Swift Crew Volunteers at Guatemalan School

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Kim Williams, High Speed Vessel Swift 2 Public Affairs

ESCUNTILA, Guatemala (NNS) -- The crew of High Speed Vessel Swift (HSV) 2 participated in a community relations event at a local school July 19.

Sailors, Marines and Airmen are embarked aboard HSV 2 as part of Southern Partnership Station (SPS) 2010.

Service members from Swift and members of the Guatemala Paracadistas painted the walls of three classrooms at Escuela de las Pampas and played a game of basketball with children from the school.

"The time our Sailors, Marines and Airmen spent at the school today is invaluable and gives the crew the opportunity to positively influence the lives of children in this community," said Capt. Kurt Hedberg, SPS 2010 mission commander. "Events like these also boost morale, allowing everyone an opportunity to affect the mission outside of their daily responsibilities."

Members of the event's working party worked alongside volunteers from the Guatemalan military and teachers from the school in a joint effort to revitalize the building.

"The local community expressed the need to have their school painted and we were able to answer that call," said Hedberg. "It is our responsibility to assist the countries we visit, in whatever ways we can, that are aligned with our overarching mission of strengthening cooperative partnership. Building relationships and providing a lasting, positive impact for the local community definitely fits that description."

SPS 2010 provides a highly visible, positively engaged, self-sustaining sea base to conduct regional operations, through tailored and adaptive packages, and to launch a variety of engagements with partner nations within a regional area of interest.

Guatemala is the fifth stop for HSV Swift and SPS 2010, which has also visited El Salvador, Haiti, Jamaica, Nicaragua and Panama during the mission.

Swift is operated and navigated by 17 civilian contract mariners working for a private company under charter to the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command.