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.

USS North Dakota Completes Groundbreaking Mission

By Kevin Copeland, Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic Public Affairs

NEW LONDON, Conn. (NNS) -- The USS North Dakota (SSN 784) returned to its homeport at U.S. Naval Submarine Base, New London, Conn., July 20 after conducting groundbreaking operations in the Mediterranean Sea.

Under the command of Capt. Douglas Gordon, the ship finished its first-ever mission by deploying and retrieving unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) from the ship's dry deck shelter (DDS) in an operational environment. The six-week mission was conducted prior to completing the ship's post shakedown availability (PSA), joining a small group of Virginia-class submarines to accomplish the feat. Others have been the USS Virginia (SSN 774), USS Hawaii (SSN 776) and USS New Hampshire (SSN 778).

"The crew was very excited to be chosen to take the ship forward and conduct operations in support of fleet and combatant commanders' operational objectives," said Gordon. "It was a rare opportunity for the crew to be able to deploy prior to executing its post shakedown availability. Many crew members had never deployed before and were able to experience first-hand the hard work and effort required in preparing a ship for deployed operations. They trained hard and expertly executed our mission. I could not be more proud of their performance and the professionalism that they exhibited during our operations."

Capt. Jim Waters, commander, Submarine Squadron 4 and the submarine's immediate superior in the chain of command, expanded on the captain's comment.

"The timing within USS North Dakota's schedule, along with its highly-trained and certified crew, made it the optimal choice to conduct this mission," said Waters. "The mission completed by North Dakota also demonstrated the promising and emerging technology of UUVs within the Submarine Force."

North Dakota is the 11th Virginia-class attack submarine to join the fleet, and the first of eight Block III Virginia-class submarines to be built. The Block III submarines are built with new Virginia Payload Tubes designed to lower costs and increase missile-firing payload possibilities.

The 10 current Virginia-class submarines have 12 individual 21-inch diameter vertical launch tubes able to fire Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAMS). The Block III submarines being built will have two-larger 87-inch diameter tubes able to house six TLAMS each.

As the most modern and sophisticated attack submarine in the world, the submarine can operate in both littoral and deep ocean environments and presents combatant commanders with a broad and unique range of operational capabilities. North Dakota is a flexible, multi-mission platform designed to carry out the seven core competencies of the submarine force: anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, delivery of special operations forces, strike warfare, irregular warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and mine warfare.

The submarine is 377 feet long, has a 34-foot beam, and will be able to dive to depths greater than 800 feet and operate at speeds in excess of 25 knots submerged. It will operate for 33 years without ever refueling.

Construction on North Dakota began March 2009; the submarine's keel was authenticated during a ceremony on May 11, 2012; and the submarine was christened during a ceremony Nov. 2, 2013.

North Dakota is the second Navy ship, and first submarine, to be named in honor of the people of "The Peace Garden State." The other ship was the Delaware-class battleship BB-29, which was commissioned April 11, 1910 and decommissioned Nov. 22, 1923.

USS Kauffman Conducts Exchange With Ecuador

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Shane A. Jackson, USS Kauffman Public Affairs

PACIFIC OCEAN (NNS) -- The guided-missile frigate USS Kauffman (FFG 59) conducted a detainee and evidence exchange with Ecuadorian government representatives off the northern coast of the Galapagos Islands, June 13.

The exchange took place as part of a coordinated effort by Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) South, Ecuadorian officials, and Kauffman, as the ship continues its participation in Operation Martillo. The multi-nation effort aims to stem the flow of narcotics and illegal smuggling through littoral waterways of the Caribbean Sea and and along the Pacific coast of Central America.

"Today's event highlights our mutually supportive role in the support of a common shared interest with Ecuador to counter the spread of transnational organized crime and the violence and destabilization it brings," said Cmdr. Michael Concannon, Kauffman's commanding officer. "I believe this event represents a common desire of all American nations - North, Central and South America - to continue to build cooperative maritime security through enhanced interoperability and partnerships built on a common interest to foster stability and security in this region."

In most cases, contraband smugglers caught by the U.S. are prosecuted by whichever U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) district they are caught in. In this situation, the suspects in question were part of a larger case the Ecuadorian government is pursuing, said a USCG chief petty officer.

"The exchange of the material and detainees was very professional and efficient. Additionally, we had a very interesting exchange of information between subject matter experts in the anti-narcotics community," said the USCG chief. "We were very interested to learn some of the tactics and techniques of the criminal organizations. We will take this information and apply it to how we do business in the future in order to increase our interdiction effectiveness."