MIAMI -- Marines and Sailors currently deployed aboard USS Iwo Jima for Continuing Promise 2010 visited southern Florida and received special recognition from civic and military officials, July 19-21.
USS Iwo Jima’s commanding officer, Navy Capt. Jeff Amick, and the Continuing Promise 2010 Special-Purpose MAGTF commanding officer, Lt. Col. Chris S. Richie, each received a key to Miami-Dade County from county mayor Carlos Alvarez, as a show of support for the humanitarian and civic assistance the Marines and Sailors are scheduled to provide to nations in the Caribbean, Central and South America.
“This is just such a great start here in Miami,” said Capt. Thomas Negus, commodore of the USS Iwo Jima. “This is a mission where we gain our strength from the diversity of everyone involved.”
The USS Iwo Jima is scheduled to bring medical, dental and civic-action programs to eight nations in the Caribbean, Central and South America, including Haiti, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Nicaragua, Panama and Suriname. This year marks the fifth annual Continuing Promise event.
For more information on the Continuing Promise 2010 Special-Purpose MAGTF, please visit the unit's official website at http://www.marines.mil/unit/2ndmaw/spmagtf.