USNS Spearhead Arrives in Naval Station Guantanamo Bay

By Capt. Gary Loten-Beckford, Southern Partnership Station-Joint High Speed Vessel 2015 Public Affairs

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (NNS) -- USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1), operated by Military Sealift Command, arrived in Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during Southern Partnership Station-Joint High Speed Vessel 2015 (SPS-JHSV 15), Aug. 11.

During the visit, Sailors and civil service mariners assigned to USNS Spearhead will also participate in a community relations event with the local population to clean up Cable Beach at NAVSTA Guantanamo Bay.

USNS Spearhead is deployed in support of SPS-JHSV 15, a U.S. Southern Command-sponsored deployment focusing on enhancing cooperative partnerships with regional maritime services and improving operational readiness for all participating services. In addition, SPS-JHSV 15 provides the opportunity for U.S and partner nation forces to operate in the multinational environment, refine coordination, improve interoperability and demonstrate flexibility.

During Spearhead's most recent visits to Honduras and Belize, the joint-service crew and medical representatives provided training on preventative medicine, taught a Combat Life Saver course to partner nation counterparts and worked on small-scale construction projects. These subject matter expert exchanges (SMEEs) increase partner nation capabilities and enhance interoperability for future engagements.

"We will be in Guantanamo Bay for about a week to refuel and replenish before heading out to continue the mission," said Capt. Douglas Casavant, master of the USNS Spearhead.

"By adapting the embarked forces and equipment onboard, we are able to support our forces in the best way possible. We continue to learn and refine our equipment and procedures so that we can be used in a greater capacity to support our forces." Spearhead's deployment to the region exemplifies the U.S. commitment to cooperative partnerships in the Caribbean, Central and South America.

The only remaining U.S. military base in the region, Naval Station Guantanamo Bay is located at a strategic and operational crossroads of the northern and southern hemispheres. The organic logistics capabilities inherent to U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay enable U.S. forces to operate more effectively and efficiently. Ships and aircraft operating in this region can remain on station longer and minimize the time required for refueling and resupply when utilizing Naval Station Guantanamo Bay for logistics.

The USNS Spearhead's visit to NAVSTA Guantanamo Bay allows for increased operability and longer on-station times in the mission stop nations; Honduras, Guatemala, Colombia and Belize.

"As we make our way to Guantanamo Bay, this will mark the midpoint of the deployment," said Lt. Cmdr. Josh Perry, chief staff officer, SPS-JHSV 15. "The center of gravity of the mission is the adaptive force packages (AFP) ashore, they are on the ground conducting training classes, executing construction projects and building goodwill with our partner nation's military and local communities."

U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and U.S. 4th Fleet support U.S. Southern Command's joint and combined military operations by employing maritime forces in cooperative maritime security operations to maintain access, enhance interoperability and build enduring partnerships in order to enhance regional security and promote peace, stability and prosperity in the Caribbean, Central and South American regions.

USNS Spearhead, SPS-JHSV 2015 Complete Fleet Experimentation Period Two

By Capt. Gary D. Loten-Beckford, Southern Partnership Station Joint High Speed Vessel 2015 Public Affairs Officer

KEY WEST, Fla. (NNS) -- USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1), operated by the Military Sealift Command (MSC), completed Fleet Experimentation (FLEX) period two from July 15 - 22.

Southern Partnership Station-Joint High Speed Vessel 2015 FLEX phase 2 explored JHSV's ability to support broader maritime C2 capabilities, by supporting the organic deployment of two un-manned aerial systems (UAS), Scan Eagle and RQ-20A (Puma).

The UAS operations were enhanced by embarkation of a Littoral Surveillance System (LSS) which provided an air and surface search capability by way of a telescopic mast mounted radar. In addition to the maritime C2 enhancements, JHSV also embarked a small vessel operations pier that consisted of eight floating dock sections which could be rapidly deployed to provide an additional small boat berthing capability, from which stores, personnel and fuel transfers could occur simultaneously.

Subject-matter expert exchanges allowed for building partner capabilities with members of the Colombian Navy. Capt. Juan C. Suarez, Colombian Naval frigate commander, and Chief Gustavo Archila, Colombian Naval sub-official, were distinguished guests from the Republic of Colombia invited to see the expanded mission capabilities of the JHSV 1.

"During this second phase of the NAVSOUTH Fleet Experimentation campaign, we were able to meet all exercise objectives and more fully inform the concept of operations for afloat forward sea basing of the JHSV class," said Capt. Bob Cepek, SPS-15 mission commander, "I am very satisfied with the flexibility and can-do spirit of the military and MSC team on Spearhead."

FLEX two campaign participants came from Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, U.S. Navy's MSC, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, Navy Warfare Development Command, Boeing and the Insitu demonstration team.

"Although some of the technologies we employed are in regular use throughout the fleet, we had the chance to employ them in new ways and that's the advantage of the FLEX process, a controlled environment to test some of the great ideas floating around out there," said Cepek.

SPS-JHSV 15 is a U.S. Navy deployment focused on subject-matter expert changes with partner nation militaries and security forces.

U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and U.S. 4th Fleet support U.S. Southern Command's joint and combined military operations by employing maritime forces in cooperative maritime security operations to maintain access, enhance interoperability and build enduring partnerships in order to enhance regional security and promote peace, stability and prosperity in the Caribbean, Central and South American regions.

USNS Spearhead Arrives in Honduras

By Capt. Gary Loten-Beckford, Southern Partnership Station 2015 Public Affairs

PUERTO CASTILLAS, Honduras (NNS) -- USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1), operated by the Military Sealift Command, arrived in Honduras, for its first mission stop during Southern Partnership Station-Joint High Speed Vessel 2015 (SPS-JHSV 15), July 11.

Cmdr. Robert Toth, commanding officer, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 6, and the commander of the Adaptive Force Package ashore for SPS-JHSV 2015, said that he looks forward to the opportunities presented by the exercise.

"I have not operated in the U.S. Southern Command's area of responsibility before, but am excited for the opportunity to do so," said Toth. "After a career spent operating in Asia and the Middle East I expect to learn a great deal about the culture from the people of the countries we will engage with, as well as face some challenges that are unique to the area of operations, such as the climate and jungle environment."

Spearhead's deployment to the region exemplifies the U.S. commitment to cooperative partnerships in the Caribbean, Central and South America.

The ship's arrival to Honduras not only serves as a means to assist the local community, but also continues to strengthen ties with countries in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of responsibility.

For 1st Lt. James P. Magee, platoon commander, 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, out of Camp Lejune, North Carolina, this is his second deployment in support of Southern Partnership Station.

"The measure of success for our mission is facilitating partnership capacity between the host nation governments and that of the United States via both Marines Corps Forces, South, and U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command's intent," said Magee.

U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and U.S. 4th Fleet support U.S. Southern Command's joint and combined military operations by employing maritime forces in cooperative maritime security operations to maintain access, enhance interoperability and build enduring partnerships in order to enhance regional security and promote peace, stability and prosperity in the Caribbean, Central and South American regions.