By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman (SW) Shanika L. Futrell

CASTRIES, St. Lucia – Sailors from the guided-missile destroyer USS Farragut (DDG 99) and Commander, Destroyer Squadron FOUR ZERO (CDS 40) delivered Project Handclasp supplies Sept. 10-11, in St. Lucia.

More than 15 Sailors along with the U.S. Ambassador to St. Lucia spent their morning delivering various amount of PH toys, books, and hygiene supplies to the St. Lucia Seventh-day Adventist Primary School students.

After volunteers unloaded the PH supplies, they set all the items up for a presentation in a classroom at the school.

“We are all so very grateful that the U.S. Navy and U.S. Ambassador have taken the time to come here today,” said the Principle of the St. Lucia Seventh-day Adventist Primary School. “On behalf of the staff, the parents and the students we all would like to extend our thanks and appreciation for the [gifts] they have brought for the children.”

This PH event was only one of the many events that Farragut and CDS 40 Sailors accomplished in ST Lucia.

Operations Specialist Seaman Apprentice Joshua Ringdahl said that it is important to show children that the U.S. Navy cares about their future and success in life.

“Children are the future of this world, and to know that we have enhanced their moral by donating toys and spending time with them makes being away from my family and this deployment worthwhile,” said Ringdahl.

Operations Specialist 2nd Class Chris Macias said that when most nations think of U.S. military they think of war, now Sailors can show the world what the military is about.

“It’s great to show communities out there that we are not all about combat, we are about helping others when we can and building and strengthening relations with other nations,” said Macias. “It feels unreal to travel all around Latin America and the Caribbean Islands, to just reach out and help our fellow nations.” 

The Farragut and CDS 40 are completing Theater Security Cooperation mission in the Caribbean.  They are supporting interaction between partner nations in the area through military to military engagement and community relations projects like Project Handclasp and Comrel projects. 

This PH event was held in support of Partnership of the Americas 2008 (POA 08), a U.S. Sothern Command annual deployment  throughout South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Farragut and CDS 40 support U.S. Southern Command objectives for enhanced maritime security, which highlights interoperability and cooperation between U.S. and partner nation´s maritime forces through a variety of exercises and events.