Category Added in a WPeMatico Campaign
Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND
Military leaders from 20 states descended upon Fort Sam Houston Jan. 18 in support of the DoD joint security cooperation program, managed by the National Guard Bureau that matches the states/territories of National Guards within the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility of Central and South America and the Caribbean.
Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND
SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras – Members from Joint Task Force-Bravo completed a two-day troop movement of Honduran soldiers Dec. 17, 2015, in the Gracias a Dios Department (state) of Honduras, as a part of a greater endeavor to assist the Central American nation’s efforts to combat the trafficking of illicit materials through the region.
The troop-movement mission is part of a greater Honduran operation, named CARAVANA, and this iteration was the final one this calendar year, continuing to develop and build on the effects of the operation from the initial vision and request for support from the Honduran president in October 2014.
Originally, the request for aid to move troops came from the Honduran President’s office to Gen. John F. Kelly, U.S. Southern Command commander.
“Our President has recognized the importance of supporting our Central American partners, making the region one of his top foreign policy priorities,” Kelly stated in his March 12, 2015 Posture Statement to Congress. “We are now seeing real progress being made by the three ‘Northern Triangle’ countries. While there are many good examples, the situation is especially encouraging in Honduras, where the government is working hard to combat the drug trade, re-establish governance in remote areas, and take meaningful action to protect human rights.”
Since its initiation, Operation CARAVANA has facilitated the movement of nearly 5,000 troops and over 210,000 pounds of cargo between remote locations in the eastern part of Honduras, giving the country the ability to quickly focus and adjust their forces against the ever changing tactics traffickers use in the region.
As Operation CARAVANA continues to evolve in its execution, JTF-Bravo continues to work in support of the Honduran Forces to ensure we facilitate efforts to gain significant effects against the trafficking organizations working within Honduras.
“The execution of this operation on a consistent basis has not only achieved the right effects within Gracias a Dios, but also effects throughout the region – impacting the overall trafficking network,” said Col. Robert Harman, JTF-Bravo commander. “In addition, it has increased our interaction with the Honduran Staff in developing detailed and integrated plans, and also integrated command and control throughout the Honduran 30 day rotations of Operation CARAVANA. This operation is not only impacting the environment but providing the time and space for further development of our partnered forces.”
Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND
MIAMI (March 22, 2024) — The commander of U.S. Southern Command, U.S. Army Gen. Laura Richardson, accompanied U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo during a visit to Costa Rica March 21-22.
During the visit, Richardson joined the Secretary as she met with President Rodrigo Chaves Robles, Costa Rican government officials and representatives from the semiconductor industry to highlight the U.S.-Costa Rican bilateral commercial and investment relationship, and to underscore the need for diverse and resilient semiconductor supply chains. The Department of Defense is an interagency partner in a whole-of-government effort under the CHIPS and Science Act.
During the meeting with President Chaves March 22, Richardson discussed both nations’ ongoing collaboration in the shared fight against drug trafficking. She discussed working with the State Department to develop a “holistic, comprehensive strategy” to assist President Chaves’ goal to scan 100% of shipments into and out of the country. In addition to port scanners, the strategy will include investments in training, infrastructure, and tools necessary to counter the flow of narcotics.
“We continue to work very hard and very fast to mitigate this security challenge. At the request of President Chaves for port scanners, it is my intent to allocate funding for the port scanners to Costa Rica to help with this bold effort,” said Richardson. “These efforts demonstrate the power of Costa Rica and the Team USA partnership. Our aggressive efforts to improve security for the people of Costa Rica are based on our shared values and our common goal of creating a safer, more prosperous democratic region.”
Throughout the trip, the Secretary addressed the need for geographical diversification of the semiconductor ecosystem to like-minded nations through meetings with Costa Rican government officials and representatives from the semiconductor industry.
The trip included participation in Costa Rica’s national semiconductor strategy event, a meeting with private sector representatives at AMCHAM Costa Rica to discuss the importance of U.S. commercial investment, and the launch of Costa Rica’s Regional Center of Excellence which aims to create a hub for workforce development for Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity countries in critical digital technology sectors.
Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND
Forty-three U.S. Air Force active duty and reserve Airmen traveled to St. Kitts and Nevis in support of this year’s Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission, where they will be working alongside host nation counterparts to foster mutual collaboration and training, and provide the best possible care for patients.
Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND
The crisis in Haiti requires an international solution that also includes the Haitian perspective, said Army Gen. Laura Richardson, commander of U.S. Southern Command.
Southcom has a wide range of contingency plans and is prepared for a possible mass migration from Haiti or elsewhere, she said today at an Atlantic Council event.
“We want to be able to do what’s right and humane and be able to take care of the populations that are trying to escape the crisis,” Richardson said.
As of now, the U.S. doesn’t have plans to send troops into Haiti, she said. The State Department is working with other governments in the region and internationally, as well as with nongovernmental organizations, to provide solutions.
Richardson said there’s a lot of international support for Guyana, as neighboring Venezuela disputes their common border. “We continue to watch the situation very, very closely,” she said.
When asked about a Chinese space facility in Argentina, Richardson said the U.S. continues its close collaboration with Argentine government. “That is for Argentina to decide on how that facility will remain, if it remains there, and what the way ahead for it is.”
Regarding China’s strategy for the region, Richardson said Beijing is eager to import minerals and food from various nations. China’s trade within Southcom’s area of responsibility has gone from about $12 billion to about $300 billion over the last 20 years and is expected to double by 2035.
She said China has also provided loans to nations in the region with strings attached. The U.S. doesn’t do business with strings attached “because we’re a like-minded democracy. We would like this region to remain free, secure and prosperous,” Richardson said.
Nine nations in the region have Russian military equipment, she said. The U.S. is offering to swap out that equipment for use in Ukraine and will backfill it with U.S. equipment, which is much better than Russian-made equipment.
Richardson said she’s enthused that women’s peace and security efforts in the region are making progress. Women are being integrated into the military, thereby increasing readiness of nations.
The general said she looks forward to continuing to engage with partners in the region to cut down on illegal fishing, mining and logging and the trafficking of people, drugs and counterfeit goods, as well as other criminal activities.
Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND
KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent and the Grenadines –
Under the direction of U.S. Southern Command, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) successfully pioneered its first Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, March 4–12.
The team of 34 active duty and reserve Airmen traveled to St. Vincent to work closely with their host nation medical counterparts in an effort to hone skills through mutual training and education while ultimately benefiting patient care.
“We came here with the mission of providing needed medical care for the communities of St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” said Lt. Col. Jessica Arcilla, troop commander. “But we have achieved more than that in the short time that we’ve spent here on the island working side-by-side with this country’s experienced providers.”
Throughout the 10-day mission, the team treated over 500 patients, providing services that amounted to approximately $800,000 in free medical care. LAMAT members also disseminated needed medical supplies amounting to $186,000 to local healthcare facilities.
“Words are not enough to express gratitude to you for the resources you have brought with you and which will remain with us in our healthcare system,” said Cuthbert Knights, permanent secretary for the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment.
“We are a very resilient country, a very resilient population, but that resilience requires that we acknowledge that we can’t do this alone,” said Dr. Simone Keizer Beache, chief medical officer to St. Vincent and the Grenadines. “The Ministry of Health’s motto is, ‘your health is a shared responsibility,’ and this is how we work.”
LAMAT not only seeks to strengthen cooperation between the U.S. and its partner nations, it capitalizes upon the unique local environment, serving as a readiness mission to better prepare Air Force personnel for deployments to austere environments.
“You taught us how to be inventive, resourceful, creative and better problem solvers,” said Arcilla during the mission’s closing ceremony. “Thanks to what our counterparts in St. Vincent have taught us, we have become better doctors, nurses, medics, technicians, dentists, logisticians and administrators.”
Notably, the LAMAT orthopedic team performed St. Vincent’s first-ever knee arthroscopy surgery. The procedure is used for diagnosing and treating joint problems by inserting a small camera that allows a surgeon to see inside the joint without making a large incision.
“This mission is not just a testament to our shared commitment to health and wellbeing, but also to the enduring partnership between the United States and St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” stated U.S Coast Guard Cmdr. Jamie Collins, U.S. Embassy in Barbados senior defense official. “Let us look forward to a future filled with promise and possibility, where the bonds between our countries grow ever stronger.”
The LAMAT 2024 mission has impacted over 2,200 patients across three locations, including Suriname, St. Lucia and St. Vincent, with additional medical teams set to support St. Kitts and Nevis this coming week and progressing until the end of March.
Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND
CASTRIES, St. Lucia –
After two weeks of high-volume patient care, alongside local medical personnel, the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission concluded in St. Lucia, March 8, 2024.
