serving the u.s. southern command military family in south...

Serving the U.S. Southern Command military family in South Florida, the Caribbean, Central and South America and the surrounding seas

Volume 1 Issue 9 May 19 - June 1, 2011

DORAL, Fla. – The clamor of door dings should fall silent soon.

The US Southern Command has re-sponded to complaints and related prob-lems about the east parking area adjacent to the SOUTHCOM headquarters since it was originally configured with “compact” spaces.

These spaces are smaller and require a very tight 90-degree turn from a tight one-way lane, making it very difficult for any-thing more than a “compact” car to park.

Starting the week of May 16, crews be-gan a six-week project to re-mark and convert the lower two-thirds of the east parking lot (everything south of pedestri-an walkway) from compact spaces to di-agonal full-size spaces (including ten new

motorcycle spaces). The current layout

puts ten compact spac-es between the tree-dappled islands, this will be repainted to allow seven wider and longer spaces oriented on a diagonal with the traffic lane. The intent is to make them easier to turn into (a 60-degree -v- 90-degree turn.)

The command should prepare for a mi-nor inconvenience during the restriping.

“To minimize impact and provide flexi-bility for potential rain delays, we are clos-ing the area roughly one third at a time,

for up to two weeks each,” said U.S. Army Garrison-Miami Director of Public Works, John Burgess.

“If the contractor has good weather and finishes a third (or half of a third) quicker, it will be re-opened earlier.”

There will be a net loss of about 200

SOUTHCOM Public Affairs

FORT LAUDERDALE – South Florida leaders hon-ored a group of U.S. South-ern Command employees and military personnel during the annual South Florida Federal Employee of the Year Awards May 6.

The program’s top award, the overall “Federal Em-ployee of the Year,” went to Air Force Maj. Betsy Ross, J1 executive officer. SOUTHCOM employees also won four of the 10 cat-egories offered annually during the awards program that honors the top Fed-eral Employees throughout South Florida.

The awardees are:J-55 Strategic Planning Team

in the Professional category. Members were: n Ms. Shelly Alvirez

n Col. Mark A. Colbertn Mr. Kevin J. Croninn Maj. Mark L. Heckern Lt. Col. Scott D. Knellern Lt. Col. Ed A. Lluberesn Lt. Col. Troy C. Mayo

n Lt. Col. Charles R. Poolen Cmdr. Ruben Ramosn Lt. Col. Dick R. Rollern Maj. Honore M. Spencer

Federal Employee of the Year

Courtesy photo South Florida Federal Employee of the Year award winner Air Force Maj. Betsy Ross, second from left, Mary D. Berrocal, Director Miami VA Healthcare System, left, Hon. Ilona Maxine Holmes, Broward Circuit Court Judge and Mr. Darrell D. Roberts, Federal Executive Board Chairman at ceremony in Fort Lauderale, Friday, May 6.

— N E W S — Gary Sinise ...................... p2

Belize Meeting ................ p3

UNITAS 52 Live-Fire Exercise .......................... p5

Haiti Humanitarian Assistance Program ...... p7

New Deployed US Citizen Takes the Oath .............. p7

SJFHQ Disaster Exercise in Trinidad &Tobago ......... p7

Miami Spartan Race ..... p8

S E C T I O N SFeedback Info ........................... p2 Corrections ............................ p2 After Hours ............................ p4 Around the Americas .......... p6

... see FEOY, page 5

Change Your Stripes! BEFORE

Graphic by Raymond Sarracino / U.S. Southern Command Public Affairs

... see CARS, page 8

AFTER

This mama duck set up shop in the south parking area to keep her babies safe while they get ready to hatch. Thanks to sharp-eyed reader John Sotham for the tip!

