Today’s Bloggers’ Round Table gave us the opportunity to interview Adm. Joseph Kernan, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command Commander, U.S. 4th Fleet.

The Fourth Fleet was originally created during World War II and assigned mission in the South Atlantic. It was disestablished in 1950. In April 2008 it was reactivated and assigned duties in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the Caribbean Sea, to include all of Latin America.

Fourth Fleet has no ships. Adm. Kernan is a Navy SEAL. It has responsibilities in two different oceans. This makes for a curious start.

The reality is that Fourth Fleet has as one of its primary tasks the CNO’s direction to build partnerships with friendly nations. To that end, it ran Operation Continuing Promise ’08 this year where both USS Boxer and USS Kearsarge deployed on humanitarian missions in Latin America. Kearsarge came from the Atlantic Fleet and Boxer from the Pacific Fleet and were under Fourth’s control for their missions.

In addition, Fourth Fleet will serve as a training partner for the militaries in the region. Operation Southern Partnership Station will be held in the summer of 2009. It will involve the USS Oak Hill, United States Marines as well as Marines from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Peru and Uruguay. Some of our partner Marines will embark at Mayport, Florida while others will join during the op. Some of the partner nations will also join the command element on board.

Planning at Fourth Fleet includes possible mass migration activities, such as if there were to be another Mariel boat lift. The Fleet is also involved in supporting anti-drug activities and anti-terrorism activities.

Missions such as Continuing Promise are planned to continue indefinitely. The goal is to institutional the Navy’s presence in the region. A recent conference held by the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington with a number of NGO’s involved changing their perceptions of the Navy’s humanitarian assistance role and informing them of the Navy’s capacity to provide a wide variety of support to their work.

Kernan told us that one of the biggest lessons from Continuing Promise for him was the importance of joint / interagency cooperation. This cooperation was vital in the successes achieved during Continuing Promise ’08. He stated that NGO’s are now lining up for inclusion in future Navy humanitarian missions.

One of the most innovative changes to come out of Continuing Promise ’08, according to Adm. Kernan, was a cybermedicine program with a group of doctors in El Salvador. They now have the ability to realtime their surgery to Mayport and obtain advice and consultations with doctors in the United States during their treatment of their patients.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago (Oct. 30, 2008) 1st Lt. Lindsey Maddox, embarked aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), reads to children from the All in One Child Development Center, a local daycare where engineers embarked aboard Kearsarge are making renovations supporting Continuing Promise (CP) 2008. Kearsarge is the primary platform for the Caribbean phase of the humanitarian/civic assistance mission CP 08, an equal-partnership mission involving the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Brazil, Nicaragua, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Gina Wollman/Released)

BELMONT,Trinidad and Tobago (Nov. 3, 2008) Information Systems Technician 2nd Class Andrew Bryson, assigned to the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), teaches Sister Helena of the Carmelite Sister Convent how to use the Internet. Kearsarge is the primary platform for the Caribbean phase of the humanitarian assistance mission Continuing Promise 2008. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Joshua Adam Nuzzo

“The perfect platform”

That’s how Commodore Frank Ponds described the USS Kearsarge’s role in humanitarian assistance missions. Kearsarge is in the midst of Operation Continuing Promise 2008, supporting Phase 2 ops in the Caribbean.

Kearsarge deployed from its home port of Norfolk on August 6, 2008, crammed to the bulkheads with personnel and supplies for this mission. Integral in the planning for CP2008 was the recognition that the ship would be at sea during hurricane season and, according to Ponds, provisions were made for her to take an active role in disaster relief if necessary.

Along with the ship’s normal operating complement of sailors, and those additional personnel supporting the Commodore, the ship is carrying a variety of other passengers. Embarked units and organizations aboard Kearsarge for CP include Commander, Amphibious Squadron 8, Fleet Surgical Team 4; U.S. Public Health Service; Navy Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 202; Air Force Civil Engineering Squadron 5′s Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force; contingents of medical personnel from the armed forces of Canada, The Netherlands and Brazil; Navy Assault Craft Unit 2; Naval Beach Group 2; non-governmental organizations International Aide and Project Hope; U.S. Navy Maritime Civil Affairs Squadron 2; Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 28 and Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 464; personnel from the uniformed Public Health Service and civilians from Operation Smile and Project Hope and other NGO’s. During the mission a number of bloggers are also on board, providing social media coverage.

Allied nations have provided military personnel for this mission. The Canadians have 13-15 on board and have had a military media unit recording their service. The Dutch have two military doctors. Brazil and France have also provided military for this mission.

Kearsarge made its first stop in Nicaragua and was there August 12-24. During these thirteen days, a great deal was accomplished.

During the 13-day operation in Nicaragua, embarked NGOs and military units worked side-by-side with partner-nation military and civilian professionals to provide medical, dental, optometry and veterinary care along with construction, renovation and small-scale civil engineering projects.

