Category: Southern Command

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.

Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina National Guard is assisting Colombia, its State Partnership Program partner, in dealing with dozens of wildfires.

To help emergency responders battle as many as 30 active fires in and around Bogota in late January, the South Carolina National Guard loaned Colombia multiple helicopter buckets. 

“We are sorry our friends and state partners are experiencing significant fires this year impacting cities like Bogota,” said Maj. Gen. R. Van McCarty, adjutant general of South Carolina. “The South Carolina National Guard stands committed to assist Colombia with helicopter buckets, which are an invaluable fire-retardant tool.”

The helicopter buckets on loan to the Republic of Colombia can transport 700 gallons of water to drop on fire areas. 

The equipment loan is just a recent example of the success of the partnership between the South Carolina National Guard and Colombia, which began in 2012.

“The State Partnership Program is about supporting the development of capabilities,” said South Carolina Air National Guard Lt. Col. Daniel O. Linkroum, who directs the SPP program with Colombia. “It was satisfying to get a call to support an immediate need and be able to respond with resources in short order. It reaffirms the South Carolina National Guard’s commitment to our partner nation.”

This effort has been years in the making, supported and sourced by the Civil Affairs and Humanitarian Assistance Directorate at U.S. Southern Command.

The Department of Defense State Partnership Program is a cooperative military-to-military exchange administered by the National Guard Bureau. It facilitates cooperation between U.S. National Guard units and foreign allies. 

The program began in 1993 and has grown to include 100 nations.

Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (Feb. 8, 2024) — The commander of U.S. Southern Command, U.S. Army Gen. Laura Richardson, visited Uruguay Feb. 5-8, 2024, and met with senior government and defense leaders to discuss the bilateral defense partnership between the United States and Uruguay.

The visit was Richardson’s first to Uruguay as SOUTHCOM commander. During her visit, the general got a firsthand look at Uruguay’s Armed Forces and their enduring contributions to domestic and regional security and their support to global peacekeeping.

On Feb. 6, Richardson met with Uruguayan Minister of Defense Javier García to discuss defense cooperation. Later, she met with Chief of the Defense Staff of the Uruguayan Armed Forces, Gen. Rodolfo Pereyra, to discuss continued cooperation and explore ways to strengthen the longstanding U.S.-Uruguay defense partnership. Also on Feb. 6, the general met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Omar Paganini and discussed regional security and security cooperation.

During the meetings, Richardson was accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to Uruguay Heide B. Fulton.

Richardson’s engagements on Feb. 7 focused on the Uruguayan armed forces. Richardson visited the Uruguayan Air Force, Navy and Army headquarters and met with the top leadership and senior staff of Uruguay’s military services to discuss continued cooperation and the strong partnership between both nation’s armed forces. She held discussions with Uruguayan Air Force Commander Gen. Luis De León, Uruguayan Navy Commander Adm. Jorge Wilson and Uruguayan Army Commander Gen. Mário Stevenazzi.

Also on Feb. 7, the general visited the Escuela Nacional de Operaciones de Paz del Uruguay which trains Uruguayan service members for participation in United Nations Peacekeeping missions. Uruguay is a renowned supporter of peacekeeping operations worldwide and per capita, contributes more peacekeepers to U.N.-sponsored missions than any other Western Hemisphere nation.

Richardson rounded out her Feb. 7 armed forces engagements during a discussion focused on Women, Peace and Security. The general and Amb. Fulton joined Minister of Defense García and Undersecretary of Defense Rivera Elgue to talk with Uruguayan service members about ways to advance opportunities for women in security.

On the final day of the visit, Richardson took part in a ceremony as the United States donated firefighting support equipment — including “Bambi Buckets” and 40 self-contained breathing apparatuses — to Uruguay’s Sistema Nacional de Emergencias (Sinae) that will bolster the nation’s disaster response capabilities.

The United States and Uruguay share a longstanding defense partnership. Both nations cooperate in areas of mutual interest, including disaster preparedness; peacekeeping; human rights; maritime security; cyber security; space cooperation; defense capacity building; professional education and training; and the integration of women in peace, defense, and security missions.

Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND

DORAL, Fla. (Feb. 9, 2024) – Across the street from U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) headquarters, tractors and earth movers are clearing the land and laying the groundwork for a new military housing community that will dramatically increase the quality of life of service members and families assigned to SOUTHCOM.