2 Nosotros • We • Nou • NÓS • NOUS • Volume 1 Issue 9 • May 19, 2011 • U.S. Southern Command and U.S. Army Garrison - Miami

SOUTHCOM CommanderGen. Douglas Fraser, USAF

Chief of Public AffairsCol. Scott Malcom, USA

Chief, Internal InformationRaymond Sarracino

EditorArthur McQueen

NOSOTROS Office Address:

9301 NW 33rd St. Room A1423 Doral, FL 33172

Phone: (305) 437-2685Web: http://www.southcom.mil

“NOSOTROS” is an authorized internal bi-weekly publication intended for: uniformed mem-bers of the Department of Defense, US Government civilians, contractors and liaisons working for U.S. Southern Command or in its Area of Responsibility and their dependents. The contents of “NOSOTROS,” including listings

of public events or services, are not necessarily the official views of, or constitute an endorsement by the U.S. Army Garrison-Miami, Installation Manage-ment Command, U.S. Southern Command, DoD or the U.S. Government. The content of this publication is solely the

responsibility of the SOUTHCOM and USAG-Miami Public Affairs Offices.

Like/Dislike NOSOTROS? Want to share Ideas? Feedback? Do your colleagues deserve notice? Let us know! Contact Public Affairs at 305.437.1213, or visit us on: Facebook: southcomnosotros; Twitter: SCNosotros or E-mail: southcomnosotros@

gmail.com. Submissions to NOSOTROS should be received by the Friday preceeding the publication date.

CORRECTION -- Due to a late update, the Standing Joint Force Headquarters story mentioned in the previous issue’s table of contents was removed, but the table of contents mention was inadvertantly left on the page. The original story can be found in this issue on page 7. We apologize for the error.

Special to NOSOTROS

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- In an undistinguished warehouse, on a cold, wet morning in North Kansas City, Lt. Gen. Ken Keen linked up with the granddaugh-ter of a former President, two Medal of Honor winners and one of America’s most famous actors to set in motion one last act of goodwill for the people of Haiti before he departs SOUTHCOM for his new assignment.

Keen was asked by actor Gary Sinise, the star of CBS’ “CSI: NY,” to join him at the K.C. event to announce a new initia-tive by Operation International Children – Sinise’s non-govern-mental organization – to provide school supplies to the children of Haiti. Keen’s participation was appropriate because the supplies will ultimately be distributed by SOUTHCOM forces as part of the New Horizons ’11 deploy-ment to Haiti. The forces who

will distribute the supplies in June are from the Louisiana Na-tional Guard. They are deployed to Haiti as part of Task Force Bon Voizen (Good Neighbor).

Ms. Mary Eisenhower was also in attendance. She is the President/CEO of People to People International, founded in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. PTPI promotes in-ternational understanding and friendship through educational, cultural and humanitarian ac-tivities. PTPI is a partner with OIC in what they call “Helping soldiers help children.”

Also participating in the event were Medal of Honor recipients Col. Roger Donlon and Col. Donald Ballard.

Donlon was the first recipient of the medal during the Vietnam War (www.homeofheroes.com/profiles/profiles_donlon.html) and later was General Keen’s Battalion Commander when he was a young officer. Ballard, then a Navy Corpsman, (www.mishalov.com/Ballard.html) was awarded the medal for throwing himself on a grenade to protect the wounded Marines he was treating during a firefight with the North Vietnamese Army.

During his PCS leave Keen, along with his wife and daugh-ter, will volunteer in Haiti for Fish Ministries, an NGO that raises fish and chickens, has a medical research lab for malaria, provides small business loans to Haitians to start businesses rais-ing chickens, and supplies eggs and fish to a local school to pro-vide meals for about 1500 chil-dren every day.

Keen doesn’t consider his con-nection different from the rest of those who served there. “I think all who served in Haiti were personally touched in some way by the great need of the Haitian people, especially the children. The children were always smil-ing and you could see the hope of Haiti in their eyes. America is the most generous and humani-tarian nation on earth; and I saw people from all walks of life drop what they were doing to re-spond to help the Haitian people after the earthquake. It moti-vated me to try and give back in some way.”

Sinise and Eisenhower will visit the SOUTHCOM staff on May 31, and Task Force Bon Voizen personnel will distribute the school supplies in Haiti.

