Kearsarge Departs Colombia for Haiti
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS080908-01
Release Date: 9/8/2008 7:28:00 AM
From Continuing Promise Public Affairs
SANTA MARTA, Colombia (NNS) -- USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) along with various embarked units departed here Sept. 6 for Haiti to assist with humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts in areas affected by flooding due to tropical storm activity in the Caribbean.
Kearsarge has been in Colombia since Aug. 27, conducting the humanitarian/civic assistance (HCA) mission Continuing Promise (CP) 2008. CP is a collaborative effort between the United States and partner militaries, non-governmental organizations and partner-nation support organizations to build strong partnerships.
Originally scheduled to depart Sept. 9, the CP 2008 team feels it has accomplished its mission in Colombia including building relationships which can be called on in the event of a regional situation that will require cooperative solutions. The team now stands ready to assist the country of Haiti.
"Though we depart earlier then planned, we believe the mission has accomplished its intent to assist these specific communities in the Santa Marta and Cienaga regions," said CP 2008 Mission Commander Capt. Fernandez "Frank" Ponds.
"Now, our focus turns to the citizens of Haiti. USS Kearsarge was already operating in the Caribbean Sea, and we can transition quickly from this HCA mission to a disaster relief mission."
Kearsarge's capabilities include rapid movement of personnel and cargo by helicopter and landing craft, making it an ideal platform to support humanitarian relief missions on short notice.
CP's medical contingent spent 10 days in Colombia, working alongside local medical providers in Santa Marta's Candelaria Medical Clinic, San Cristobal Hospital in Cienaga and a clinic in Palmira Village, providing primary medical care to more than 6,000 Colombian citizens, treating more than 450 dental and more than 1,000 optometry patients, filling more than 12,000 prescriptions and performing 26 surgeries aboard the ship. Additionally, the CP 2008 team treated 795 animals.
"We have been working hand-in-hand with our neighbors in Colombia on many common interests," said Ponds. "By working together and sharing our knowledge, we have been addressing medical and engineering concerns common to the region, while also demonstrating our commitment to developing cooperative solutions and fostering lasting bonds of friendship."
The embarked Navy Seabee Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit (CBMU) 202 and the Air Force Civil Engineering Squadron 5's Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force worked steadily in Los Alpes to construct a 2,048 square-foot building that will house a four-classroom schoolhouse. In addition, they constructed a new playground for the children. They also installed a water tank in the village of Palmira and did construction work at the San Cristobal Hospital in Cienaga.
The Continuing Promise mission brings together more than 1,500 personnel from various countries and organizations and thousands of partner-nation citizens to exchange experiences and gain new knowledge about each other's culture and people which will help create bonds and foster friendship and understanding among the nations.
"We are very proud to be a part of this mission and focused on not only helping our neighbors, but also learning from them," said Capt. Walter Towns, Kearsarge commanding officer.
During the last ten days, Kearsarge has hosted several subject matter expert exchange (SMEE) workshops with members of the Colombian Coast Guard, covering subjects such as damage control and navigation.
"They had never been on an amphibious ship. They found it exciting and interesting. They were impressed with its size," said Lt. Cmdr. Matthew LaPointe, SMEE coordinator. "You could see they had passion for what they did, as well. They were proud to show off their lanyards and boatswain's pipes. They seemed really enthralled to be here."
As of Sept.5, the medical specialists from Kearsarge, Fleet Surgical Team 4, U.S. Public Health Service, Canada, Brazil, the Netherlands and Project HOPE have worked together with Nicaraguan and Colombian medical professionals to conduct more than 2,000 dental exams and procedures, more than 3,200 optometry exams, 63 surgeries aboard Kearsarge, provide nearly 17,000 patients primary medical care and filled more than 32,000 prescriptions at several sites in the area.
Medical facilities aboard Kearsarge include three operating rooms, 14 intensive-care unit beds, 40 medical ward beds, a laboratory, x-ray equipment and a blood bank.
USS Kearsarge is under the operational control of U.S. 4th Fleet. U.S. 4th Fleet's mission is to direct United States naval forces operating in the Caribbean and Central and South American regions and interact with partner nation navies to shape maritime environment.
The CP Caribbean Phase is the second of two HCA deployments to the Southern Command area of focus for 2008. The first CP deployment was conducted by USS Boxer (LHD 4) in the Pacific.
For more news on Continuing Promise, visit U.S. Southern Command's Web site at www.southcom.mil.
For more news from 4th Fleet, visit www.navy.mil/local/cusns.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
