USMC task force to use JHSV

A new Marine Corps task force set to become active in Central America in time for the hurricane season in June will use a new sea-basing platform – Joint High-Speed Vessel Spearhead – to transport troops around the region. Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-South, a unit comprising about 250 Marines to be headquartered in Honduras, will answer a range of needs ranging from partner- nation training to humanitarian assistance and counter-drug missions. Current planning has the task force active from June to November before redeploying to the states until the following summer. Its work will augment small Marine detachments already in the region, including a civil affairs team in Belize, and security cooperation teams in Honduras, El Salvador, Belize and Guatemala. (Source: Marine Corps Times 03/02/15) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding: Construction of Spearhead began on in July 2010 at the Austal USA shipyard facility in Mobile, Ala.