‘Lt. Dan,’ Keen, packing to help Haiti

Photo by Mark Baltzley Lt. Gen. Ken Keen, outgoing U.S. Southern Command Military Deputy Com-mander, (center) packs school supplies bound for Haiti with actor Gary Sinise (left) in Kansas City. The supplies will be delivered to Haiti in early June and distributed by the forces of Task Force Bon Voizen.

3Nosotros • We • Nou • NÓS • NOUS • Volume 1 Issue 9 • May 19, 2011 • U.S. Southern Command and U.S. Army Garrison - Miami

Michael WimbishU.S. Southern Command Public Affairs

SAN PEDRO, Belize – A month after telling U.S. law-makers that Central America has quickly become a hotbed for violent illicit traffickers, U.S. Air Force Gen. Douglas Fraser, commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), met with security leaders from the region to discuss proposals and cooperative solutions to counter the growing threat.

The discussions were part of the two-day Central American Se-curity Conference (CENTSEC) 2011 that included security and defense leaders from 11 Western Hemisphere nations. The an-nual conference was sponsored by SOUTHCOM and hosted by Belize Defence Forces.

“The issue that impacts all of our sovereignty is a non-tra-ditional threat, and that is the threat of these transnational criminal organizations (TCOs)

and their illicit activity and the violence it brings,” said Fraser during his opening remarks.

The conference focused on how regional security forces can better support each other to counter TCOs and the illicit trafficking of drugs, humans and weapons in Central Amer-ica that forms the backbone of their existence.

“These are important forums that we all share and the Central American Security Conference is, I think this year, as vital as any as we have had in the past,” said Fraser. “None of us has the individual resources to individu-ally solve this problem. It is only by pooling our resources, co-ordinating our efforts, [that we can] really attack this problem.”

The general consensus among participants was that improving information sharing between each nation’s security forces would significantly enhance ef-forts to counter TCO activities.

During the conference, Fraser

noted that if all the regional nations don’t effectively work together, the burden of the threat will shift from nation to nation as TCOs adapt to the ebb and flow of individual nations’ security efforts.

“[TCOs] are adaptive. And we have seen over the years that as we collectively and interna-tionally work to solve a problem in one location, they move to another location and intensify their efforts there… going to a place where they can conduct their activity with the least re-sistance,” said Fraser.

U.S. military efforts are one part of an overarching U.S. government effort to counter the threat of illicit traffickers in Central America.

David Zimov, director of Policy, Plans and Coordination for the U.S. State Department’s Western Hemisphere Affairs, briefed the attendees on the Central American Region Se-curity Initiative (CARSI). The

State Department initiative aims to increase citizen safety in the region, disrupt the move-ment and activities of TCO’s between nations and enhance security cooperation among na-tions in the region.

Zimov stated that CARSI is one of four U.S.-led security assistance initiatives now un-derway in the Western Hemi-sphere. The other initiatives are the Merida Initiative to assist Mexico, the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), and support to Colombian internal security efforts.

During the first day of the conference, U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Steven Shepro, Director of SOUTHCOM’s Strategy, Policy and Plans directorate, said that trends indicate illicit traffickers are increasingly shifting opera-tions from previously used air and sea routes to the Central American isthmus, where de-tection is more challenging.

Shepro led a working group, chartered from last year’s CENTSEC conference, that ana-lyzed U.S. and partner nations capabilities and gaps, proposed a strategic framework and offered operational recommendations.

Joining the U.S. and Belize during CENTSEC were offi-cials from Canada, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Sal-vador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Pana-ma. Representatives from the Conference of Central Ameri-can Armed Forces (CFAC), the U.S. State Department, U.S. Northern Command, Joint In-teragency Task Force-South and the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies also took part in the conference.

Traditionally, the location of the CENTSEC conference ro-tates among countries of the region. Last year the confer-ence was held in Guatemala.

AOR leaders meet in Belize, talk security

SAN PEDRO, Belize – Air Force Gen. Douglas Fraser stands alongside Belize Defence Force Commander Brig. Gen. Dario O. Tapia, (front left) and other representatives participating in the Central Americas Security Conference 2011.

