Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Katie Cox | U.S. Navy Seabees, assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 133 and...... read more read more
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RIOHACHA, Colombia – A team of U.S. Navy medical and construction professionals received cultural awareness training in the town of Riohacha, Colombia, Aug. 29, prior to well drilling and medical subject matter expert exchanges (SMEE) as part of Southern Partnership Station (SPS) 2018.
Sailors assigned to SPS’ Fleet Health Engagement Team (FHET) and to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 133 will work side-by-side with members of the Wayuu population who are indigenous to the Colombian town of Riohacha, located in the country’s La Guajira Department. Cultural awareness training aims to increase U.S. service members’ understanding of Wayuu history, customs and traditions. This will also allow Sailors to truly appreciate the community they are living and working in.
“We are holding this training to have a much better interaction with the Wayuu community,” said Brunilda Morales, a linguist and instructor of languages for Wayuu, from La Guajira’s Office of Indigenous Affairs. “Through this training, we can expand our cultural awareness and better the interaction between the people for the process.”
Members of NMCB-133 will participate in well drilling operations in an effort to bring a much-needed water resource to a community that has seen years of water shortage and drought.
“This community has been in a state of drought for the last 8 to 10 years, but in the last 2 or 3 years, it has been much worse,” said Morales. “This prolonged dry season is effecting our well-being. Water is everything to us. Plants, animals and people continue to live through water.”
For members of NMCB-133, the ability to help those in need serves an excellent opportunity to refine their skills while providing a valuable resource.
“The people of the La Guajira region of Colombia have been in drought for years,” said Equipment Operator Joe Peters, leading Chief Petty Officer of NMCB-133. “Our efforts promote goodwill between both nations. We saw a need, so we are down here to drill a well.”
During the visit to Riohacha, the FHET will conduct SMEEs with Colombian representatives focused on preventative medicine, tactical combat casualty care, insect-borne disease prevention, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief response procedures.
This mission stop in Colombia marks the second FHET engagement for SPS 18, and follows a successful stop in Trinidad and Tobago. FHET members are also scheduled to conduct mission stops in Honduras and El Salvador to work alongside those nations’ military forces, security forces, and civilian health professionals.
Held on an annual basis by U.S. Southern Command and executed by U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet, Southern Partnership Station is a U.S. Navy deployment focused on SMEEs with partner nation militaries and security forces in the Caribbean, Central and South America.
The SPS mission is normally supported by the expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Spearhead (T-EPF 1), but this engagement will notice teams have arrived in Colombia aboard the Whidbey Island-class amphibious dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44).
Gunston Hall’s visit to Colombia is part of the Southern Seas deployment, which supports the UNITAS exercise, that is operating simultaneously with Southern Partnership Station. Southern Seas is an annual collaborative deployment in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility where a task group deploys to conduct various exercises and multinational exchanges to enhance interoperability, increase regional stability, and build and maintain regional relationships. Southern Partnership Station, Southern Seas, and UNITAS operate under the leadership of Capt. Brian J. Diebold, commodore of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 40.
Focused on enhancing cooperative partnerships with regional maritime services, SPS aims to improve operational readiness for all participants. Additionally, the mission will provide an opportunity for U.S. and partner nations to operate in a multinational environment, refine coordination, improve interoperability, and demonstrate flexibility.
SPS is a demonstration of the strong U.S. commitment to partners in the Caribbean, Central and South America, fostering goodwill and enhancing our collective ability to respond to natural disasters and humanitarian crises. SPS 18 will conclude in October 2018.
For more news about Southern Partnership Station 2018, visit https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/SouthernPartnershipStation2018, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SouthernPartnershipStation/, on Twitter at https://twitter.com/NavySPS/, or on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/southernpartnershipstation/.
| Date Taken: | 08.29.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 08.30.2018 12:26 |
| Story ID: | 290937 |
| Location: | RIOHACHA, CO |
| Web Views: | 140 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, U.S. Navy Sailors Participate in Cultural Awareness Training, by PO1 Grant Ammon, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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