ANNEX, Va. - Maritime Civil Affairs and Security Training (MCAST) Command welcomes back three Maritime Civil Affairs Teams (MCATs), a Maritime Civil Affairs Unit (MCAU), and sailors assigned to a Joint Civil Affairs Team (JCAT) after six-month deployments in support of Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) and U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM).
The MCAU, three MCATs and JCAT facilitated, supported and assessed civil-military operations throughout their respective deployments. The MCAST units began arriving home earlier this April with the last of the five teams arriving home today.
The three-person MCAU, which returned from Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti April 12, and was the first of the teams to return, provided administrative assistance, support and operational guidance to the seventeen MCAST civil affairs generalists working throughout the coastal regions of Kenya and Tanzania, including the also returning MCATs 201 and 207, the teams which returned home today.
During their deployment, MCAT 201, working as a five-person team within three districts along the southern coast of Kenya, held two Basic Sea Survival courses, coordinated three community relations projects, conducted infrastructure assessments, and nominated more than fifteen projects to help increase the capacity of our partner nation. MCAT 201 also played a vital role in helping to stabilize the region’s food security concerns by providing critical guidance and assistance in the establishment and maintenance of three freshwater fish ponds.
MCAT 207, also working along the coast of Kenya as a five-person team, provided support to civil administration through site assessments and project nominations. The MCAT’s expertise and reach back ability in areas of aquaculture and resource control helped them identify challenges within the local districts and prepared them to develop and propose project ideas for enduring solutions.
"It's amazing what just a few personnel are able to accomplish. They had a direct impact on the communities where they served, but the effect is truly global," said Mass Communication Specialist Chief Athena Blain, MCAU Team Chief. "Working hand-in-hand with the host nations and international and non-governmental organizations, the personnel serving in Africa were able to improve international relations and enhance maritime stability, while simultaneously making the lives better for those who call where we deployed 'home.'"
Two sailors, deployed from MCAST Command, worked side-by-side with U.S. Army civil affairs generalists in Tanzania. This combination of efforts and union of skill sets formed the JCAT. The MCAST sailors provided a maritime element to a primarily ground-centric civil affairs unit. The sailors proved invaluable when evaluating fisheries and port operations.
MCAT 109, a five-person team, returned from a six-month deployment to El Salvador April 24 where they were in support of USSOUTHCOM and worked closely with local government officials and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in strengthening bilateral relations between the United States and El Salvador. While deployed, they were able to coordinate projects to be executed by the civilian populace, to include: numerous medical civic action projects (MEDCAPS), community relations events and projects in support of the local security forces.
“The energy and sense of community in El Salvador was overwhelming. Many different local organizations united and donated time and effort to make the projects we were involved with a success. It says a lot about the quality of the people of El Salvador,” said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Benjamin Pong.
An MCAT is typically a five-person unit, consisting of a team commander, a coxswain, a construction man, a communicator and a corpsman. These skill sets are mostly derived from the appropriate U.S. Navy ratings, but often sailors are cross trained during their pre-deployment training cycles.
MCAST Command provides effective, flexible and responsive teams of U.S. Navy sailors, on demand, to establish and enhance relations between military forces, governmental and nongovernmental organizations, and the civilian populace.
MCAST Command was formed in 2009 from the merger of the former Maritime Civil Affairs Group and Expeditionary Training Command, under the guidance of Navy Expeditionary Combat Command and is homeported onboard Naval Air Station Oceana – Dam Neck Annex, Virginia. For more information about MCAST Command, visit www.mcast.navy.mil or contact MCAST public affairs at (757) 492-1937.
| Date Taken: | 04.26.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 04.26.2013 11:59 |
| Story ID: | 105908 |
| Location: | ANNEX, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 136 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, MCAST welcomes home deployed teams from Africa and El Salvador, by CPO Kristen Loeding, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
