By Ensign Joe Keiley, Speed Vessel Swift
Public Affairs
HIGH SPEED VESSEL SWIFT, At Sea (NNS) --
Military Sealift Command-chartered High Speed Vessel Swift (HSV 2) departed
Monrovia, Liberia Aug. 11 after concluding a port visit in support of Africa
Partnership Station (APS) West 2012.
Swift spent eight days engaging with the
people and military of Liberia as the ship docked in Freeport.
An embarked team of medical
professionals, both from the U.S. Navy and the non-governmental organization
Project Hope spent three days providing medical care for more than 2,000
people, providing eyeglasses, basic medications, and referrals for continued
care after building relationships with medical leaders from local agencies.
Three separate groups of subject matter
experts, from Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Marines from Special
Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force 12.2, Security Cooperation Team 6, as well
as a Mobile Training Team from Maritime Civil Affairs and Security Training
Command provided information exchanges during the week on topics ranging from
port security, to non-lethal combat skills and instructor training.
"I've been able to get out and see
every event this week, and the biggest stand-out in my mind is the ability to
see the true exchange that does occur, not just through our subject matter
experts conveying their message, but what comes back to us from the host
nation," said Lt. Cmdr. Brad Fillius, Swift's military detachment
officer-in-charge. "The Liberian people, their military, we leave here
learning a lot about their country, and got to see them display true
professionalism."
The ship hosted a reception for more
than 100 distinguished visitors who learned more about Swift and its mission.
During the reception, Swift's leadership spoke about the partnership building
that is central to the APS mission.
"It's really an important part of
this ship's mission to be able to support humanitarian missions and these
partnership stops and to quickly adapt to either situation," said Capt.
Rhett Mann, Swift's civilian master. "It's great to have a night to show
the ship off to visitors and put the civilian and military partnership on
display."
The reception wrapped up with comments
from the U.S. ambassador to Liberia crediting the ship's crew for building
relationships that will last into the future.
"All of this activity serves to
underscore our ongoing commitment to helping the Armed Forces [of] Liberia
develop as a genuine 'force for good,' capable of carrying out its duties in a
professional manner, and rendering true service to the people of Liberia,"
said Michael Arietti, U.S. ambassador to Liberia.
Swift's crew also took time to play a
soccer match with members of the Liberian Coast Guard.
During the visit the ship was able to
offload more than 2,000 pounds of donated supplies to local organizations as
part of Project Handclasp. The majority of the cargo was comprised of
eyeglasses and water filters.
"We have a lot of people who have
poor sight in Liberia, these will be given to them freely and they will be very
grateful. A pair of glasses is very expensive, and we pray that this won't be
our last time working together and that we'll always have communication,"
said Victoria Tomah, director, Liberian Annual Conference/United Methodist
Church.
This was also a first stop in Africa for
the ship's Gold Crew who turned over in Italy last month.
"For this being the first visit
with this crew, I thought everything went really well and we have some good
plans in place now and a good building block for future visits," said
Fillius.
APS is about developing solutions to
global problems and building upon long-standing relationships. Through events
like the ones held in Liberia and in future ports, it helps to create
partnerships among a number of organizations who have not traditionally worked
with each other in the past to achieve common goals through collaboration.
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