Capt. Douglas A. Bradley, commanding officer of submarine tender USS Emory S. Land (AS 39), visited Merizo Mayor Ernest T. Chargualaf at the Merizo mayor's office, Feb. 28.

Merizo is one of Emory S. Land's sister villages, a partnership between naval commands and the communities in which they operate.

"Our role with sister villages is to provide community relations," said Lt. Takana Jefferson, a Navy chaplain assigned to Emory S. Land and organizer of the ship's sister village program. "We establish that relationship and unity between the military and the village, as well as give back however we can."

Capt. Bradley saw the importance of building strong relationships with Emory S. Land's sister villages and the local community as a whole.

"This opportunity is a way for the leadership teams to discuss how we can best provide and give back to the community, and they can learn more about what we do," said Bradley. "This is the spirit of 'One Guam', integrating the military community with the local community. It helps those on the ship and in the village share all our unique cultures and experiences with each other."

Bradley and Chargualaf discussed future community outreach events between the ship and village.

"The next event is cleaning up the veteran's park where they're going to have the crab festival," said Jefferson. "We're going to help beautify that park and also be a part of the festival, as well."

The 9th annual Malesso Gupot Crab Festival will take place March 24-26 at the Malesso Veteran Sons and Daughters Pier Park Grounds.

Emory S. Land, homeported in Guam, provides maintenance, hotel services, and logistical support to submarines and surface ships in the U.S. 5th and 7th Fleet areas of operations.

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