Nothing about last Tuesday was mundane — by midday, Marines were in midair doing cannonballs, swan dives and backward somersaults at the Quantico 50M Pool during Headquarters and Service Battalion’s “Pool Bash” on July 28.

Every quarter the battalion hosts a leisure event for Marines and usually it’s in the barracks. However this time instead of pizza and video games, Sgt. Jhon Zuluaga, Single Marine Program president for the base, said he asked Col. Robin Gallant, commander of H&SBn., if they could throw a huge pool party for the entire battalion.

“At the last barracks bash [during the spring], the CO was there and she asked what can we do to make it better, so I brought up the idea of having a big pool party and she said, ‘alright, you got it,’ Zuluaga said. “It’s the summertime, it’s hot and this is a way to get Marines away from the barracks to enjoy something different.”

Music blared as Marines enjoyed food, a diving competition, dunk tank, water polo and an icy contest that required strength and a little ingenuity. Crowds gathered around the pool’s edge for the “Frozen T-shirt Contest,” where four Marines raced to unthaw a rock-solid T-shirt that had been frozen into a ball. After leaping into the pool, three of the competitors began slamming the hunk of ice covered fabric onto the concrete around the pool. The goal was to defrost and wear it, and Lance Cpl. Alexander Vasquez, disperser at the Finance Branch, who was the only Marine to remain in the middle of pool, won the contest.

With nearly 200 Marines in attendance, Galant said she was pleased with the turnout and gave kudos to Zuluaga for coming up with the idea.

“Zuluaga not only floated the idea, but he also drafted the Letter of Instruction and organized the event,” Gallant said. “I think it’s a great idea and we’ll probably do it again next summer. If the Marines want it, the Marines will get it.”

For Cpl. Jordan O’Meally, supply admin at Training and Education Command, the event was a nice diversion from work and an opportunity to build camaraderie.

“It’s cool that the Marines could get out of work and come together and hangout around as a unit,” O’Meally said. “It really brings us together and shows that it’s more to it than work, it’s more like a family.”

The event went from 2 to 6 p.m., and was supported by Marine Corps Community Services.