Jose Ruiz / U.S. Southern Command Public Affairs


Family and MWR announcements may be found on the portal under “Command Announcements.”Are you on facebook? Go to our official facebook page, USAG-MIAMI FMWR, and click “LIKE” for information on tickets, trips events!

To be placed on the Family and MWR e-mail list, send your name, phone number and e-mail address to [email protected].

n SPRING GOLF TOURNAMENT, Fri, May 27, Inverrary Country Club, Lauderhill. Registration and coffee – 6:45 – 7:30 a.m. , Tee off – 8 a.m., Lunch – 1 p.m., Awards ceremony and prizes will begin immediately after lunch is served. To register or more information, please contact the ITR office, 305-437-1595. E4, GS-5 equivalent – $25, E-5, – 6, – 7, GS 6-9 – $30, E-8, 9, 03-05, GS-10-12 Equivalent – $35, 0-6 and above, GS-13 and above – $40, Contractors and guests – $45. Title sponsors: SAIC, Terremark Worldwide, General Dynamics. (The Department of Defense does not endorse the sponsors.)

TIckeTS oFFeRed by The InFoRMATIon, TIckeTS And ReGISTRATIon (ITR) oFFIce, 305-437-1595 OR 305-437-2400

n ZOO MIAMI (formerly Miami Metro Zoo) tickets now available. Adult: $14, Child: $10. Save up to 18% per person.

n MIAMI HEAT vs CHICAGO BULLS Game 3 - Sunday May 22 @ 8:30pm Section 401 Row 7-8 & 409 Row: $112 Game 4 - Tuesday May 24 @ 8:30pm Section 309 Row 21: $142 Section 401 Row 6-7-8 & 416 Row 10: $112 Limited Tickets Available. n SADE IN CONCERT Friday, July 15, 8pm Bank Atlantic Center $142 - Limited tickets available Lower Level Seats, Section 117 Row 11-12

n WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT Now through Sep 28 active and retired U.S. military personnel (including current and retired members of the United States Coast Guard, National Guard and Reserves) or their spouses can purchase:

– Disney 4-Day Military Promotional Tickets with Park Hopper Option for $135 each; Park Hopper and Water Parks Fun and More Options are $162 each. Disney Military Promotional Tickets (including any options) expire and may not be used after Oct 1. Disney 4-Day Military Promotional Tickets for the Walt Disney World Resort may not be used on the following dates: April 17-23 and July 4.

SPORTS & FITNESS

n COMING SOON – Zumba, Yoga, Spinning, Kick boxing and Tai-chi!

n TRX SUSPENSION TRAINING – Mon. & Wed., 6 p.m. $3 per class. Build functional strength, balance and core

stability all at once with this unique training system. Please register with Jill Hauser, [email protected]. Classes will be given by certified TRX trainer Idalia Lopez.

n OPEN PLAY VOLLEYBALL Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12-1 p.m.

n FUNCTIONAL FITNESS 6-7 a.m., 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. and 3-7 p.m., Mon.-Fri. For more information, call the fitness center at 0123/0124.

n Join the FAMILY AND MWR INDOOR WALKING GROUP. Meets Mon., Wed. and Fri., at 11:30 a.m. on the indoor track. To join, contact Angie Williams, ext. 0123.

chIld, yoUTh And School SERvICES: n Register your school-age child now for summer camp, June 13 June through Aug. 19, Kindergarten through 5th grade. Select only the weeks you need! Call the Child Development Center at 305-437-1281, or 1283, Mon. – Fri., 6 a.m. – 6 p.m.

n We now have our own MASSAGE THERAPIST! 60 minute session – $70, 30 minute session – $35.

To schedule your appointment call Russell Protzman 305-951-

1286 or 305-887-1719.

AMERICA’S HEROES GOLF PROGRAM

n ATTENTION OEF/OIF vets – Miami-Dade Parks & Rec Dept. offers free golf at selected courses to you.

