 Here's your news around the Pacific. I'm technical sergeant, Nicole Liedholm. In Okinawa, the Marine Corps Community Services held its annual Okinawa Strongest Competition. Both service members and civilians from across the island participated in the Strongman Competition where they performed exercises such as barbell deadlifts, log lifts, and tire flips. I've never really specifically trained for Strongman type competitions, but I'm definitely in the gym almost every day lifting heavy weights, so I think that definitely prepared me for this event. I've never done a Strongman Competition before, so I thought I'd try it out and have a good time today, so it's going pretty well. This marks the competition's second annual debut, tallying the contestant's scores from eight events. In the Philippines, Balakaton 23 kicks off Strong. The name Balakaton stems from the Tagalog phrase shoulder to shoulder and demonstrates the friendship between the U.S. and Philippine communities. Service members from both countries attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a new community healthcare center. The ceremony was a great start to Balakaton 23, which revolves around increasing interoperability between both countries and provides tangible benefits for the people of the Philippines. And in Japan, the United States Air Force Band of the Pacific Asia sent their Pop Rock Ensemble final approach to perform at the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Kanoya Air Base. During their second concert, they played alongside the band members from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force for the citizens of Kanoya. Two hundred attendees from the area came together to laugh and sing classic American and Japanese songs throughout the concert. That's it for this edition. I'm technical sergeant Nicole Liedholm. For more news around the Pacific, follow Department of Defense on social media.