Story By: JO3 Jason L. Moore
email: pamoor52@cv62.navy.mil
Date: February 14, 1998
Independence's Morale, Welfare, and Recreation office was recently awarded first place in the annual Fleet Recreation Awards Program. This is the third consecutive year that MWR has won this award.
Capt. Mark R. Milliken, Indy's Commanding Officer, presented the first prize award - a $2,000 dollar check to the MWR office.
MWR provides quality of life programs for Sailors and Marines both on and off the ship. On board, they have hosted several talent shows, ship-wide Bingos and the Cinema-at-Sea projection system.
$600,000 and countless man-hours were also spent renovating and replacing 123 pieces of equipment in the three gyms on board.
Off the ship, MWR personnel have been busy holding ship's picnics, coordinating various tours and hotels in home and foreign ports, as well as treating the crew to barbecues on the piers of many foreign ports the ship has visited. All tours the Sailors attend are at half price to the participants. The rest of the cost is absorbed by MWR.
"It's great to see our hard work pay off," said Storekeeper 1st Class Robert Craig, a native of Oakland, Iowa. "We are all proud to help the crew."
Ten Sailors are temporarily assigned to MWR from their host departments. They serve an average of six months to one year.
According to Craig, funding for MWR comes from a percentage of the Ship's Store (I-5 Mart) revenue.
Due to Independence's upcoming decommissioning, this will be the last time MWR participates in the Fleet Recreation Awards Program.
"The real winners of this program are the Sailors on board who benefit from the recreational programs we provide," Aerographer's Mate Chief (AW) Mark Shaffer, from Fort Wayne, Ind said.
Caption 1: Storekeeper 1st Class (SW) Robert Craig holds up the $2,000 dollar check for their 1st prize award. Photo by: PHAN Chris Howell