BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. – The three components of Naval Special Warfare located at the John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, were recently presented with the Industrial Award of Excellence from the Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission.
Bill Cork, the commission’s chief executive officer, recognized NSW’s Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School, Special Boat Team 22 and NSWG-4 Training Detachment Stennis at the annual Hancock Chamber Business and Industry Awards Gala on Thursday, August 25, at Hollywood Casino Gulf Coast in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
“Many people in our community owe their jobs and their livelihood to the different missions at Stennis Space Center and it is our privilege to have the opportunity to recognize these commands with this prestigious award,” Cork stated. “We know these commands do not seek recognition for the work they do but this is our opportunity to thank these outstanding patriots who provide a great service to our nation and our community.”
“Hancock County has one of the finest training areas that the U. S. Navy Special Warfare community can benefit from every day,” Cork added. “Our riverine and coastal environments present a world class training environment that attracts people from all over the world, creating a great benefit for our community.”
NAVSCIATTS Executive Officer Lt. Cmrd. Kerry Jackson, a Dallas, Texas native, accepted the award on behalf of Cmrd. Clay M. Pendergrass. NAVSCIATTS is a Security Cooperation schoolhouse that conducts Foreign Internal Defense in support of combatant commanders in accordance with commander, U.S. Special Operations Command priorities, using mobile training teams and in-residence training to prepare partner nation forces to conduct small craft operations in riverine or littoral environments.
NAVSCIATTS traces its history to 1961, when a U.S. Coast Guard MTT was sent to the Panama Canal Zone as a result of agreements made during the Alliance for Progress Conference in San José, Costa Rica. In May 1963, the Coast Guard based the Small Craft Inspection and Training Team, or SCIATT, at the U.S. Naval Station, Rodman, Panama. The schoolhouse, which opened its doors on the Stennis Space Center in 2000, maintains a payroll of $3.5 million, with 60 military and 40 civilian personnel, with an economic impact of $680,000.
SBT-22 Executive Officer Lt. Cmrd Chad Kalocinski, a native of Chicago, Illinois, accepted the award on behalf of Cmrd. Gary Ryals. SBT-22’s mission is to organize, mentor, train and equip NSW personnel to conduct the full spectrum of special operations in riverine and coastal environments to support fleet and joint commanders worldwide.
The command, which was established in March of 1979 as a component of the U.S. Navy, maintains a payroll of $28.9 million and an economic impact of $2.8 million.
Officer-in-Charge Chief Warrant Officer 3 Michael Rushing, a native of Homestead, Florida, accepted the award for Det. Stennis. Det. Stennis’ mission is to provide standardized training to deploying detachments in Basic Ground Skills Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures. The detachment provides training for more than 250 deploying Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen, or SWCC, yearly from NSW’s three SBTs located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Coronado, California; and the Stennis Space Center.
The establishment of the detachment, which dates back to 2009, initiated with SWCC mobilizations for deployment to Iraq. At that point, the Basic Ground Skills course of instruction was created, along with NSWG-Detachment Stennis as its headquarters. It employs 22 military and two civilian personnel with a payroll of $1 million and an economic impact of $200,000.
Jackson, who has served in the Navy for more than 24 years, with 22 years of service as a SEAL, reiterated the importance of maintaining strong ties to the surrounding communities. “NAVSCIATTS cherishes our strong relationship with the Hancock County community and we are especially grateful to be honored by this recognition,” he added.
The three NSW commands are situated on the NSW Western Maneuver Area Training Range, which is composed of some of the finest riverine and littoral training areas in the world.
Date Taken: | 08.25.2016 |
Date Posted: | 08.29.2016 09:39 |
Story ID: | 208409 |
Location: | STENNIS SPACE CENTER, MISSISSIPPI, US |
Web Views: | 4,088 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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