• Military Menu                       

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

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Seabees, Marines Kick Off Southern Partnership Station 2011 Honduras Mission

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS110303-02
3/3/2011

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jeffery Tilghman Williams

High Speed Vessel Swift (HSV 2) Public Affairs

SAN LORENZO, Honduras (NNS) -- Sailors and Marines supporting Southern Partnership Station (SPS) 2011 kicked off their partnership and engagement mission with the Honduran military by beginning a construction project at a school in San Lorenzo, Honduras, Mar. 2.

Seabees assigned to detail Bravo of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 28 and Marines assigned to 2nd Marine Logistics Group (MLG) partnered with Honduran soldiers at Escuela Eneas Alvarado for a week-long subject matter expert engagement constructing a southeast Asia hut (SEA hut).

"Basically we just wanted to hit the ground running on our first full day in country," said Lt. Rama Mutyala, NMCB 28 detail Bravo officer-in-charge. "These engagements and partnering efforts with our allies are essential to fostering our relationships, and it also gives us the opportunity to help the children who attend this school."

"It's always fun when we jump right in on an assignment, he continued. "During this construction project, we're looking forward to learning from our joint military partners and sharing some of our knowledge with them," said Marine Sgt. Peter Lawrence, assigned to 2nd MLG.

The SEA hut being built will be a 16-by-32-foot wood-frame structure with a metal roof, extended rafters, and screened-in areas, which can be partitioned and used as two classrooms for students at the school.

This is one of many subject matter expert exchanges SPS 2011 service members will participate in during their mission in Honduras.

"We plan to conduct a variety of engagements with the Honduran government in the areas of construction, plumbing, electrical engineering and welding," said Mutyala. "The time here will be mutually beneficial and a great learning opportunity for everyone involved."

The overall military engagement in Honduras will consist of cross-training ventures related to physical security, medicine, construction and engineering.

The SPS 2011 team conducted a series of similar subject matter expert exchanges and humanitarian relief efforts in Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti and Peru prior to arriving in Honduras.

SPS 11 is an annual deployment of U.S. ships to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility in the Caribbean and Latin America. The mission's primary goal is information-sharing with navies, coast guards and civilian services throughout the region.

Commander, U.S. Naval Forces 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.