By Lt. Jacob Steele, DESRON 40 Public Affairs

MAYPORT, Fla. – USS Farragut (DDG-99) returned to its homeport at Naval Station Mayport Oct. 5 after a six-month deployment with Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 40 in support of Partnership of the Americas 2008 (POA 08).

During the deployment, the ship worked alongside U.S. and partner nation forces during a series of training exercises, goodwill events and humanitarian efforts at sea and shore.  

“As Farragut returns home to friends and family, her Sailors can look back on a deployment full of achievement, success, faith and goodwill towards all of our southern neighbors,” said Farragut Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Scott Dugan.  “Interoperability, cooperation, and partnership cannot be surged. Farragut can be proud that she has made enormous steps for the United States towards just those goals, and towards ensuring stability throughout the region for years to come.”

Farragut departed Mayport Apr. 7 on the first leg of the ship’s route to circumnavigate South America.

In Rio, Farragut participated with USS Kauffman (FFG-59) and USS George Washington (CVN-73) in the Atlantic Phase of the multi-national UNITAS exercise.

Another important component of the Partnership of the Americas engagement were the Theater Security Cooperation (TSC) missions, which Farragut conducted in each one of the13 ports it pulled into during the deployment. TSC Missions feature Subject Matter Expert Exchanges (SMEE), Distinguished Visitor tours, receptions, and sporting events that promote goodwill and esprit de corps between the U.S. Navy and Partner Nation navies.

Consistently, Farragut Sailors participated in Community Relations (COMREL) projects. During COMRELs, Farragut Sailors helped paint and rebuild schools, orphanages, and elders’ residences in 13 cities throughout the Caribbean and Central and South America.

In conjunction with the COMREL projects, Farragut distributed donated goods from Project Handclasp, an official U.S. Navy program that coordinates delivery of humanitarian, educational and goodwill material, to all 13 cities they visited.

Upon completion of UNITAS Atlantic Phase, Farragut conducted TSC visits in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Ushuaia, Argentina, before transiting the Straits of Magellan and entering the Pacific Ocean.

“The inland passages near the Straits of Magellan are some of the most beautiful and dangerous waters in the world,” said Dugan. “We are privileged to have sailed there and faced the challenges the climate, seas, and weather the narrow passages provided for us. Few sailors in the world have gone there, and to do so for such a worthwhile purpose made it only better.”

Farragut then participated in the Submarine Warfare exercises “EJAS Norte” (Spanish for Anti-Submarine Warfare Exercise North) with the Chilean Navy and Silent Forces Exercise (SIFOREX) with Peru before pulling into port in Lima, Peru, to prepare for UNITAS Pacific Phase. UNITAS Pacific included the Navies of Colombia (who has participated in all 49 annual UNITAS exercises held so far), Ecuador, Peru, and Chile.

The also participated in TSC events in Cartagena, Colombia, and then to Colon, Panama, to participate in the largest multi-national joint exercise in this hemisphere, PANAMAX, which focuses on bringing many nations together to practice defending the Panama Canal, a vital and vulnerable passage for commercial and military ships from all over the world. Over 20 nations and 35 ships participated this year along with Farragut.

After successfully completing PANAMAX, Farragut returned to conducting TSC missions in the Caribbean, spreading goodwill to Curacao, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, and Martinique.

Most recently, Farragut conducted 14 days of Counter-Illicit Trafficking Operations in the Caribbean in support of Joint Interagency Task Force South. On Oct. 1, Farragut intercepted a vessel with an initial tally of three metric tons of cocaine onboard.

“Interdictions such as Farragut’s, which discourage cartels from shipping illicit drugs, encourage legal trade between nations, and perhaps most importantly, keep drugs off of American streets, are key to our safety as a nation and to regional stability and our ongoing cooperation with Partner Nations,” said Capt. Rudy Laco, DESRON 40 Commodore.

“As Farragut returns home to friends and family, her Sailors can look back on a deployment full of achievement, success, faith and goodwill towards all of our southern neighbors,” said Farragut Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Scott Dugan.  “Interoperability, cooperation, and partnership cannot be surged. Farragut can be proud that she has made enormous steps for the United States towards just those goals, and towards ensuring stability throughout the region for years to come.”

During the deployment, Farragut was under operational control of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command (NAVSO)/U.S. 4th Fleet conducting TSC missions, and counter-illicit trafficking operations in the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) area of focus, which encompasses the Caribbean, Central and South America, and surrounding waters. Once the ship returned to Mayport, U.S. 2nd Fleet took over operational control.

NAVSO, the Naval Component Command of SOUTHCOM, directs U.S. Naval Forces operating in the Caribbean, Central and South American regions and interacts with partner nation navies within the maritime environment. Various operations include counter-illicit trafficking, Theater Security Cooperation, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, military-to-military interaction and bilateral and multinational training.

Fourth Fleet is the numbered fleet assigned to NAVSO, exercising operational control of assigned forces in the SOUTHCOM area of focus.