A Birds Eye View

The familiar sound of check flights hummed in the air early this afternoon, this time however it was not for routine Deck Landing Qualifications but rather to transfer our Regional Security Education Program (RSEP) instructors ashore, send in our first group of engineers, and to allow me the opportunity to take an aerial tour of the beautiful country of Nicaragua. This occasion provided me the chance to have a glimpse into what tomorrow and the upcoming week’s evolutions will hold and to identify potential road bumps that may be experienced as a result of unfavorable weather conditions.

As I sat in the passenger seat of the helicopter, I soaked in all that my eyes could capture. We have a lot of good work to do and as we flew over each individual site, my heart was full of excitement and eagerness to begin- if not for anything else than to extend a helping hand and promote the friendship and partnership that we whole heartedly offer.

Before closing, I’d like to return to my reference of RSEP. The Navy has adopted the RSEP program in an effort to ensure our Sailors are knowledgeable on the historical and present conditions as well as the cultures of those countries scheduled to be visited during a given deployment. USS Kearsarge had the profound privilege of hosting two Professors; Professor Jeanne Giraldo and Professor Tom Berneau, from the prestigious Naval Post Graduate School located in Monterey, CA. Both Professors Giraldo and Berneau are subject matter experts and teach our nations finest enrolled in the National Security Affairs Program/Latin American Curriculum. Their knowledge was vast and their presentations thorough and they can be proud to say they left having made the crew much more knowledgeable than before. We extend our gratitude to them and the institution that afforded us their time and we wish them fair winds and following seas.

It is late evening as we gather for one final time to review our plans. We want this mission to be flawless and the only way we can be sure is to go over each and every detail until no stone is left unturned. We believe we have turned over every stone, and we are now ready to do what we have come to do… join with our neighbors in Nicaragua in providing valuable assistance to those in need. The planning is over, it is now time to DO!