• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

HSV 2 Swift Supports Expo Naval 2010

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS101201-06
12/1/2010

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (SW) Jeffery Tilghman Williams, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet Public Affairs

VALPARAISO, Chile (NNS) -- The Southern Partnership Station (SPS) 2011 Mission Commander along with senior U.S. Navy officers participated in the opening ceremony of the 7th Expo Naval in Puerto Valparaiso, Chile, Nov. 30.

Cmdr. Mark Becker, SPS 2011 Mission Commander, and the joint military and civilian team aboard High Speed Vessel 2 (HSV 2) Swift are participating in the expo by conducting bay tours and stationary tours of the Incat-built high-speed catamaran for groups of American and foreign military and government leaders throughout the week-long conference.

"Today is a great example of how information exchange like this benefits navies around the world," said Becker. "We're honored to be invited to support this event and welcome our partner nations to experience HSV 2 this week."

Expo Naval is a one-week international exhibition and conference of technologies, equipment and services for the Latin America Naval Defense Industry.

The ceremonial ribbon to open Expo Naval was cut by Chile's Minister of Defense, Jaime Ravinet, who said Expo Naval offers the gathered countries an opportunity to work together to keep the seas free for all to enjoy maritime trade.

"Piracy has become a very real threat to those who participate in maritime trade," Ravinet said. "Chile's will is to cooperate internationally in keeping markets open."

SPS is an annual deployment of U.S. ships to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility in the Caribbean and Latin America involving information sharing with navies, coast guards and civilian services throughout the region.

Commander, U.S. Navy Southern Command (COMUSNAVSO) is the naval component command for U.S. Southern Command and is responsible for all naval personnel and assets in the area of responsibility. COMUSNAVSO conducts a variety of missions in support of the U.S. Maritime Strategy, including Theater Security Cooperation, relationship building, humanitarian assistance and disaster response, community relations, and counter-illicit trafficking operations.