Sailors assigned to Commander, Submarine Squadron (SUBRON) 15 and Performance Monitoring Team (PMT) detachment Guam teamed up with United Service Organizations (USO) Guam to host a runner aid station for the 2018 United Guam Marathon (UGM) on Marine Corps Drive near Polaris Point, April 8.

More than 15 Sailors, family members and USO volunteers handed out Gatorade, water and local bananas to runners during the marathon, which began at 3 a.m.

"Even though it was early, there was a lot of great energy at our aid station," said Lt. Junior Graciano, who is the chief staff officer at SUBRON 15. "We had music pumping and cheered for each runner as they went by. It was awesome to support the community and our shipmates participating in the race."

Service members from SUBRON 15 and other Guam commands joined more than 4,000 runners in the full marathon, half marathon, 10K and 5K races. Participants were cheered on by 15 aid stations, two of which were hosted by USO Guam.

"SUBRON 15 has been a tremendous supporter of USO Guam for many years," said Leigh Leilani Graham, USO Guam Area Director. "We value their sacrifice for our nation and our island home. We enjoyed every minute of working alongside with them in the early morning hours of the marathon at our aid station at Polaris Point and ask that every member of the squadron visit our USO centers at Tumon Bay and Andersen Air Force Base."

All of the 6th UGM races started and finished at the Gov. Joseph A. Flores Memorial Park in Ypao Beach and were followed by a fiesta celebrating the participants.

"The USO is one of the military's biggest supporters on island, and it's great to be able to give back to them through volunteering," said Machinist's Mate Nuclear 1st Class Clayton Smith of PMT detachment Guam, who coordinated the aid station. "We had a lot of great energy at our aid station, and it was nice to give back to the community in a fun way."

Located at the heart of Tumon, USO Guam is located on the ground floor of the Royal Orchid Hotel and offers a wide array of amenities including an Internet cafe, long-distance telephone access, gaming consoles, massage chairs, children's room, billiards, lounging areas, light snacks and refreshments, and world famous homemade chili. USO Guam offers a comfortable and welcoming environment and serves as a "home away from home" for more than 50,000 service member and family member visits each year."

COMSUBRON 15 is located at Polaris Point, Naval Base Guam in Apra Harbor, Guam, and consists of four Los Angeles-class attack submarines. The squadron staff is responsible for providing training, material and personnel readiness support to these commands. Also based out of Naval Base Guam are submarine tenders USS Frank Cable (AS 40) and USS Emory S. Land (AS 39). The submarines and tenders are maintained as part of the U.S. Navy's forward-deployed submarine force and are readily capable of meeting global operational requirements.

For more news from Commander, Submarine Squadron 15, visit our official CSS-15 website at http://www.csp.navy.mil/css15 and our official Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/SubmarineSquadron15/.

Are you interested in taking orders to Guam? Want to learn more about the duty station and life on our island? For more information, check out the 'Go Guam!' website at http://www.csp.navy.mil/go-guam/ and download the '1st Fifteen' checklist.

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

For more news from Commander, Submarine Squadron 15, visit www.navy.mil/.