Joint high-speed vessel USNS Spearhead and its embarked detachment of U.S. Navy Sailors, civil service mariners and U.S., Spanish and British Marines conduct the Gabon phase of Spearhead’s support to Africa Partnership Station in Port Gentil, Gabon.

150406-N-EC444-029 PORT GENTILE, Gabon (April 6, 2015) The Military Sealift Command’s joint high-speed vessel USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1) moored in Port Gentile, Gabon April 6, 2015. Spearhead is on a scheduled deployment to the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of the international collaborative capacity-building program Africa Partnership Station. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Sonny Lorrius/Released)

150406-N-RB579-025 PORT GENTIL, Gabon (April 6, 2015) The Military Sealift Command’s joint high-speed vessel USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1) moored in Port Gentil, Gabon April 6, 2015. Spearhead is on a scheduled deployment to the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of the international collaborative capacity-building program Africa Partnership Station. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Joshua Davies/Released)

150406-N-RB579-019 PORT GENTIL, Gabon (April 6, 2015) Sailors stand on the flight deck of the Military Sealift Command’s joint high-speed vessel USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1) after the ship pulls into Port Gentil, Gabon April 6, 2015. Spearhead is on a scheduled deployment to the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of the international collaborative capacity-building program Africa Partnership Station. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Joshua Davies/Released)

Marines always make their communities better, and our partner nations are no different. During two U.S. Africa Command-sponsored military engagements, held in Senegal, representatives from six different African countries improved their host nation’s community with support to the Senegalese Wounded Warriors and a local orphanage.

Under the heat of the Burkinabé sun, Marines and their students from five nations were welcomed by the sounds of traditional African drums, excited children, and  gifts of bright pink flowers presented in simple glass jars.  This moment marked the

Sailors from High-Speed Vessel Swift (HSV 2) and two musicians from the U.S. Naval Forces Europe rock band "Flagship," visited the Espace Enfants orphanage in Pointe Noire in support of Africa Partnership Station (APS) 2012, May 17.

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Bryan B. Battaglia, Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, made his first trip as the SEAC here April 21 - 22 to visit personnel assigned to Camp Lemonnier, Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of

The guided-missile frigate USS Simpson (FFG 56) and senior staff members from U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa concluded a three-day port visit of training, band engagements, and senior staff talks in Casablanca, February 2, 2012.

Sailors of USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG 49) and Maritime Civil Affairs and Security Training (MCAST) Command participated in an Africa Partnership Station (APS) West community relations project during their visit to Freetown, Sierra Leone, March 11,

Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CTJF-HOA) Navy Chaplain Captain Jon Cutler and Air Force Chaplain Lieutenant Colonel David Terrinoni visited Tanga and Dar es Salaam February 15-20 to establish lines of communication with local religious

USS Stephen W. Groves (FFG 29) Sailors participated in a community relations (COMREL) project at Bethsaida Girls Orphanage and Secondary School as part of Africa Partnership Station (APS) East, February 23-25, 2011 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Men and women of Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa and Camp Lemonnier came together with a surprise of new shoes for the children of the National Center for the Protection of Juvenile Boys September 16, 2010. The idea for the drop came from

A group of Kenyan and U.S. sailors took part in a community relations project at the Foyer De Nazareth Children's Orphanage in Port Victoria, Seychelles, March 2, 2010.

The sailors, attached to the guided-missile frigate USS