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MDSU 2, Company 2-1 departs for Navy Dive - Southern Partnership Station 2012

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS120222-09
2/22/2012

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Brandon Keck, Navy Dive-Southern Partnership Station 2012 Public Affairs

NORFOLK (NNS) -- Sailors assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2, Company 2-1, departed Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek - Fort Story on board the Military Sealift Command rescue and salvage ship USNS Grapple (T-ARS 53), Feb. 17.

MDSU 2 will conduct a four-month deployment to Central America, South America, and the Caribbean in support of Navy Dive - Southern Partnership Station 2012 (ND-SPS 12).

ND-SPS 12 is a "multinational diving exchange with foreign nations to build a partnership with those nations, and to improve their diving skills and abilities as well as for us to learn how they dive," said Chief Warrant Officer Timothy O'Neal, officer in charge of Company 2-1. "Each country has different abilities, and our interest is to help increase their capabilities."

The diving subject matter expert exchanges will promote regional navy diving interoperability, information sharing, and partner nation capacity building. In addition, the team will have the opportunity to conduct humanitarian civic assistance through community relations projects.

"We have a lot of junior guys on the team," said Chief Navy Diver Joshua Baker, leading chief petty officer of Company 2-1. "This is a great opportunity for them to further their qualifications."

ND-SPS 12 is a component of the Partnership of Americas maritime engagement strategy and theater security cooperation activities. It supports the U.S. Southern Command goals of combating transnational organized crime by ensuring theater security, enhancing regional stability and strengthening existing relationships among regional partners.

U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and U.S. 4th Fleet supports U.S. Southern Command joint and combined full-spectrum military operations by providing principally sea-based, forward presence to ensure freedom of maneuver in the maritime domain, to foster and sustain cooperative relationships with international partners and to fully exploit the sea as maneuver space in order to enhance regional security and promote peace, stability, and prosperity in the Caribbean, Central and South American regions.