The USS Makin Island (LHD 8) ship's store re-opened for the crew after a two-month renovation.

The store now boasts an assortment of new products, a user-friendly layout, improved fixtures, uniform branding, and familiar styling that creates an appearance similar to what Sailors and Marines see at Navy Exchange (NEX) stores on base.

"The renovated ship store is designed to look like a local NEX, which helps Sailors feel at home while on deployment," said Ens. Kelly Allen, from Bangor, Maine. "We also wanted to illustrate history and heritage through a shopping experience Sailors would expect from any NEX."

A large portrait of U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Evans Carlson, who led the U.S. assaults on the Pacific island during World War II, reminds all customers of Makin Island's proud history and namesake. NEX-blue banding with the Makin Island crest adorns the fixtures throughout the store with the message to patrons, "Your Ship, Your Store."

"This project took an immense amount of teamwork from our supply department, and it was clearly worth it," said Executive Officer Capt. Mark Melson. "The end product is a clean, standardized look throughout the store and familiar branding that I think the Sailors and Marines are really going to like."

The S-3 division contributed tremendously to the $135,000 overhaul. By setting up a temporary store during the renovation, they ensured the crew still had access to some of the best-selling items. In preparation for the grand re-opening, the ship's supply team filled the store with more than five pallets worth of consumables.

"These Sailors have worked extra hours, come in on the weekends, and relied on one another," said Chief Ship's Serviceman Jose Lopez, from Laredo, Texas. "In my 18 years of service, this is the best group of ship's servicemen that I have had the pleasure to work with."

Sailors and Marines will be able to enjoy the new ship's store as Makin Island continues underway certification and work-up cycles in preparation for a scheduled deployment later this year.

For more news from USS Makin Island, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/lhd8/.

For more news from USS Makin Island (LHD 8), visit http://www.navy.mil/.