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U.S. Southern Command, Public Affairs Office
SONSONATE, El Salvador -- The amphibious ship USS Boxer completed a 13-day humanitarian mission in El Salvador Sunday, where non-government organizations and military units worked side-by-side with partner-nation military and civilian professionals to provide health care to local residents, veterinarian care to livestock, as well as carry out construction and small scale civil engineering projects in support of impoverished communities.
"Our mission was to provide healthcare and construction support," said Capt. Peter Dallman, the Continuing Promise mission commander. "We were able to vastly exceed our goal because of the great support from our Salvadoran hosts."
Medical specialists from Boxer, the U.S. Public Health Service and Project HOPE worked together with Salvadoran medical professionals to provide medical care to nearly 8,000 patients. Additional services provided included nearly 4,000 dental exams and procedures, more than 1,800 optometry exams, more than 19,000 prescriptions filled and 62 surgeries performed aboard Boxer.
Health care instructors also conducted classes on personal and industrial hygiene, the safe preparation of food and water, child development and infant cardio-pulmonary resuscitation.
Navy engineers embarked aboard Boxer, known as Seabees, completed projects at three sites, including improvements to two schools and a main-road repair. Improvements to the schools included upgrades to the plumbing and electrical wiring, a roof replacement, the construction of a fence, a kitchen renovation, replacement of damaged windows and doors, as well as painting and landscaping.
El Salvador's President, Elias Antonio Saca, and U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador, Charles L. Glazer, visited Boxer and Continuing Promise 2008 personnel at the El Sunza medical work site, May 27.
"It really has been an honor to go aboard the Navy ship that has been making a positive impact that we can see already in our country," said Saca. "We appreciate all the humanitarian support the United States, the Navy, Ambassador Glazer, the captain, and the entire crew of this important ship has brought. In the name of El Salvador, we welcome you to our country and profoundly appreciate your support for our inhabitants."
Boxer is currently en route to Peru, where it will partner with Peruvian health and engineering officials to provide medical and engineering assistance during a two week visit to the port city of Huacho.
Boxer's visit to Peru will be its final stop in support of Continuing Promise 2008's Pacific Phase.
The amphibious ship USS Kearsarge is also scheduled to support Continuing Promise 2008 beginning in August and will conduct two-week visits to six countries in the Caribbean, Central and South America through November in support of the humanitarian mission's Atlantic Phase.
One of the objectives of Continuing Promise 2008 is to build on the successes achieved during the deployment of the hospital ship USNS Comfort from June through October 2007. During Comfort's 2007 deployment, its crew treated 98,658 patients during visits to a dozen Caribbean, Central and South American countries that lasted an average of 8 days.
The longer visits carried out during Continuing Promise 2008 allow for greater collaboration and coordination between the ships' crews, host nation officials and participating NGOs, improving the effectiveness of the humanitarian services provided.
| Date Taken: | 06.05.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 06.05.2008 12:00 |
| Story ID: | 20141 |
| Location: | SONSONATE, SV |
| Web Views: | 397 |
| Downloads: | 313 |
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