This mission brought 17 Air Force, surgeons, nurses, and technicians to St. Lucia, where they participated in health engagements and developed strong relationships with medical counterparts.
The LAMAT team marked several success stories along the way, performing 50 surgeries while exchanging valuable information and knowledge with host nation medical personnel. This effort enabled local facilities to build greater vascular surgery capacity for patients. Additionally, the team was able to build valuable relationships with their counterparts in St. Lucia.
“This mission was heavenly because of the camaraderie, networking, and above all, the use of the knowledge at the appropriate time…the wisdom that was transferred was immeasurable,” said Dr. Jason Tobierre, OKEU general surgeon. “The long-term impact is going to help a lot of people, not just from this island but from other islands as well.”
U.S. Air Force active duty and reservist Airmen worked alongside 32 St. Lucian medical personnel to train with each other and build positive relationships during their short but impactful time together.
“As the 17 LAMAT members prepare to leave, we can say with confidence that this mission has indeed sealed our special friendship with the United States military, founded on the principles of knowledge exchange, humanitarian effort, and commitment to partnership,” said Dr. Lisa Charles, OKEU director of clinical services.
The troop commander of the St. Lucia LAMAT team expressed that this mission was the best moment of his career.
“I can unequivocally say these past two weeks have been the pinnacle of my military and professional career,” said Lt. Col. Devin Watson, LAMAT troop commander. “This experience has been a journey of immense personal growth, as each day presented new challenges, new triumphs, and new relationships that have left an indelible mark on my soul.”
Mission planners included scrub nurses, post-anesthesia care unit nurses, biomedical engineering technicians, and other specialties as part of the LAMAT team in St. Lucia to ensure a broad scope of knowledge exchange.
“I would like to express our sincerest gratitude to counterparts here in St. Lucia for trusting us with your patients’ care, for treating us with such respect as colleagues and teammates, for showing us the pride, beauty, and joy found in this great country, and for reaffirming the ‘why’ many of us went into medicine in the first place,” said Watson.
“While extremely grateful for the over 220,000 Eastern Caribbean dollars of donated supplies, the truth is that this United States humanitarian effort would have been impossible without the expertise of the men and women who traveled here with the singular purpose of working alongside us to serve those in need,” said Charles.
LAMAT 2024 incorporated missions in addition to St. Lucia, including recently concluded missions in Suriname and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Additional medical assistance team members traveled to St. Kitts and Nevis as the final stop for the LAMAT mission through the end of March.
Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND
CASTRIES, St. Lucia –
The U.S. Air Force Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team deployed ready-medics, for the second year, to work alongside St. Lucia’s health teams to achieve mutual benefits and build trust in the region from Feb. 26 to March 10, 2024.
The team consists of 17 Active Duty and Reserve Airmen who are participating in this year’s LAMAT mission, assisting in health engagements, exchanging best practices and developing stronger relationships with host nation counterparts.
“We are excited to engage and learn from one another while building the relationships so crucial to the future of our partnership,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Devin Watson, troop commander. “We thank our counterparts here in St. Lucia for allowing us to work alongside them in their medical facilities and we look forward to building upon the relationships developed last year between our two medical communities.”
The LAMAT mission seeks to strengthen U.S. partnerships in Latin America and the Caribbean region by providing relief to overwhelmed medical facilities through collaboration with host nation medical practitioners and respective Ministry of Health officials.
“I want to take the opportunity to highlight that the United States medical mission not only provides timely medical and surgical support to our patients, but also builds capacity in our country as our clinical teams work alongside the U.S. Air Force to facilitate training and knowledge transfer,” said Dr. Sharon Belmar-George, Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs chief medical officer.
On the heels of the most recent celebration of Saint Lucian Independence Day, the LAMAT team arrived on the island with surgeons, nurses, biomedical technicians, logistics personnel and surgical technicians. Patients were pre-selected in coordination with hospital medical directors and physicians under the direction of the host nation’s Ministry of Health.
“With us, we brought $75,000 worth of supplies and pharmaceuticals, weighing over 1,336 kilos, to support the mission and continue to provide ongoing mutual benefits to both the U.S. and St. Lucia beyond our time here,” said Watson.
This medical assistance training opportunity offers real-world benefits to the United States, the people of St. Lucia and their medical teams by relieving strained medical systems, training U.S. and local medical professionals, and promoting the health and well-being of the communities.
