Sailors and civilian personnel from U.S. Naval Base Guam (NBG) recognized the significant contributions made to the U.S. Navy by Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI), in a ceremony hosted by the NBG Multi-Cultural Committee on May 30.

Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Marissa Sanchez, president of the NBG Multi-Cultural Committee, said the committee is committed to diversity and equality.

"The island of Guam and all of its people are already so rich and proud of their culture, that our strive to build upon a base of service members that accurately reflects the rich makeup of our country, only makes it easier,"

Sanchez said. "In alignment with the Navy's Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute & Program, we fully believe that with hard work and determination, anyone from anywhere has the power to be successful in the Navy, any branch, Veteran and civilian."

According to the U.S. Navy, more than 23,000 Asian American and Pacific Islanders serve in the U.S. Navy and represent more than 56 ethnic groups.

Guest Speaker Senior Chief Petty Officer Estela Jasmin Makahi, senior enlisted leader for Personnel Support Detachment (PSD) Guam, spoke passionately about her Filipina-American heritage and told the story of her parents' journey having migrated from the Philippines to Guam in the mid-1970s. Makahi said her parents were in search of better opportunities and it was her father's dream for her to join the U.S. Navy.

"I joined the Navy in 2001. I was very nervous because . I never really left the island of Guam," Makahi said. "Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I'd go to the places I've been. I've been to Singapore, I've been to Hong Kong, I've been to Malaysia, I've been all over the Far East."

Makahi touched on this year's AAPI Heritage Month Theme "Unite Our Mission by Engaging Each Other" and discussed the military's strength in diversity.

"I'm really happy that we do have a month to celebrate the Asian Americans and the Pacific Islanders, because in the Navy we are so diverse," Makahi said. "The APPI makes up a big number of people in the military that make up this whole force. That's the greatest strength of the U.S. Military is our diversity, we learn from each other."

Get more information about the Navy from US Navy facebook or twitter.

For more news from U.S. Naval Forces, Marianas, visit www.navy.mil/.