CP 08 members worked together with Nicaragua medical professionals to conduct nearly 1,950 dental exams and procedures, more than 2,000 optometry exams and 43 surgeries aboard Kearsarge. In addition, the CP team provided primary care to nearly 7,420 patients and filled more than 20,000 prescriptions at several sites in the area.

In the preventive medicine arena, teams also conducted classes on personal and industrial hygiene, the safe preparation of food and water, child development and infant cardio-pulmonary resuscitation.

Engineers assigned to Navy Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 202 and Air Force Civil Engineering Squadron 5´s Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force completed projects at seven sites, including three schools and a well repair. The work included the construction of two sea huts, electrical upgrades, roof replacement, playground construction, replacing doors and windows, painting and landscaping.

Kearsarge service members also participated in various community relations projects at the Seabee sites, offering extra hands to help with landscaping work, construction and painting renovations. The crew also held a softball competition with the local team, the Puerto Cabezas Veteranos.

From Nicaragua, Kearsarge sailed to Columbia and began work on August 27.

On September 6, Kearsarge was ordered to Haiti, to assist in disaster relief efforts after several hurricanes hit the region. She arrived September 8 and began an intense 18 day effort.

Haiti is judged to be the poorest nation in the Americas. After suffering through several hurricanes, the infrastructure of the country was in ruins and the people faced the real threats of starvation and disease. The country even lacked the ability to unload the relief supplies with fork lifts or other mechanical assistance.

Commodore Ponds reported that his personnel, male and female, “humped” the supplies off helicopters and onto trucks, and from the trucks to the distribution centers. The embarked helicopters of Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 464 and the landing craft carried by Kearsarge were vital to the transportation efforts.

Ponds reports that Kearsarge delivered 3.3 million pounds of relief supplies, 6,000 gallons of water and the embarked engineers assessed infrastructure damage to provide Haitian authorities with a prioritized list of repairs.

The destruction of roads and bridges meant that helicopters were often the only means of access to remote areas. Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 28 (HSC-28) Detachment 5 played a major role in this effort.

In a recent flight to Gonaives, HSC-28 made a very special delivery of food and water to an orphanage isolated by water and deep mud as a result of the recent hurricanes that struck the region. The only way for the staff and children to receive aid was by an airdrop from one of the squadron’s MH-60S Knighthawk helicopters.

“One American citizen painted a green circle on the top of the orphanage so we could see where to drop the supplies,” said Bartowitz. “There were 45 to 50 kids inside this two story building. The roads were all flooded out and covered in mud. There were people trudging in the mud waist deep.”

Medical personnel from Kearsarge, both American and Canadian, worked to assess needs and to provide assistance.

“I am glad to be here helping the people of Haiti,” said Canadian Air Force Capt. Jolene Cook, medical augmentee embarked aboard Kearsarge. “As a doctor, I hope to treat as many people as I possibly can, but I will be happy to help these people out in any way possible.”

Kearsarge made a two day run to Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to refuel and obtain supplies on September 19-21.

Kearsarge concluded its relief mission September 26. Next stop: the Dominican Republic.

Kearsarge’s 14 day mission in the Dominican Republic, October 3-16, involved medical assistance, education and public works.

Medical specialists from Kearsarge, Fleet Surgical Team (FST) 4, the U.S. Public Health Service, Canada, Brazil, France and Project Hope worked together with Dominican medical professionals to conduct nearly 750 dental exams and procedures, more than 2,100 optometry exams, 35 surgeries aboard Kearsarge, provide more than 16,000 patients primary medical care and filled more than 31,600 prescriptions at several sites in the area.

In addition to treatment, teams also conducted subject matter expert exchange workshops on personal hygiene, sexual education and first aid.

“In some places, we provided care that the citizens otherwise would not have received,” said French Navy Master Chief Virginia Coste, a nurse embarked aboard Kearsarge for the Dominican Republic CP 2008 mission. “Whether they received medial treatment or just education, we made a difference, and they know they have our support.”

Engineers assigned to Navy Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 202 and Air Force Civil Engineering Squadron 5´s Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force completed projects at four sites. The work included the construction of a modified facility to house four new classrooms, expanding a local elementary school in Sabana Grande, and the rehab of a medical clinic in Bonao.

Taking time for a break, Kearsarge put in at the Dutch island of Curacao for liberty.The personnel aboard did not forget the people of Curacao, however, and organized and staffed a a two-day optometry clinic.

Keaarsarge is now off Trinidad, its fourth stop in Operation Continuing Promise 2008. It’s 13 day stay has several important tasks underway.