“As the 17-strong LAMAT team joins us…we can confidently say we have sealed a special partnership and friendship with the United States military based on knowledge exchange, skills development and shared objective to improve care for the clients we serve,” said Dr. Lisa Charles, Owen King European Union Hospital director of clinical services.
“I feel a profound sense of both gratitude and optimism for the future when I see what can be done when like minds, driven by a shared passion for improving the lives of people, takes root through cooperation, helping us achieve together what we could not do alone,” said Charles.
Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND
PARAMARIBO, Suriname –
The Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission is underway for a second year of health engagements across four nations, beginning in Suriname, 19 Feb.
Forty-two U.S. Air Force active duty and reserve personnel will work alongside Surinamese military and civilian medical counterparts over the next two weeks to assist in providing medical care, training, and education within the communities.
“We are excited to engage and learn from one another, while building the relationships so crucial to the future of our partnership,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Robert Noll, troop commander.
This is the second year the LAMAT mission has visited Suriname. Selected patients have been identified in coordination with hospital medical directors and physicians under the guidance of Suriname’s Ministry of Health. Cases will be aligned with USAF member’s specialties spanning surgery, nursing, dental and family health.
Director of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Rakesh Gajadhar Sukul, spoke highly of the preparation that went into planning this year’s LAMAT mission, including taking the time to build upon relationships from last year’s success and determining the needs of hospitals and the communities they serve.
“We have to make priorities so that we can save as much life as possible and serve the community,” said Sukul.“I’m more than convinced that the work will be done very successfully.”
The medical assistance team brought approximately 10,000 pounds of supplies and equipment valued at $250,000. The supplies are meant to provide ongoing benefits to patients during the mission as well as after the conclusion of LAMAT.
“This is something that’s people-to-people, coming together to work on common challenges,” said Robert Faucher, U.S. Ambassador to Suriname. “I think the cooperation that we’ll see today and in the coming weeks will be evidence of the United States being a strong partner and a friend of Suriname.”
Further medical assistance teams under the LAMAT 2024 mission will travel to St. Lucia, St. Vincent, St. Kitts and Nevis through March 29.
Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND
NOTE: Translated from Spanish. See originally posted Embassy release
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – The United States Government, through the Department of Defense, donated an aircraft valued at more than US$8 million to the Ministry of Defense of the Dominican Republic, in support of the shared fight against illicit trafficking of narcotics by transnational criminal organizations and in support of the country’s efforts to provide humanitarian assistance in cases of disasters.
The official ceremony took place at the San Isidro Air Base, led by the head of the Ministry of Defense of the Dominican Republic, Lieutenant General Carlos Luciano Díaz Morfa and Patricia Aguilera, Chargé d’Affaires of the United States Embassy.
The donation of this Cessna model aircraft responds to the success that the Dominican Republic has had in the fight against drug trafficking in the region. The aircraft will allow greater control of air and maritime spaces, which will help the Dominican Republic prevent the entry and transit of illicit materials through the country.
Likewise, it will be another tool that will allow the United States and the Dominican Republic to increase their interoperability, giving way to even more fluid collaboration to achieve common security objectives.
During the aircraft delivery ceremony, the United States Chargé d’Affaires referred to bilateral cooperation and expressed that “the incredible courage, strength and teamwork demonstrated daily between the Dominican Republic and the United States to combat “Transnational crime is only achieved thanks to our strong partnership and shared vision of a safe and crime-free region.”
For his part, Lieutenant General Carlos Luciano Díaz Morfa, Minister of Defense, highlighted that “this important gesture symbolizes the firm intention of the United States to always collaborate, in a decisive and timely manner, in maintaining our high degree of operational readiness, an attribute that has always characterized the actions of our Dominican Armed Forces.”
Likewise, Vice Admiral José M. Cabrera Ulloa, president of the National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD), thanked the Government of the United States for the great support that the country has received in recent years to confront drug trafficking and its crimes. related.
“For us, this cooperation has been very helpful because it has allowed us to strengthen our operational capacity and continue to face together the common threats of both peoples,” said Ulloa.
The event was attended by Major General Carlos R. Febrillet Rodríguez, general commander of the Air Force of the Dominican Republic (FARD); Lieutenant Colonel Lowell Krusinger, military attaché at the US Embassy; vice admiral, ARD, José Manuel Cabrera Ulloa, president of the National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD), Luis Soto, general director of the National Investigation Department (DNI) and Brigadier General, Alberto Montás Castillo.