7 News Belize

Aboard The Gunston
posted (March 4, 2011)
A week ago, we showed you the USS Gunston Hall - a US Navy Ship that's visiting Belize from February 25 to March 8th. It's part of the U.S. Southern Command exercise designed to develop good relations with Latin Americas and Caribbean countries.

To that end, 150 sailors and Marines are working and training with Belize's military on the ground.

Today, though we went on the sea, to see what the Gunston is all about. As I found out, the pictures do it no justice; the ship is huge and multifarious. Here's more:…

Jim McFadzean Reporting
Built a little over 20 years ago, the USS Gunston Hall was designed as an Amphibious Warfare ship. But whilst it might have been built for Amphibious Warfare and landings, its decorated Commanding Officer Captain John Meier says the Gunston is one of the most versatile in the US Naval Fleet.

Capt. John Meier, USS Gunston
"Gunston Hall in particular was the first US Navy ship that responded to the Haitian crisis. Right now we are the perfect platform for doing subject matter exchanges and training evolutions in cooperation with different partner nations like we are doing here in Belize. But when you buy this type of ship - a landing ship dock and LLD as the designator - you get a tremendous capability that goes well beyond the amphibious warfare capability."

Two important features of the Gunston are a helicopter landing pad and two LCU's. Those are landing crafts that transport and launch amphibious crafts and vehicles with their crews.

Jim McFadzean
"The USS gunston has been deployed twice to the volatile middle east region where marines were landed to take part in the gulf war."

Senior Petty Officer Feld, USS Gunston
"The primary of the Gunston Hall is to transport marines and their cargo to the beaches for amphibious assault on opposed shores."

It is these vessels that have unloaded and landed the Humvees and other light U.S. Military transport that you might have seen currently using Belizean highways.

Senior Petty Officer Feld, USS Gunston
"Right now our mission in Belize is to exchange, we are down here putting our experts ashore, our marines ashore, we are doing exchange with the Belizean military, the coastguard, amry and marine corps, so that they can teach us some things about jungle warfare, we can teach them things that we know and it fosters a relationship between two militaries."

The Gunston sailed into relatively peaceful, but largely uncharted Belizean waters, which for Captain Meier and his crew posed a unique challenge.

Capt. John Meier, USS Gunston
"The Caribbean waters are notoriously not as well chartered as some of the other waters in the world so the surveys that have gone on in these areas are not quite as current. Hurricanes do periodically change some of the waterscape, but this ship is very maneuverable, we have four main propulsion diesel engines, we got two propellers, so ship can turn and maneuver very well and we also have an outstanding navigation team onboard the ship."

Jim McFadzean
"The USS Gunston is primarily a transport combat cargo ship but if put to the test it has enough fire power like this anti-missile anti-aircraft system to defend itself."

Capt. John Meier, USS Gunston
"Gunston Hall is certainly capable of defending herself in a hosts of ways. We have numerous onboard weapon systems, we have watch standers that are constantly on the lookout for small craft of that nature and we would have no problem encountering and defending or apprehending a drug running boat."

Jim McFadzean
"While US Marines from the USS Gunston are receiving training in the jungles if Belize from BDF personnel. Members of the Belize Defence Force and he national Coastguard are out here receiving training on how to board hostile craft from personnel here on the USS Gunston."

The men are receiving important military training useful in combating the latest physical threats to this fast changing central American region. The training includes martial arts, water survival training, combat medic training and explosive ordinance disposal.

Lt. Col. Jones, Chief of Staff, BDF
"Our instructors are with the marines doing training. We have some of our special boar unit from the BDF here providing security for this vessel and some of our special unit guys are also getting waterman ship training from the US Navy and the US Marines here from the Gunston Hall. Of all this training, the particular importance is the explosive awareness training because this is a particular training that we have not received from other countries for many years. We have very few people that has the technical expertise and ability to deal with such threats and such threats are arriving in Belize City and its always welcome when we get the opportunity to do training."

While the BDF is receiving watermanship training - the US soldiers are receiving jungle warfare training form the BDF in the Mountain Pine Ridge area.

Home | Archives | Downloads/Podcasts | Advertise | Contact Us

7 News Belize