U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command > Press Room

Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Libby, from Heath, OH, brings down the jack as the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) gets underway from Limón, Costa Rica, Dec. 16, 2022. Milwaukee is deployed to the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations under Destroyer Squadron 40 and Commander, Task Force 45, performing combined naval operations, exercises, and partnership building, and serving as a force provider to Joint Interagency Task Force - South for counter-illicit drug trafficking missions in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.

March 8, 2023

LIMÓN, Costa Rica — The Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) visited Limon, Costa Rica for a scheduled port visit from Dec. 14-16, marking the longest stay in the city by any U.S. Navy ship in years.

Cmdr. Michael Cunningham, a pediatric cardiologist, from Chesapeake, Virginia, provides medical care during Continuing Promise 2022 at a medical site in Jeremie, Haiti, Dec. 12, 2022. Comfort is deployed to U.S. 4th Fleet in support of CP22, a humanitarian assistance and goodwill mission conducting direct medical care, expeditionary veterinary care, and subject matter expert exchanges with five partner nations in the Caribbean, Central and South America.

March 8, 2023

Continuing Promise 2022 Team Continues its Promise to Haiti

JEREMIE, Haiti —

JEREMIE, Haiti – Continuing Promise 2022 (CP 22) personnel will return to Wharf de Jeremie Dec. 14 to continue providing medical care following a one-day pause in operations to re-plan the mission to ensure we provide the best care to the great people of Haiti.

Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Joahana Chi provides infant CPR training during a Continuing Promise visit to Hospital Dr. Francisco E. Moscoso Puello in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

March 8, 2023

Big Hearts from Small, Small Places

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC — CARIBBEAN SEA – Sailors stand in a red and white metal space filled with folded wheelchairs and various medical equipment, each paired with a plastic torso and dummy infant at their feet. All eyes are fixed on the only voice in the room. The voice, carefully but clearly asking questions and giving out instructions, comes from a woman adorned in

Capt. Franca Jones, commanding officer, Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU)-6, greets attendees at the command’s 40th anniversary celebration at the U.S. Embassy Campus. NAMRU-6 hosted several visitors and guests from the U.S. and Peru at the event, to include U.S. Ambassador to Peru Lisa Kenna, Rear Adm. Jorge Enrique Andaluz Echevarría, Surgeon General of the Peruvian Navy, Rear Adm. Guido F. Valdes, commander, Naval Medical Forces Pacific and Capt. William Denniston, commander, Naval Medical Research Center. Visitors provided remarks celebrating the history of the command and its ongoing mission. NAMRU-6, part of the Naval Medical Research & Development enterprise, supports Global Health Engagement through surveillance of a wide range of infectious diseases of military or public health significance, including dengue fever, malaria, diarrheal diseases, and sexually transmitted infections.

Jan. 20, 2023

NAMRU-6 Celebrates 40 Years of Medical Research

LIMA, Peru —

LIMA, Peru - Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU)-6 hosted a 40th birthday celebration at the U.S. Embassy campus to recognize the accomplishments and mission of the command on Jan. 19.

Sailors assigned to the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) conduct a gun-salute for Statia Day off the coast of Sint Eustatius, Netherlands, Nov. 16, 2022. Statia Day is a national holiday celebrated on the Caribbean island of Sint Eustatius. It celebrates the “first salute” when Sint Eustatius, locally known as Statia, became the first country to recognize the United States as a nation 245 years ago when after the U.S. declared independence, a Continental Navy ship fired a gun salute upon entering the harbor, and the island, by order of the Dutch governor, returned the salute. Milwaukee is deployed to the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations to support Joint Interagency Task Force South’s mission, which includes counter-illicit drug trafficking missions in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.

Nov. 22, 2022

USS Milwaukee Celebrates Statia Day, Commemorating American History

SINT EUSTATIUS, Netherlands — Commemorating American history, Sailors aboard the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) conducted a 13-gun salute and sent Sailors ashore to Sint Eustatius to celebrate Statia Day, Nov. 16.

The U.S. and the Colombian flags fly on the yard arm of the hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20), as Comfort arrives in Cartagena, Colombia, Nov. 11, 2022.