For more information: http://www.southcom.mil/usag-miami/

sites/mwr/files/AmerHeroesGolfProgram.pdf

Or contact Steve Lucius at: 305-829-8456, ext. 228, or [email protected]

n The South Florida Federal Executive Board has scheduled another Pre-Retirement & Financial Planning Seminar for the federal community. The seminar will take place at:

WHERE: Federal Department of Law Enforcement, 1030 NW 111th Avenue, Miami TIME: May 25th 8:30 – 4:00 May 26th 8:30 – 12:30 COST: $45 per person. To register go to www.southflorida.feb.gov, information located under the Event calendar. All registration forms must be returned to the FEB office, attn: Dorothy Jenkins at [email protected]. Seats are limited are on a first come basis. This seminar is designed for Federal government employees under the CSRS/FERS retirement system with 2 years or more of service who are interested in planning now for retirement. Lectures and group discussions topics of interest include the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS); Federal Employee Retirement

System (FERS); employee transfers to FERS; annual and sick leave deposit/redeposit; social security implications; TSP; insurance needs, to include Federal Employees Government Life Insurance (FEGLI); Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB); and Long Term Care, and Financial Planning. Should you have any questions call 954-792-1109.

n NEWCOMERS ORIENTATION will be held next week, from May

23 to 26.For more information and registration, contact: Roxanna Acosta, Relocation Program Manager, at 305-437-1958 or [email protected]

n FREE INTRO TO YOGA CLASS by Semara Hemmer Friday May 20 at 0600 in the FMWR Fitness Center . If you have a yoga mat, please bring it, as there is no class limit for this intro class. For questions please contact Jill Hauser, [email protected] or 1682.

n PCS AND ENTITLEMENTS WORKSHOP Pcs’ing within the next 6 months?? Don’t miss the next relocation program pcs and entitlements workshop. When: June 1, 2011 Time: 0900 to 1030 Where: Family Services Center, Installation Services Building (Garrison), Room E-2005 Who: The Coast Guard And Transportation Office. For registration, contact Roxanna Acosta at ext. 1958 or send an e-mail to [email protected].

Family & Morale, Welfare and Recreation activities and events

n HAIR THE MUSICAL “Let the Sun Shine In,” June 19, 2 p.m., Broward Center for the Performing Arts. Don’t miss HAIR, the most exuberant musical on stage! HAIR tells the story of a group of friends choosing to speak up and sing out in celebration of love, life and freedom. Mezzanine: $38.


MC3 (SW) Stuart PhillipsU.S. Naval Forces Southern Command

USS NITZE, At Sea – Three U.S. Navy ships, one U.S. Coast Guard ship and six ships from Brazil, Mexico and Ar-gentina conducted a firing ex-ercise on an aerial drone during the Atlantic phase of UNITAS 52, May 4.

Guided-missile frigates USS Thach (FFG 43) and USS Boone (FFG 28), guided-missile destroyer USS Nitze (DDG 94), and USCGC Es-canaba (WMEC 907) worked with partner navies to conduct the exercise with two drones launched from Thach.

The two BQM-74E drones were launched from Thach and flown by a team of civil-ian contractors from Naval Air Warfare Center, in Dam Neck, Va.

“Our main job is to help the Navy test their weapons sys-tems and to qualify their weap-ons systems teams,” said Con-tract Lead, Bob Cook. “We simulate all air threats.”

During their flight the aer-ial drones were controlled by teams aboard Nitze. They also coordinated with the drone pilots aboard Thach to direct their flight paths.

“We communicated via com-bat systems here on Thach, to the Nitze and they directed ev-erything,” said Cook. “It went

very smoothly. There were no glitches and communication was fine.”

“I could not be prouder of the way Nitze performed today,” said Nitze’s Combat Systems Officer, Lt. Cmdr. Michael Johnson. “The costs of doing actual events are too high to al-low for us to do this routinely. Today, Nitze performed on an international stage and proved the value of preparation and training. We all should take pride in how our crew per-formed today.”

The Argentines and Ameri-cans engaged with convention-

al battery, while the Brazilians used their missile systems to engage the aerial drone.

“You cannot put a price tag on the valuable training our crew has garnered working with these other navies,” said Johnson. “The ships we have been working with are noth-ing less than professional and demonstrate exceptional ship-handling skills. I will remem-ber this exercise for a long time to come.”

