Southern Partnership Station 2011 Commander Visits Guatemalan School

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jeffery Tilghman Williams, High Speed Vessel Swift (HSV 2) Public Affairs

SAN JOSE, Guatemala (NNS) -- The Southern Partnership Station (SPS) 2011 mission commander visited a Guatemalan school for a tour and speech in San Jose, Guatemala, Feb. 9.

Cmdr. Mark Becker, SPS 2011 mission commander, and his foreign affairs officer, 1st Lt. Axel Zengotita, visited Colegio Liceo Alpha y Omega to discuss the importance of SPS 2011 and the importance of education.

"We're delighted about this opportunity to discuss our mission and partnership with the Guatemalan government," said Becker. "These children are the future of this country, and I'm honored to speak with them."

The invitation for Becker to speak at the school was a result of a class tour by 32 Colegio Liceo Alpha y Omega students to High Speed Vessel Swift (HSV 2), Feb. 7.

"Our students were so excited about their experience on a Navy ship and their interaction with American service members; we had to offer a token of our appreciation by inviting them here," said Colegio Liceo Alpha y Omega Director General Roberto Genovez del Cid.

More than 250 students were in attendance for Becker's speech, which was followed by a question and answer session. Most of the questions were related to why U.S. Sailors were in Guatemala, and how one becomes a Sailor.

"Their questions were very well thought out, and they displayed a sincere appreciation for our service and how we've partnered with Guatemalan service members to complete training and school construction projects here," said Becker.

At the conclusion of Becker's speech, Genovez del Cid presented him with a certificate of appreciation and school medallion to commemorate the day.

"The idea for this award and this entire day was initiated by our students who are committed to learning and broadening their horizons," said Genovez del Cid.

"We have never seen or met an American Sailor, so we're very excited about this day. Everyone we've met from the ship has been so nice and friendly to us, and we wanted to say thank you," said Jessica Rosemary, a 5th level student at the school.

The school visit was the final activity of a 19-day subject matter expert exchange with the Guatemalan military. During the exchange, service members worked side by side, participating in information exchanges related to medical operations, practical self defense, construction, civil affairs and security in support of SPS 2011.

SPS 11 is an annual deployment of U.S. ships to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility in the Caribbean and Latin America. The mission's primary goal is information-sharing with navies, coast guards and civilian services throughout the region.

Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command (COMUSNAVSO) is the naval component command for U.S. Southern Command and is responsible for all naval personnel and assets in the area of responsibility. COMUSNAVSO conducts a variety of missions in support of the U.S. maritime strategy, including theater security cooperation, relationship building, humanitarian assistance and disaster response, community relations, and counter-illicit trafficking operations.

For more information, contact COMUSNAVSO/C4F Public Affairs by e-mail at comusnavso-c4f_mypt_pao@navy.mil, visit www.public.navy.mil/comusnavso-c4f, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NAVSOUS4THFLT, at

http://www.facebook.com/pages/browser.php#!/pages/Southern-Partnership-Station/116426301746856 or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NAVSOUS4THFLT.

For more news from U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command & U.S. 4th Fleet, visit www.navy.mil/local/cusns/.

This article was sponsored by Military Books.