Nov. 22, 2022

USNS COMFORT ARRIVES IN COLOMBIA

CARTAGENA, Colombia — Hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) arrived in Cartagena, Colombia, in support of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet’s Continuing Promise 2022 (CP22) mission, Nov. 11.

The Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) (rear), her 11-meter rigid inflatable boat (center), and Dominican navy vessels, Altair (GC-112) (right) and Becrux (LI-170) (left), conduct a bilateral maritime interdiction exercise off the coast of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic November 10, 2022. Milwaukee is deployed to the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations to support Joint Interagency Task Force South’s mission, which includes counter-illicit drug trafficking missions in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.

Nov. 22, 2022

USS Milwaukee and Dominican Republic Navy Work Together in Bilateral Maritime Interdiction Exercise

CARIBBEAN SEA — The Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) and two Dominican Republic Navy ships conducted a bilateral maritime interdiction exercise off the coast of Santo Domingo, 10 November 22.

221031-N-DF135-1023 PUERTO BARRIOS, Guatemala (Oct. 31, 2022) – Chief Hospital Corpsman Shawn Burnette, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, shows systems used to monitor people on anesthesia, used to perform endoscopies, to members from the Japan-Guatemala Friendship Hospital aboard to the hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20), Oct. 31, 2022. Comfort is deployed to U.S. 4th Fleet in support of Continuing Promise 2022, a humanitarian assistance and goodwill mission conducting direct medical care, expeditionary veterinary care, and subject matter expert exchanges with five partner nations in the Caribbean, Central and South America. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Deven Fernandez)

Nov. 22, 2022

Building Partnerships with Biomed

Puerto Barrios, Guatemala — It was another humid day in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, and there was the smell of a rainstorm brewing in the air. The light beige and aged building of the Japan-Guatemala Friendship Hospital became more prominent as Chief Hospital Corpsman Shawn Burnette, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Rolly Domingo, from Ewabeach, Hawaii, passed the front gate and arrived at the entrance to the hospital. They walked down the dimly lit hallways, hearing the echoes of footsteps as staff members crossed their paths while entering and leaving rooms.

PUERTO BARRIOS, Guatemala (Oct. 29, 2022) Thiago Palencia, a two-year-old boy from Guatemala, waits outside of the operating room prior to his hand surgery aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) off the coast of Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, Oct. 29, 2022. Comfort is deployed to U.S. 4th Fleet in support of Continuing Promise 2022, a humanitarian assistance and goodwill mission conducting direct medical care, expeditionary veterinary care, and subject matter expert exchanges with five partner nations in the Caribbean, Central and South America. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Juel Foster)

Nov. 22, 2022

SEPARATE AND WHOLE: THIAGO PALENCIA’S LIFE-CHANGING SURGERY ABOARD USNS COMFORT

PUERTO BARRIOS, Guatemala — The orange tiger toy danced and fell across the white sheets of the hospital bed, as two-year-old Thiago Palencia played while waiting impatiently for something to happen. He spent half an hour surrounded by the tan walls and dark red floor of the pre-operation waiting room. People continued to walk past him in their dark-blue scrubs and white lab coats. Some stopped to speak to him, but he just hugged the right corner of his bed in an attempt to avoid them. His mother, Ms. Palencia, smiled at him gently and tussled his hair in an attempt to calm him down. But Thiago whined in protest, moved his head away and continued to play with his toy. Why would his mother bring him from home, to a small boat, to a large boat, and to the hospital within? What was going on?

221026-N-MY642-1017

PUERTO BARRIOS, Guatemala (Oct. 26, 2022) An MH-60S Seahawk, assigned to the "Chargers" of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 26, carries cargo nets from the coast of Puerto Barrios after the hospital ship USNS Comfort's (T-AH 20) arrival, Oct. 26, 2022. Comfort is deployed to U.S. 4th Fleet in support of Continuing Promise 2022, a humanitarian assistance and goodwill mission conducting direct medical care, expeditionary veterinary care, and subject matter expert exchanges with five partner nations in the Caribbean, Central and South America. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Donald R. White Jr.)

Nov. 18, 2022

USNS COMFORT COMMENCES CONTINUING PROMISE 2022 IN GUATEMALA

PUERTO BARRIOS, Guatemala — Hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) anchored off the coast of Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, in support of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet’s Continuing Promise 2022 (CP22) mission, Oct. 26.

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