USNS Spearhead Sailors and civil service mariners participated in community relation projects in Libreville, Gabon, April 13-14.

The range of work included painting dormitories, constructing shelving systems, repair screens and louvers and associated glass, general electrical and concrete repairs, and clean up.

Quote:
"The Seabees took us on a tour of the buildings that needed some attention. We had the opportunity to repaint the walls in the girls' dormitory. It felt good knowing that what we're doing is bringing some type of joy to the children."

- Information Systems Technician 1st Class Angel Arciniega, USNS Spearhead

"I enjoyed the comrel experience. My duties were to paint the boys and girls dorms and lastly the kitchen. I also got the chance to interact with the kids and at the end of the day we played soccer and they sang and danced for us, I felt humbled. I can tell the kids really enjoyed us being their. It was an experience I won't forget"

- Seaman David Leader, USNS Spearhead

"It was definitely a great experience to be able to help the children and staff of the orphanage. It is amazing what a new coat of paint, some shelves, and a tire swing can do to improve the morale of children who have very little. All we did to improve their living conditions pales in comparison to the attention that they received from a small group of Seabees and sailors from the United States; something as small as a soccer game means the world to these kids."

-Builder 1st Class Anthony Perrio

Quick Facts:
Sailors of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 also made repairs at the Centre D'Accuel Orphanage.
Spearhead crew members and embarked military detachment personnel worked alongside Seabees to help repair and upgrade the orphanage.

Spearhead personnel assisted in painting and making small repairs to improve the children's quality of life.

Africa Partnership Station is the mechanism by which international maritime forces share professional skills, knowledge and experience to enhance collective efforts to combat sea-borne illicit activity.

Spearhead, a high-speed ferry capable of traveling at speeds up to 35 knots provides a forward presence for emergent intra-theater transport needs and a platform to work with partner nations in maritime security.

Spearhead, a 338-foot-long aluminum catamaran with a 20,000 square-foot mission bay area, can be reconfigured to allow it to adapt to a wide-range of operations and missions. Potential missions include carrying containerized portable hospitals for disaster relief to transporting tanks and troops.

Spearhead is on a scheduled deployment to the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations to support the international collaborative capacity-building program Africa Partnership Station.

U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied, joint, and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.

For more news from Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet, visit www.navy.mil