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USS Forrest Sherman Trains Alongside Salvadoran Sailors During Visit to El Salvador

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS080815-15
Release Date: 8/15/2008 3:07:00 PM

By Lt. j.g. Thomas A. Berenato, USS Forrest Sherman Public Affairs Officer

ACAJUTLA, El Salvador (NNS) -- The guided-missile destroyer USS Forrest Sherman (DDG-98) hosted 100 members of El Salvador's Navy aboard for training and partnership activities while underway and at anchor in the harbor off Acajutla Aug. 5 and 6.

Seventy-five Salvadoran officers and cadets embarked Forrest Sherman two miles off the Acajutla coastline for a six-hour underway-demonstration of the destroyer's features and capabilities.

A series of high-speed turns showed off Forrest Sherman's engineering plant at full power. Mauricio Martinez, a fourth-year cadet in the Salvadoran Navy, said he had never been on a ship the size of Forrest Sherman and was "amazed" by her maneuverability and acceleration rates.

The afternoon's agenda began on the flight deck with a tour of the ship's embarked LAMPS SH-60B helicopter from HSL 44 Detachment 10, followed by a staged rescue-and-assistance drill to illustrate firefighting methods from a small boat using a portable P-100 pump. The day's schedule concluded with a display of Forrest Sherman's crew-served weapons in action and multiple salvos from the five-inch gun.

Twenty-five additional Salvadoran personnel arrived the next morning for follow-on damage-control training on the use of firefighting equipment and the importance of damage control procedures.

"One of the things I will take back to discuss with my cadets - and one day soon with my sailors, will be the importance of being prepared for all possible casualty scenarios," Cadet Martinez said upon learning how to don firefighting gear. "I realize that keeping your people prepared through an arduous qualification process makes sure the crew reacts quickly to any disasters," he said.

On the same morning Forrest Sherman sent four engineers and four electronics technicians to a Salvadoran patrol boat berthed at a nearby pier. The Sailors assisted with the repair of the vessel's high-frequency radio antennas and led tutorials in cable-maintenance and small-boat engine repair.

Salvadoran Navy Capt. Guillermo Jimenez, chairman of the Military Policy Board of the Armed Forces, helped arrange Forrest Sherman's visit and attended the underway demonstration. A veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Jimenez is a graduate of both the United States Naval Staff College and the United States Naval Command College. There are several issues of common interest for the Salvadoran and United States navies including stopping the flow of illegal narcotics, eradicating terrorist activities, and addressing the emerging threat of climate change.

"Regional stability is the cornerstone of Central America's development," Jimenez said. "This translates into superior operational and tactical interoperability among our neighbors in Central America and with the United States. A drug-runner, for example, will have a much harder time evading capture by running into territorial waters if the navies of all the Central American countries act in unison with the help of the United States."

Jimenez was happy with the level of interaction and looks forward to continued training with the United States Navy, especially on the tactics of maritime interdiction operations (MIO). "El Salvador could certainly benefit from MIO training for its patrol units," he said.

"Forrest Sherman's crew shared more than mere knowledge with their Central American counterparts, Jimenez said. They also serve as models for the next generation of Salvadoran sailors. "This, perhaps, has been the most important benefit of your visit," he said. "We have traditionally been a coastal patrol force, but now our junior officers and cadets are stepping into a different world."

Forrest Sherman is deployed in support of U.S. Southern Command's Partnership of the Americas 2008 (POA 08). USS Farragut (DDG 99), USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98), with embarked LAMPS SH-60B helicopter from HSL 44 Detachment 10, and USS Kauffman (FFG 59), with embarked LAMPS SH-60B from HSL 42 Detachment 7, are assigned to Destroyer Squadron 40 to support POA 08 operations, which are being held from April to October throughout South America, Central America and the Caribbean.

POA 2008 emphasizes interoperability and cooperation between U.S. and partner nations' maritime forces through a variety of exercises and events.

For more news from Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/cusns/.