The work at the site represents a major milestone in the birth of a new military community; a 139-unit development that will be the first military housing in South Florida since the closure of housing units at Homestead Air Force Base in the wake of Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

The beginning of construction is the first tangible progress in a years-long effort to provide affordable, safe and quality housing for personnel assigned to SOUTHCOM.

“It’s a great sight for all of us to come to work in the morning and look across the street and see this new community coming to life from the ground up,” said SOUTHCOM Chief of Staff, Marine Maj. Gen. Scott Jackson. “Finally, after more than 8 years of work, the start of construction of this much-needed housing is a reality.”

The new housing will alleviate the strain on SOUTHCOM service members and families moving to the greater Miami area. The region has become one of the most desirable locations in the United States, with recent record growth and the rising cost of housing that comes with it.

The complex will also address long-standing readiness challenges with housing key and essential service members near the SOUTHCOM headquarters.

“The impacts of increased cost of living and housing costs was a driving factor to develop affordable, permanent housing to take care of our number one priority — our military service members and their families,” Army Gen. Laura Richardson, the commander of SOUTHCOM, said at the site’s groundbreaking in early 2023.

The new housing community is expected to boast 139 state-of-the-art units, including 60 apartment units that are designed to serve 120 unaccompanied service members, 24 duplexes, 48 townhouses and seven single-family homes.

The housing is being built on 51 acres of federal land that the Federal Aviation Administration transferred to the Army at no cost. Lendlease, an Army privatized housing partner, is constructing the new housing and will operate and maintain the community once completed.

Site development and preparation is expected to be complete by January 2025 and actual housing units will be completed in phases with some housing available by the Summer of 2026 and all of the housing completed by early 2027.

The SOUTHCOM housing project is part of the Department of Defense’s Military Housing Privatization Initiative aimed at providing service members with affordable and comfortable housing that is conveniently located near their duty stations. 

Authorized in the mid-1990s, the program leverages competitively selected private sector housing partners and their investment capital to revitalize existing housing or construct new housing, then operate and maintain it over a 50-year period.  There are no upfront costs to the military departments and housing partners recover their investments by collecting rent consistent with service members’ housing allowances over the life of the community.

SOUTHCOM is one of the nation’s six geographically focused unified commands. The command is responsible for U.S. defense and security cooperation with partner nations in the Caribbean, Central America and South America, as well as U.S. military operations in the region.

The headquarters is comprised of more than 1,200 military and civilian personnel representing all U.S. military services and several other federal agencies. The command was established in 1963 and based in Panama until 1997, when the headquarters moved to South Florida.

Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND

“We must think big,” said Army Gen. Laura J. Richardson, the commander of U.S. Southern Command, at the beginning of the conference last week. “The enemy is not waiting for us to think big and move out. They are moving out each and every day in your countries. And we’ve got to do it faster. And we’ve got to be working overtime because our adversaries wake up each and every day trying to figure out how they’re going to do an end run around us.”

The conference, held in Miami, attracted 10 partner nations: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. Officials with U.S. Northern Command and U.S. Space Command also attended and participated. This was the third annual space conference. 

The conference is all about advancing space cooperation. “This is what the power of partnership is,” Richardson said. “This is how we move mountains. This is how we move planets. This is how we move forward in a domain that is so important.” 

The general said that the importance of the space domain has been manifest for years, yet “it keeps getting treated like it is new. We’ve got to get over it. [Space] is not new, and we need to move our partnership and we need to move out on working together.” 

Space is key to many earth-bound capabilities important throughout the hemisphere. Maintaining space capabilities matters not only to military purposes, but to telecommunications, economic, research and navigation needs.

Cooperation in the hemisphere is not merely a choice, but an absolute necessity given the complex world situation, said Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert D. Davis, the operations chief at U.S. Northern Command. “Our competitors and our adversaries seek to exploit our perceived weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the space domain,” he told the conference attendees. “This jeopardizes our respective nations’ ability to protect and project national power; deter and counter aggression; and accomplish our objectives.”

Army Maj. Gen. Brian W. Gibson, the director of plans and policy at U.S. Space Command, said now is the time to make these plans. Now is the time to work out systems and procedures in the space domain. There is competition in space, he said, and there is “certainly the desire to do things together. And we must. If we don’t approach common interests together, when we are faced with the reality that we must [work together], we likely won’t do it as well.”

U.S. Space Force Chief Master Sgt. Jacob C. Simmons, U.S. Space Command’s senior enlisted leader, also attended the conference giving the enlisted perspective to the attendees.

