Swift Crew Paints School Auditorium in Barbados

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (SW) Rachael Leslie, High Speed Vessel Swift (HSV 2) Public Affairs

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (NNS) -- Crew members deployed aboard High Speed Vessel Swift (HSV) 2 helped refurbish an auditorium at the Garrison Secondary School in Bridgetown, Barbados, Aug. 13.

The group included 11 Sailors, one Marine, one Air Force captain and one civilian contract mariner, all deployed aboard the Swift in support of Southern Partnership Station (SPS) 2010.

"This is my first interaction with U.S. military personnel, and I truly hope it won't be the last," said Matthew Farley, principal of Garrison Secondary School. "Today is the start of a partnership and what better way than in something that will impact the children. They are our future."

Established by the British Garrison in the 1620s, the Garrison-area school is located in a part of Bridgetown rich with historic significance for the island nation.

"The school was built in 1974, and we're currently waiting on an application submitted to the United Nations which will qualify the area for official historical status," said Farley. "Right now we rely mostly on volunteers and staff for the annual maintenance and upkeep prior to each school year."

The group painted the inside of a large auditorium, as well as wooden archways and the doors leading into the four entrances to the building. They worked from about 9:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., followed by a home-cooked Bajan dinner with school staff and parent teacher association members when the work was done.

"It made me feel really good to know me and my co-workers were doing something that would benefit the local youth," said Lt. j.g. Joan Mulligan, a Swift crew member who helped with the project. "The staff was so welcoming and hospitable, and I was really surprised when they made that great dinner for us. There's such a sense of community here. I hope that when I have kids some day, they will also be surrounded by people like this who know and care so much about their needs."

While SPS 2010's primary mission is information sharing with navies, coast guards and civilian services in the U.S. Southern Command's area of responsibility throughout the Caribbean and Central America, a large part of the mission is also to develop partnerships with the communities around the military installations as well. Swift will remain deployed in support of SPS 2010 until fall 2010.