One drone was recovered by boat from Thach after it landed in the water. The drone will be reused in future training.

“We are able to recover and salvage about 85 percent of our drones,” said Cook. “We can salvage and turn a target around in four or five hours. It’s a regular jet engine, so we just have to flush it and the mo-tor out with fresh water and do a corrosion check on the target, making sure nothing is bro-ken.”

UNITAS, Latin for “unity,” is a combined South Ameri-can and U.S.-sponsored annual exercise series. Active par-ticipants for UNITAS LANT 52 include Brazil, the United States, Argentina, and Mexico.

UNITAS naval forces conduct live-fire exercise

n Cmdr. John T. Townsend n Maj. Brad Friday was the winner in the Service to the Community Category n Ms. Rosalynn Jefferson Miller won in the Technical/Information technology category n Maj. Betsy Ross was the winner in the Valor Category (and overall Federal Employee of the Year)

The Federal Employee of the Year pro-

gram is the only government-wide awards program in South Florida.

Winners are selected from nominees who represent the best of the federal population of 35,000 including civilian, military and postal agencies in Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.

The South Florida Federal Executive Board (FEB) is comprised of the senior executives of the federal agencies in South Florida. The South Florida FEB focuses on

coordinating governmental policy on mat-ters affecting the local federal community, providing leadership in the sharing of ser-vices between agencies, and participating as a unified federal force in local civic af-fairs.

The federal population served by the South Florida FEB includes: 122 federal agencies and 35,000 employees in the coun-ties of Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe.

EPOY, from page 1

Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Stuart Phillips The Navy guided missile frigate USS Thach (FFG 43) fires its Mk-75 76 mm gun during a live fire exercise as part of Southern Seas 2011 in the Atlantic Ocean. Southern Seas is a U.S. Southern Command annual naval deployment de-signed to strengthen relationships with regional partner nations and improve operational readiness for all assigned units.


BARBADOS

Courtesy photoBRIDGETOWN – Air Force Gen. Douglas Fraser, Commander of U.S. Southern Command, presented the Department of Defense’s Legion of Merit medal to Barbados Defence Force Chief of Staff, Col. Alvin E. Quintyne, during a formal award ceremony May 10 at Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart’s headquarters.

Sgt. Marcus Truex / U.S. Southern CommandSOUTHCOM commander, Gen. Douglas Fraser, left, presents the Defense Distinguished Service Medal to Lt. Gen. Ken Keen at his farewell party. Keen will continue his service to the nation as the chief, Office of the Defense Representative-Pakistan, U.S. Central Command, Pakistan.

MIAMI

Aroundthe

AMerICAS

Chief Master Sgt. Julie BrummundArmy Spc. Rafael Santos of the Massachusetts National Guard, right, receives a flag flown over Forward Operating Base Ghazni, Afghani-stan, from his platoon leader, Army 1st Lt. Mike Mondello, center, and his platoon sergeant, Army Staff Sgt. Mike Burnes, at a May 5, 2011, celebration welcoming him back to his unit as a new American citizen. The soldiers are security forces members for the provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province.See the story on page 7.

BRAZIL/AFGHANISTAN

Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brian A. GoyakPAITA, Peru (May 3, 2011) Sheryl Flanary, left, and Lt. j.g. Sara Edmondson teach a patient to play Cats Cradle at a Continuing Promise 2011 medical clinic set up by staff assigned to the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20). Continuing Promise is a five-month humanitarian assistance mission to the Caribbean, Central and South America.

PERU


Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast PAO

LES CAYES, HAITI – U.S. Southern Command broke ground May 9 on two sites in Les Cayes, Haiti to mark the beginning of 58 construction projects that are part of the SOUTH-COM Humanitarian Assis-tance Program. The proj-ects are located throughout Haiti to assist the country in preparing for future nat-ural disasters.

The first site is a 4,000-square foot Emer-gency Operations Center

and a 4,800-square foot Di-saster Relief Warehouse.

The second is a communi-ty cluster which consists of an eight classroom school, community center, medical clinic and water well. The facility will also serve as a hurricane shelter.

