The Medical Engagement Team (MET) assigned to Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet's (COMUSNAVSO/C4F) Southern Partnership Station 2016 (SPS 16) commences medical activities in El Salvador after successfully completing engagements in Honduras, Aug. 30.

SPS 16 is a U.S. Southern Command directed operation planned by COMUSNAVSO/C4F and carried out by deployed Adaptive Force Packages (AFPs) deployed to Honduras, El Salvador and Colombia from August to October 2016.

SPS 16's MET engaged with El Salvador's Minister of Health, Elvia Violeta Menjivar, and Operation Blessing El Salvador's National Director, Albert Rodriquez, to establish a partnership in combating mosquito-borne diseases, such as Zika, and will perform subject matter expert exchanges (SMEE) with the region's medical professionals.

"El Salvador has a strong effort in preventing vector-borne diseases," said U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Patrick McKenna, the MET's officer in charge. "We're collaborating with the Ministry of Health and the Mayor's office so that our team has an opportunity to do more robust SMEEs with different government officials."

McKenna explained that each country has its own individual needs and medical issues. In Honduras the MET performed an interactive role with communities by training rural-area residents in life-saving techniques and distributing various forms of pest-control. Pest-control efforts were used to fight the growing Zika cases in Honduras.

The MET's mission in El Salvador will address a variety of medical issues, as the team's focus involves information exchanges centered on the country's medical practices.

"The success of our mission so far has been due to the quality work of our Sailors," said McKenna. "Our team's openness to do things as they come up and to be flexible has been a huge impact on our success."

SPS 16's MET is comprised of medical professionals from around the fleet with various scientific expertise including gynecology, preventive medicine, environmental health, entomology, and clinical nurse specialties.

"We needed to have this exchange of information," said Rodriguez after a question-and-answer seminar with the El Salvador Minister of Health. "There are subjects where we probably don't have the latest version, or know how the U.S. is doing things. So we see this as an opportunity to exchange ideas with our medical students. They [students] can ask questions and have the exchange of how things are done in the El Salvador versus in the U.S."

Rodriquez said that Operation Blessing has been working with the Salvadoran government for years to help low-income and rural families. Through this collaboration both organizations have been able to provide medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, and household pest control supplies to low-income families.

With the U.S. military's involvement, Rodriquez said that he hopes to establish a network for the U.S. and El Salvador to continually exchange medical practices and reference materials.

"I'd give a huge thanks to the team, I know that this is something that we've been working on and planning for weeks," said Rodriquez. "The team's [MET] visit to Honduras has been an amazing experience. Opening projects here in El Salvador will be an amazing experience as well."

SPS 16 is an annual series of U.S. Navy deployments focused on subject matter expert exchanges with partner nation militaries and security forces in Central and South America and the Caribbean. U.S. military teams work with partner nation forces during naval-focused training exercises, military-to-military engagements and community relations projects in an effort to enhance partnerships with regional maritime activities and improve the operational readiness of participants.


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