A-SPS 11 Bids Farewell to Guatemala

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brian S. Finney, A-SPS 11 Public Affairs

PUERTO BARRIOS, Guatemala (NNS) -- USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44) departed Guatemala, Feb. 23, following ten days of subject matter expert exchanges (SMEE) with Guatemalan sailors and marines.

Throughout the week, Gunston Hall Sailors and Marines from the embarked SCTF participated in a variety of SMEEs. Areas of engagement included small boat maintenance, land navigation, live fire, and visit board search and seizure (VBSS).

"It's an honor for us as representatives of the United States Marine Corps to be here this week, to stand side by side with our Guatemalan partners exchanging techniques, tactics, and procedures" said the SCTF Commanding Officer of Troops Lt. Col. Paul D. Baker. "Guatemala's rich military history has enabled us to have a very eventful and rewarding engagement, one that we will remember for the rest of our lives."

A-SPS 11 Sailors and Marines also found time to participate in a local community relations project. More than 60 Sailors and Marines worked alongside parents, students and teachers to renovate and paint a school in the town of Livingston, near Puerto Barrios.

"This has been an exceptionally rewarding exchange with the Guatemalan armed forces, where we have formed bonds based on professional respect and personal friendship," said Capt. John Meier, A-SPS 11 mission commander. "This mission has also presented a unique opportunity to connect with the Guatemalan people as well, through a series of cultural exchanges and a community relations project that saw over 60 Sailors and Marines work side by side with the local community to paint a school house."

Gunston Hall and the embarked Marine Security Cooperation Task Force (SCTF) are deployed for Amphibious Southern Partnership Station 2011 (A-SPS 11). A-SPS 11 is intended to provide a sustained, visible presence in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility through combined and multilateral cooperative missions.

Guatemala is the second of four countries scheduled to host Gunston Hall and A-SPS 11, which also includes scheduled stops in Belize, Colombia and Jamaica.

A-SPS11's visit to Guatemala concluded with a day of sports, a field meet, barbecue and closing ceremony at the Santo Tomas Naval Basel.

A-SPS 11 is a United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM)-directed operation implemented by Commander, United States Naval Forces Southern Command (COMUSNAVSO), supported by United States Marine Corps Forces, South (MARFORSOUTH) and carried out by Commander, Destroyer Squadron Four Zero (CDS40), USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44) and a Marine Corps Security Cooperation Task Force.

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.