There needs to be a strategy governing the use of space in the hemisphere, said Coast Guard Rear Adm. Thomas G. Allan Jr., U.S. Southern Command’s director of operations. He said he wanted the conference attendees to discuss the importance of space, but also what that strategy needs to be, and he urged the attendees to start building that together. 

The attendees did work together. “We identified several bilateral and multilateral opportunities, including increasing participation in Exercise Global Sentinel; concluding additional Space Situational Awareness Data Sharing agreements; and developing a common space doctrine to enhance interoperability,” Spacecom’s Gibson said.

Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND

PANAMA (Oct. 18, 2022) – The commander of U.S. Southern Command, U.S. Army Gen. Laura Richardson, visited Panama Jan. 31 – Feb. 2 as part of a U.S. delegation taking part in a High-Level Security Dialogue (HLSD) between Panama and the United States. 

During her stay, Richardson also met with Minister of Public Security Juan Pino and Panama Canal Administrator Ricaurte Vasquez for talks focused on U.S. support to their organizations. On Feb. 1, she accompanied Pino and senior U.S. and Panamanian security leaders to visit the Darién and see the latest Panamanian security efforts to address migration and the humanitarian crisis in the area.

U.S. Ambassador to Panama Mari Carmen Aponte and Deputy Undersecretary for Central America Eric Jacobstein led the HLSD on Feb. 2, accompanied by the deputy assistant secretary of the Office of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Christopher A. Landberg. The delegation also included Department of Defense deputy assistant secretary for the Western Hemisphere, Daniel Erikson.

During the HLSD, the delegation highlighted efforts to strengthen bilateral security cooperation, including the areas of border security, citizen security, cybersecurity and maritime security. Through this dialogue and other bilateral initiatives, the United States seeks to deepen American support for Panama’s efforts to counter transnational threats and strengthen the security of all its citizens. (See more from U.S. Embassy Panama)

Previous dialogues have also focused on cyber defense, maritime security, border security and citizen security, as well as challenges of mutual concern, including irregular migration and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.

The United States and Panama share a longstanding security partnership that dates back more than a century.

Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND

The main planning conference (MPC) for Tradewinds 24 (TW24) has begun in Bridgetown, Barbados, marking the continuation of detailed preparations for one of the largest multinational military exercises in the Caribbean.

The MPC, which convened on Jan. 29, brings together key stakeholders from various nations to strategize and coordinate the upcoming exercise sponsored by U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) and executive planned by U.S. Army South. Participants are set to deliberate on exercise details, refine training scenarios, assess resource requirements, and address logistical considerations crucial for the smooth execution of Tradewinds 24.

The MPC serves as a vital platform for collaborative planning and coordination with attendees hailing from numerous nations, including representatives from the Caribbean Basin, U.S., Canada, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

“The main planning conference for Tradewinds 24 underscores our collective commitment to fostering regional security and stability,” said Maj. Angela Valcin, the SOUTHCOM lead planner for TW24. “It represents a crucial milestone in the lead-up to Tradewinds 24, setting the stage for enhanced cooperation and readiness among partner nations in safeguarding the Caribbean region against evolving security dynamics.”

Tradewinds has been a cornerstone of Caribbean-focused military training since its inception in 1984. Designed as a combined, joint exercise, the exercise aims to enhance regional security cooperation and interoperability among participating nations.

This year’s iteration focuses on countering threats by way of a field training exercise, command post exercise, and table-top exercise and involves security forces from over 23 partner nations.

“By assembling representatives from a diverse array of nations, we aim to cultivate a shared understanding of emerging security challenges and refine our joint response capabilities,” said Valcin.

As discussions unfold over the coming days, participants will work towards finalizing operational plans and ironing out logistical complexities ahead of the exercise’s execution in May.

“The MPC is the best opportunity to look at solidifying a medical, logistics, and movement plans,” said Col. Charles Karels, U.S. Army South Director G3/7 Training and Exercises. “It’s far enough away from the actual exercise execution that you have the opportunity to identify problems, adjust to them, and still check them to final conditions check the fine print.”

The next pivotal juncture in the TW24 planning process will be the final planning conference in March.

“Looking into the future to the final planning conference, we anticipate the culmination of our efforts as refined strategies and operational frameworks are finalized,” said Karels. “Together, we are steadfast in our commitment to ensuring the readiness and effectiveness of our forces, paving the way for a unified and robust response during the upcoming exercise.”