a long way"

Overall, the events have been well accepted throughout Essex. Sailors and Marines from all departments have gathered to either perform or watch as the crew puts their talents up for display, with more than 200 Sailors and Marines present during each event.

"I didn't think people would sign up or show up to watch but everything has gone absolutely perfect," Bower said. "My favorite part of being underway is watching the talent show, so a little bit of this was for me as well."

Bower said her department personally loves the events and are eager for future showings. It's common to have contestants approaching her about the routines they've been preparing and how most participants can't wait to put them up for show.

"It just feels good to have people look forward to something," said Bower.

SCPOA and MWR have other events up their sleeve scheduled throughout the span of deployment, all of which stay consistent with a common goal: morale and welfare of the Essex crew.

"Morale plays a huge factor on deployment," said Bower. "We really try to think of ways to ensure everybody has something they can look forward to and enjoy on deployment."

"This was just an idea a few weeks ago and it's spiraled into a real event," said Johnson. "It really showed us what we were capable of when we put our heads together."

Essex is currently deployed in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.

For more news from USS Essex (LHD 2), visit www.navy.mil/.