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SECNAV, Officials Visit Southern Partnership Station in Nicaragua

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS090219-01
Release Date: 2/19/2009 5:34:00 AM

From Southern Partnership Station Public Affairs

EL BLUFF, Nicaragua (NNS) -- Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Donald C. Winter, U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua Robert Callahan, United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Glenn Spears and other representatives of the U.S. and Nicaraguan armed forces visited the Southern Partnership Station (SPS) team here as they conducted training with members of the Nicaraguan military.

The group observed courses in port security, boat engine repair, small boat basic coxswain skills and martial arts.

"One of the changes that we made over the past few years was to make our partnership development activities and humanitarian assistance a core mission of our Navy," said Winter. "We are committed to those missions, to establishing partnerships and to developing those relationships over time."

Winter, along with U.S. and Nicaraguan military officials, witnessed the mutual respect that develops between instructors and students from different countries, a common occurrence during the SPS mission.

"When you go through all the hardships that are involved in the kind of martial arts training that we do, we start building camaraderie and friendship," said Marine Corps Martial Arts Program lead instructor Sgt. Geormon Elder, from Douglasville, Ga. "I definitely think the SECNAV could see that today."

Guests boarded one of the SPS special operations boats used to instruct students for a practical demonstration of elements of the basic coxswain skills and waterborne security courses offered by SPS training teams.

"It was good that he got to see what we're doing here," said small boat basic coxswain course instructor Electronics Technician 1st Class Michael Harris, from Baton Rouge, La. "We were able to show him firsthand how we teach the students, and we explained how the students teach us about the local area. It was a good time."

During the visit, SECNAV took time to address Sailors and Marines at an all-hands call.

"This is a great way of being able to develop maritime security partnerships in an area of the world that is critical to us," said Winter. "It is an opportunity for us to be able to engage and provide the type of military-to-military relationships between our Navy and Marine Corps and the Nicaraguan military, which I think will go a long way to helping the professional development of the armed forces here."

Southern Partnership Station is an annual deployment of various specialty platforms to the U.S. Southern Command area of focus in the Caribbean and Latin America. The mission goal is primarily information sharing with navies, coast guards, and civilian services throughout the region. SPS is comprised of Navy training and support teams, Marine Corps training teams, foreign naval officers and civilian contract mariners on the high speed vessel Swift, a Military Sealift Command platform.

The mission is coordinated through U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet (NAVSO/ 4th Fleet) with partner nations to meet their specific training requests. As the Naval Component Command of SOUTHCOM, NAVSO's mission is to direct U.S. Naval Forces operating in the Caribbean, Central and South American regions and interact with partner nation navies within the maritime environment. Various operations include counter-illicit trafficking, Theater Security Cooperation, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, military-to-military interaction and bilateral and multinational training.

Fourth Fleet is the numbered fleet assigned to NAVSO, exercising operational control of assigned forces in the SOUTHCOM area of focus.

For more news from U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command / U.S. 4th Fleet, go to www.navy.mil/local/cusns.