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USNS Spearhead to ship out on humanitarian mission

The mission is to spread good old fashioned American goodwill throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WVEC) -- The USNS Spearhead will deploy from J-E-B Little Creek on Saturday.

The Military Sealift Command tells 13 News Now, a scheduling change involving the on-load of gear and supplies has pushed the deployment back from Tuesday to Saturday.

Once they head out, the Spearhead will perform an important humanitarian mission called 'Continuing Promise.'

The idea is to spread some good old fashioned American goodwill throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean.

Last year, an estimated 15,000 people received basic and preventive medical and dental treatment, optometry screenings and eyewear distribution, women's health services, veterinary care and public health training.

"Our goal is upwards of 500-plus people each day is the goal, so we're in-country anywhere from 8 to 10 days," said LT Christopher Spring of Destroyer Squadron 40.

Seabee member UT2 Sydney Thorne is excited.

"It's great," she said. "This is a chance to show and change lives and maintain that partnership America has with Central and South America."

They're even sending the U.S. Fleet Forces Band.

"We have folks in the Navy that are builders who build physical bridges," said MU1 Winnie Dawkins, a saxophone player. "We get to go down and build emotional and musical bridges with our friends in different countries."

The high-speed vessel USNS Spearhead will have a crew of 260 U.S. Navy sailors and 26 civilian merchant mariners.

The crew will spend the next four months in the Fourth Fleet area of Operations, visiting Honduras, Guatemala, and Colombia.

"A lot of people associate the military with the war machine or something along those lines," said Captain Douglas Casavant, USNS Spearhead Master. "This is another one that doesn't get as much publicity, the extra work that's done on this side: humanitarian mission, natural disaster relief, humanitarian relief, things like that. So anything along those lines, very fulfilling."

This is the ninth Continuing Promise deployment to the region since 2007. The Spearhead served as flagship last year. Past participants have included the USNS Comfort, the USNS Mercy, and the USS Iwo Jima.

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