Sailors from the amphibious transport dock USS Green Bay (LPD 20) volunteered at a community care facility that specializes in serving Australia's elderly indigenous population with youth with disabilities July 31.

Community caregivers help elderly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as well as helping younger people with disabilities by providing them with meaningful activities that enrich quality of life and promote their cultural values, heritage beliefs and history.

Sailors who volunteered assisted with activities by cooking at a barbecue for the members there and putting together aroma scrub therapy jars with Epson Salt.

"The Sailors who participated were really involved and recognized it's not about us, it's about the people that we serve," said Lt. Tiffany Eddy, the USS Green Bay chaplain. "Through the various activities, I think we also established a connection with the people who come to this care facility. I think we were also touched by the facility full-time staff who dedicate day in and day out to ensure that the disabled members they service not only survive but thrive and live life to the fullest."

After the project, the community care facility hosted several traditional dances and showcased several native reptiles to the crew and the patients, advancing the tenets of cultural enrichment that are a hallmark of the facility.

Green Bay, along with the USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), made a stop in Brisbane following the bilateral U.S.-Australia exercise Talisman Saber. The visit served as a chance to allow Green Bay crew to experience the local culture and interact with the Brisbane community.

Green Bay, part of the Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group and forward deployed out of Sasebo, Japan, is operating in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region to enhance partnerships and to be a ready-response force for any type of contingency.