CP’s medical contingent, led by Fleet Surgical Team (FST) 4, with personnel from the U.S Public Health Service; Canada; Brazil; the Netherlands: and non-government organizations Project Hope and International Aid, moved medical equipment and personnel ashore to begin a 13-day clinical operation, augmenting local medical providers at the Couva District Health Facility and the Arima District Health Facility.

The embarked Navy Seabee Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit (CBMU) 202 along with engineers from the Air Force’s 5th Civil Engineer Squadron Prime Base Emergency Engineer Force also began moving equipment ashore to prepare for renovation work in the Port of Spain and Tunapuna regions at the All-in-One Child Development Center, the St. Jude’s School for Girls and Cyril Ross Nursery.

Commodore Frank Ponds spoke with a number of us during a Bloggers’ Roundtable today. He talked in detail about the work being done by his people and the other units aboard Kearsarge.

• 107,373 patients have been medically assessed and some 34,000 treated
• 64,000 pharmaceuticals have been dispensed
• 91 repairs of bio-medical equipment
• 104 medical procedures performed on board
• dental work for 4,000 patients
• 4,000 animals, both livestock and pets, treated.

Ponds singled out Operation Smile for its work with cleft palate children. Some of the medical procedures on board were to correct this birth defect. He anticipates additional such medical procedures as the mission continues.

Kearsarge will remain deployed until early December.

• Public Health Service
• Project HOPE
• Operation Smile
• Project Handclasp

Photo captions:

1. USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) underway near Bangladesh, disaster relief mission
2. U.S. Air Force Senior Airmen Alexandra Olson, embarked aboard the USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), teaches children dental hygiene during a humanitarian mission in Betania, Nicaragua, on Aug. 17, 2008. The Kearsarge, which is deployed with various embarked units and nongovernmental organizations, is supporting the Caribbean phase of Continuing Promise 2008, an equal partnership mission between the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Brazil, Nicaragua, Panama, Columbia, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana. DoD photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher Lange, U.S. Navy
3. U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Carrie Broom, from the USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), helps a boy paint during a volunteer community event in Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, on Aug. 23, 2008. The Kearsarge, which is deployed with various embarked units and nongovernmental organizations, is supporting the Caribbean phase of Continuing Promise 2008, an equal partnership mission between the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Brazil, Nicaragua, Panama, Columbia, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana. DoD photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Gina Wollman, U.S. Navy
4. U.S. Navy sailors assigned to the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) load supplies onto a CH-53 Super Stallion helicopter in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to be delivered to areas affected by recent hurricanes on Sept. 13, 2008. The Kearsarge was diverted from its scheduled deployment in support of the humanitarian assistance mission Continuing Promise 2008 to conduct hurricane relief operations in Haiti. DoD photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher Lange, U.S. Navy
5. U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Carlos Monserrat, from Construction Battalion Mobile Unit 202, and Air Force engineer Staff Sgt. Richard Monsalve, both embarked aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), make adjustments to concrete blocks at the Socorro Sanchez Primary School construction site during the humanitarian and civic assistance mission Continuing Promise 2008 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Oct. 4, 2008. The Kearsarge is deployed in support of the Caribbean phase of Continuing Promise 2008, an equal-partnership mission between the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Brazil, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana. DoD photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Maddelin Angebrand, U.S. Navy

Airman 1st Class Alexandra Olson, embarked aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), gives a Dominican boy a dose of de-worming formula at the 27 Febrero medical site during the humanitarian assistance mission Continuing Promise 2008.

USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), reached the mid-point of its deployment supporting the humanitarian/civic assistance (HCA) mission Continuing Promise (CP) 2008 while in the Dominican Republic.

Kearsarge’s mission during CP 08 is to conduct joint civil-military operations including humanitarian and civic assistance, as well as veterinary, medical, dental and civil engineering support to six partner nations and to send a strong message of compassion, support and commitment to Central and South America and the Caribbean.

Departing Norfolk, Va., Aug. 6, the ship has since completed HCA missions in Nicaragua and Colombia and is currently conducting HCA operations in the Dominican Republic.

“This has been an excellent deployment so far,” said CP 08 Mission Commander, Capt. Fernandez “Frank” Ponds. “We’ve been able to assist and partner with many of our friends in region. It has been a great display of friendship and cooperation, and we’ll continue to foster those valuable relationships in the countries to come.”

One month into the HCA mission, Kearsarge was called upon to assist with humanitarian assistance/disaster relief (HADR) operations in Haiti after the country was struck by four tropical storm systems in less than a month.

Kearsarge’s capabilities include rapid movement of personnel and cargo by helicopter and landing craft, making it an ideal platform to support humanitarian relief missions on short notice.

“The Haiti disaster relief effort really demonstrated the incredible and unique capabilities of the USS Kearsarge, and its ability to provide heavy-lift support.” said Maj. Thomas DeFazio, officer in charge of CP 08 engineers.