“Through the construc-tion of these emergency operations centers and di-saster relief warehouses, the U.S. Government seeks to strengthen the capacity of the Haitian Government to protect its people, and in doing so, reduce Haiti’s vulnerability to natural di-

sasters,” said U.S. Ambas-sador Kenneth H. Merten.

The two projects will cost $2.9 million and are sched-uled to be completed in September and November, respectively.

Overall, the $31 million SOUTHCOM HAP proj-ects will construct an EOC and DRW in each of the 10 Haitian departments; 10 fire stations; and eight com-munity clusters throughout Haiti.

Construction of the Haiti HAP projects are expected to continue until the end of fiscal year 2012.

Groundbreaking marks startof Haiti construction program

Lt. Col. Danny HassigYoav Zilber, Palgag Building Technologies; Lt. Cmdr. Luis Holkon, Resident Officer in Charge of Construc-tion (ROICC) Haiti; Cmdr. John Reed, Senior Defense Official, U.S. Embassy; The Honorable Kenneth H. Merten, U.S. Ambassador to Haiti; Kevenor Estinvil, Departmental Delegate; Yvon Cherry, Mayor of Les Cayes; and Sony Gay, GDG Benton and Construction, kick off construction of the Emergency Operations Center, Disaster Relief Warehouse and community cluster in Les Cayes, Haiti.

SJFHQ supports disaster response exercise in T&TBy Navy Lt. Jeffrey MorinStanding Joint Force Headquarters

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO – U.S. South-

ern Command’s Standing Joint Force Head-quarters deployed to Trinidad in support of exercise Fuerzas Aliadas Humanitarias 2011 in April.

The 29-member SOUTHCOM team-formed the command and control element for U.S. Defense Department forces during the exercise.

FA-HUM 2011, a USSOUTHCOM-spon-sored exercise, focused upon enhancing regional capability to respond to a major disaster. Coordinating with the Office of Foreign Humanitarian Disaster Assistance, agencies from Trinidad and Tobago and people from 30 participating nations, the SJFHQ worked to improve SOUTHCOM’s ability to coordinate the Defense Depart-ment’s response to disasters.

Within 48 hours of the exercise’s simulat-ed disaster, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, the SJFHQ deployed to Trinidad via military aircraft. Personnel in logistics, engineering, planning, and communications were part of the team due to their expertise.

Upon arrival, SJFHQ personnel began assessments to determine immediate re-quirements and DoD’s capability to support response efforts. Working with the U.S. Of-fice of Foreign Disaster Assistance and in-ternational partners, requests for resources were prioritized to provide direction for aviation, maritime, and ground elements to save lives and reduce human suffering.

The SJFHQ conducted numerous partner-ship building engagements throughout the week. They hosted visits from Trinidad and Tobago Defense Forces and Canadian per-sonnel at the command and control facility. Coordinating with the Special Anti-Crime Unit of Trinidad and Tobago, engineering and logistics personnel conducted an aerial analysis of key infrastructure that could be damaged by a natural disaster, demonstrat-ing this capability to the Trinidad and Toba-go government. The SJFHQ also hosted the U.S. Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, Beatrice Wilkinson Welters at the site.

AF Chief Master Sgt. Julie BrummundTask Force White Eagle

GHAZNI, Afghanistan – The provincial reconstruction team here welcomed their newest American citizen May 5 with a party dubbed “Cinco de Santos.”

Army Spc. Rafael Santos, Massachusetts National Guard, returned recently from Kandahar, where he took his citizenship exam before a citizenship oath ceremony along with about 75 other new citizens.

A native of Brazil, Santos moved to the U.S. ten years ago with his parents.

Normally, an applicant must be a law-ful permanent resident in the U.S. for five years immediately preceding their appli-

cation -- for the military, that time is re-duced to one year. For those serving dur-ing a time of declared hostilities, there is no time requirement. Military members still are required to take an exam demon-strating knowledge of U.S. government and history and pass an interview with an Immigration and Naturalization Service agent.

