More than 70 personnel from USS Chafee (DDG 90), USS McFaul (DDG 74) and the Brazilian and Mexican navies went to work, Nov. 14, to help out at the Barcelos School for special needs students and the children of incarcerated prisoners in Rio Grande, Brazil.

USS Chafee and other participating commands supported the event by providing much needed paint and supplies, which were used to paint nine classrooms and two hallways. Afterwards, participants were treated to a lunch put on by the school's staff.

"There was a lot of collaboration between ships at this event," said Lt. j.g. Isabel Gomez, Chafee's navigator. "Everyone spoke a different language, so we had to get creative with how we communicated, but everyone there was dedicated to helping out."

Volunteers came out as a part of UNITAS Atlantic 2015, where Sailors coordinated at sea to train together and flex operational capabilities with a variety of exercises and tactical events.

UNITAS began in 1960. It is the Navy's longest running annual multinational maritime exercise. UNITAS, which means "unity" in Latin, is a demonstration of the U.S. commitment to the region and to the value of the strong relationships forged between our partner militaries.

"I've been doing COMRELs [community relations projects] for years at different commands and I've never seen this diverse a group of people from this many different commands working together," said Chafee Machinist Mate 1st Class Elson Espiritu. "It was a unique opportunity."

The Sailors left feeling like they had made an impact.

"We all enjoyed this chance to help out," said Chief Boatswain's Mate Ranson Smith, Chafee's command COMREL coordinator. It was especially nice to take a break from the usual haze gray to brighten up the place for these students to come learn in every day."

"Chafee is thrilled to be able to support an event like this during UNITAS," said Cmdr. Shea Thompson, USS Chafee commanding officer. "It was great opportunity for Chafee crew members to help out and they had a lot of fun doing it."

U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and U.S. 4th Fleet employ maritime forces in cooperative maritime security operations in order to enhance interoperability, build enduring partnerships that foster regional security, and maintain access in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility.

USS Chafee is currently deployed in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of responsibility. They are scheduled to return to their homeport of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in December.

For more news from U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and U.S. 4th Fleet, visit http://www.navy.mil/.