BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (NNS) -- Two Sailors assigned to the small boat crew currently deployed aboard High Speed Vessel Swift (HSV) 2, hosted an impromptu three-day subject matter expert exchange in Bridgetown, Barbados, Aug. 23-25.
Damage Controlman 1st Class Coy Bozeman, and Engineman 1st Class Kevin Nichols facilitated the small boat operations fundamentals exchange, which included more than 20 members of the Barbados, St. Vincent and Antigua defense forces, in support of Southern Partnership Station (SPS) 2010.
According to Nichols, the plan for them to host an exchange came about in Guatemala when a local SEAL team asked them to share their knowledge of small boats with local Navy personnel.
"Due to a lack of knowledge in Guatemala, a lot of the preventive maintenance wasn't being done on their small boats, and because of it, the life of the boats was significantly decreased," said Nichols, who works as a Basic Engineering instructor at the Center for Naval Engineering in Great Lakes, Ill., when not deployed. "When we arrived in Barbados, some of the other facilitators realized there was a need for our knowledge here too, and they asked us to set up an official exchange."
The first day of the exchange included PowerPoint presentations and group discussions on the functions of boat components, start-up procedures and basic boat handling maneuvers. After lunch, the group used the RHIB boats to put their skills to the test.
"It was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot from the members of the BDF, and I hope they learned a lot from me," said Bozeman, who works as an educational services officer and command career counselor at the Naval Operational Logistics Center at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash., when not deployed. "We were able to demonstrate for them the concept of fluid dynamics, and how differently a vehicle handles in the water, vice a car on land."
The second day of the exchange included more presentations and group discussions on chart reading, piloting and navigation, International Association of Lighthouses Authority (IALA) A and B, and survival raft essentials.
"In my normal job I'm an instructor, so it's a much more formal, structured way of teaching," said Nichols. "Because this was an exchange between our military and theirs, it was a much more hands-on, relaxed evolution, and I really enjoyed that. It's also such a beautiful country, and we enjoyed being out in the ocean with the boats."
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. Swift is scheduled to continue its support of SPS 2010 until early fall.
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