Marine and Navy helicopters embarked aboard Kearsarge flew more than 100 missions, and landing craft units transported more than 30 loads of supplies. These operations led to the timely delivery of more than 3.3 million pounds of food, water and other relief supplies.

Crew members from the embarked Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 28, Detachment 5 and Marine Heavy Helicopter (HMH) Squadron 464 are proud of the support they have been able to offer the CP 2008 mission and especially to the citizens of Haiti during such a devastating time.

“During this endeavor, we have best been utilized for our ability to provide medevac, [very important personnel] transport and small landing zone (LZ) access,” said Chief Aviation Electronics Technician Marsh Weber, search and rescue chief of HSC-28, Det. 5.

Weber said the detachment’s single most memorable and challenging moment during the disaster relief efforts was when the “Voodoo Knights” of HSC-28 were called upon to deliver food and water to an isolated Haitian orphanage that had no vehicle access and no landing zone.

“Due to the nimble nature of the MH-60S and the skill-set derived through search and rescue training, our crews were the only CP asset able to hover low over the scene and hoist down the essential items to the hurricane victims,” said Weber. “We all felt proud that we could help some of the most critically challenged when their situation looked grim.”

Weber said his team, like the rest of the CP 08 team, looks forward to the rest of the mission and is ready to face any oncoming challenges, both planned and unplanned.

“I could not have been more proud of the Kearsarge crew and all of the embarked units,” said Commanding Officer Capt. Walter Towns. “No one hesitated to answer the call when one of our neighbors needed assistance.”

Kearsarge departed Haiti Sept. 26 heading toward the Dominican Republic to continue its HCA mission.
To date, the Continuing Promise 2008 medical and dental team of more than 150 military medical professionals and non-governmental organizations, have worked alongside partner nation officials to treat more than 30,000 primary care patients, dispense more than 57,000 prescriptions, provide veterinary care to nearly 4,000 animals and conduct more than 100,000 medical, dental and optometric services.

Additionally, medical personnel performed more than 70 surgeries on board the ship during the mission. One of the more recent surgeries involved two 8-year-old twin boys who received eye surgery to correct strabismus, a condition where the eyes do not properly align with one another.

“The boys have been dealing with this problem since they were born,” said Joselyn Altagracia Carmarena Vargas, the twins’ mother. “This blessing has been a long time coming, and our family is very grateful for everything that is being done for us.”

For most of the doctors on the Continuing Promise team, the smiles, hugs and handshakes have made this mission worthwhile.

“It gives me great satisfaction to be able to have helped these boys in a way no one else could,” said Cmdr. Brian Alexander, an ophthalmologist embarked aboard Kearsarge for the CP 08 mission. “The smiles on the faces of the twins and their mother were one of the biggest rewards I could have received.”

Navy Seabees attached to Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit (CBMU) 202 and civil engineers from the Air Force’s 5th Civil Engineer Squadron’s Prime Base Emergency Engineer Force, both embarked aboard Kearsarge, have completed 15 construction and renovation projects during the mission and expect to complete at least seven more in the remaining countries.

“The projects thus far have been very successful,” said DeFazio. “There have been many highlights, to include the renovations at the Municipal Park in Puerto Cabezas [Nicaragua] where kids swarmed the playground at the closing ceremony to the construction of a modified seahut into an L-shaped school at Los Alpes [Colombia] which was dedicated as Escuela Kearsarge.”

When Kearsarge departs the Dominican Republic, they will move forward with the Continuing Promise mission to Trinidad and Tobago.

Kearsarge’s mission exemplifies the United States Maritime Strategy which emphasizes deploying forces to build confidence and trust among nations through collective maritime security efforts that focus on common threats and mutual interest.

USS Kearsarge is under the operational control of U.S. 4th Fleet. U.S. 4th Fleet’s mission is to direct United States naval forces operating in the Caribbean and Central and South American regions and interact with partner nation navies to shape maritime environment.

The Continuing Promise Caribbean Phase is the second of two HCA deployments to the Southern Command area of focus for 2008. The first Continuing Promise deployment was conducted by USS Boxer (LHD 4) in the Pacific.

Embarked units and organizations aboard Kearsarge for CP include Commander, Amphibious Squadron 8, Fleet Surgical Team 4; U.S. Public Health Service; Navy Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 202; Air Force Civil Engineering Squadron 5′s Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force; contingents of medical personnel from the armed forces of the Canada, The Netherlands, France and Brazil; Navy Assault Craft Unit 2; Naval Beach Group 2; nongovernmental organizations International Aide, Operation Smile and Project Hope; U.S. Navy Maritime Civil Affairs Squadron 2; Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 28; and Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 464.

US Navy
By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Emmitt J. Hawks,
Continuing Promise 2008 Public Affairs