“I was a little nervous, but the people in Kandahar were really nice,” Santos said. I’m happy, and now I’m out here serving my country.”

Santos, who is studying business admin-istration and accounting, was three years into his college career when he was called upon to serve on this deployment.

Brazilian Native Becomes U.S. Citizen While Deployed


spaces (the installation total reduced from 2400 to 2200), but considering the number of vehicles that covered two spaces, the impact should be minimal.

“The larger spaces will allow for more efficient use of lot space and be more than worth it,” Burgess said.

Drivers are reminded that the diagonal orientation of the new spaces will make

parking “against the grain” virtually im-possible, so drivers must observe the one-way traffic signs already on the parking lanes.

“Everyone’s patience and cooperation is appreciated,” Burgess said. “Those who need to leave a car parked overnight or longer for TDY or other requirements should avoid parking in the East lot until after Friday, June 24.”

This year, 24 SOUTHCOM members participated in the Super Spartan Race at Miami’s Oleta River State Park April 23.

The Super Spartan is an obstacle course competition that consists of a more than 8-mile battlefield of mud.

Runners faced more than 15 obstacles to test their physical and mental endurance.

Everyone representing the SAIC-spon-sored SOUTHCOM team finished the race, including Maj. Chris Pateras who came in 8th overall with a time of 01:19:35.4.

SOUTHCOM team members were: – Ms. Jeannette Arocho – Sgt. Carla Alvarado – Staff Sgt. John Arrambidez – Brig. Gen. Juan Ayala – Lt. Col. Scott Bowman – Ms. Nicole Davila – Staff Sgt. Wendy Deleon – Tech. Sgt. Angela Ertel – Staff Sgt. Holly Freitas – Maj. Kevin Grimes – Mr. Jeff Hahn – Capt. Chris Hartings – Mr. Ismael Lopez – Master Sgt. Ferman McLaughlin – Capt. Amal Nazzall – Mr. Hector Ortiz – Maj. Chris Pateras – Capt. Manny Rosado – Capt. Brock Sarault – IS1 Grant Shannon – Sgt. Aisha Shapirokinghorn – Maj. James Sink – Mr. Sean Sullivan – Lt. Tyler Williams

Courtesy photoMembers of SOUTHCOM’s team included (l to r), Lt. Col. Scott Bowman, Jeanette Arocho and Brig. Gen. Juan Ayala. Maj. Chris Pateras placed 8th out of 1,500 runners with a time of 01:19:35.4.

The Mercedes-Benz Cor-porate Run is a 5k race, held in three locations in South Florida during the month of April

It consists of a 3.1-mile road race/walk and was open to employees of cor-porations, government agencies and financial in-stitutions.

Since its inception in 1985, the event has grown to more than 25,000 par-ticipants.

This year’s run was April 28 at Bayfront Park with 22 SOUTHCOM runners:

– Carla Alvarado – Michael Buemi – William Bridgemohan – Maurizio Calabrese

– Yong Cassle – Robert Dawns – Holly Freitas – Andrew Fuentes – Michele Hancock – David Harris – Douglas Lougee – Ericka Melendez – Ralph Norales – Jenny Oviedo – Yyolany Palma

– Michael Pelak – Daniel Reuter – Aisha Shapiro – Jason Sohm – Theo Theodor – Erik VidalSOUTHCOM’s top three

runners were: – David Harris 20:52 – Yong Cassle 22:04 – Jason Sohm 22:08

SOUTHCOM participates in Mercedes Benz Corporate Run

CARS, from page 1

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Then try a free personal train-ing session with Certified Per-sonal Trainer Samara Elledge.

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Thursday, May 26th 4:00-8:00 pm

Blue Martini Lounge Fort Lauderdale

Brickell Kendall

1 free drink for all military personnel

in uniform

1/2 price drinks ‘til 8 pm for all military & members

of the Navy League & Broward Navy Days members

The Navy League of the United States

& the Blue Martini Lounge

invite you to join us at our

Military Appreciation Night

U.S. Southern Command fields team at Miami Spartan race

serving the u.s. southern command military family in south...

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