Press Release
Southern Partnership Station Arrives in Barbados
Bridgetown, Barbados, Friday, January 09, 2009 – High speed vessel Swift (HSV 2) is scheduled to arrive here Sunday, 11 January for the first of two instruction evolutions in Barbados during Southern Partnership Station (SPS).
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.
Training teams from Navy Expeditionary Training Command, Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Marine Corps Training and Advisory Group will begin on Monday with defense and police forces from the seven Regional Security Service (RSS) nations. The Barbados Defense Force (BDF) is hosting the event and providing logistical support.
The courses provide instruction in a variety of fields such as small boat navigation, small boat maintenance, port security, armed sentry and marksmanship training. They will return in March for another two weeks.
While in port, the crew of the SWIFT is planning to give an onboard press conference, host the Barbados Sea Cadets, and donate much needed medical supplies to the local community.
Barbados is the fourth stop for SPS. Training in the first three countries, El Salvador, Panama and Jamaica were very successful with knowledge flowing both ways. “The training team members learned as they taught,” said Cdr. Sam Sorgen, SPS deputy mission commander. “The partner nation students have passed on unique training knowledge based on the strategic region they operate in.”
After Barbados SPS is scheduled to visit Colombia, Panama, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic.
The mission is coordinated through U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. Fourth 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 information on U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command / U.S. Fourth Fleet, go to http://www.cusns.navy.mil.