U.S. Navy Vessel HSV-2 SWIFT Visits Senegal

Ambassador Lukens at the reception on board HSV-2 SWIFT [Photo US Embassy]

The musical duo “U.S. Naval Forces Europe Duet” with the children of the Mbour orphanage [Photo US Embassy]

The U.S. Navy vessel “HSV-2 SWIFT” will be docked in Dakar from December 6 -19, 2012. This visit is within the framework of the Africa Partnership Station (APS), a multinational initiative under the aegis of the United States aimed at strengthening the capacity of African countries to secure their waters.

On December 8, Ambassador Lewis Lukens presided over a reception given on board the ship by the Commandant of the SWIFT, and which was attended by representatives of the Senegalese government and military.

During this visit, 53 Senegalese participants took part in a training program covering port security, leadership in the officer corps, boat collisions, preventative and pediatric medicine, platform defense, martial arts, and fishing.  The participants received certificates at a graduation ceremony which took place on Friday, December 14, 2012,.

Cultural and Community Activities

On the margins of its military activities, the ship’s team also participated in various cultural and community activities.

The musical duo U.S. Naval Forces Europe Duet, composed of Luis Lebron playing the saxophone and Robert Collier on guitar, gave several concerts and participated in musical collaborations in and around Dakar.  These activities seek to promote cultural exchange and to reinforce mutual understanding between the Senegalese and American people.  The musical repertoire of the U.S. Navy Orchestra is rich and diverse, and includes funk, hip hop, popular music, and jazz, among others.

Within the framework of the U.S. Navy Community Relations (COMREL) project, members of the HSV-2 SWIFT team painted the orphanage of Mbour on Saturday, December 8.

The HSV-2 SWIFT is 98 meters long and is 3.4 meters deep.  Its speed can reach 35 knots.  It can hold up to 350 sailors and heavy equipment.  The vessel was constructed by an Australian shipbuilder for private purposes, and was later converted for military use.  It is equipped with a helicopter flight deck and can transport almost 615 tons of freight.  It is the only high speed vessel in the U.S. Navy fleet.  The Navy team provides navigation and engineering, while the military detachment insures the vessel’s security.