Category: Southern Command

Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND

JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va.  –  

A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III from Dover Air Force Base, Deleware, transported about 20 members of the 689th Rapid Port Opening Element from Haiti to Joint Base Langley-Eustis Oct. 20, 2016. The Soldiers spent about two weeks supporting disaster relief and humanitarian assistance efforts as a result of Hurricane Matthew.

The overall mission was to transport 400 tons of emergency-relief supplies via truck and helicopter to the people of Haiti.

“As a rapid deploying unit, RPOE Soldiers must always be prepared to provide support anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice,” said U.S. Army Capt. Adam Grover, 689th commander.

The 689th RPOE worked with members of the 621st Contingency Response Wing, Defense Logistics Agency and multiple other Department of Defense assets as part a joint task force in a massive effort to receive and sort supplies that came into Port-au-Prince International Airport, Haiti, before coordinating delivery to the hardest-hit areas.

“I think what’s critical to remember is the role that we play is to provide a unique capability that no one else can provide during a specific period in time,” said U.S. Navy Adm. Kurt Tidd, U.S. Southern Command commander. 

“What we did was the big jump start to be able to surge that initial volume of critical life-saving materials forward to get it on the ground, get it in the hands of the [Nongovernmental Organizations] and the distribution network.

Editor’s note: The original story can be viewed on the Joint Base Langley-Eustis website.

Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND

From a U.S. Embassy in Argentina release. See originally published release.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter James (WMSL 754) and its crew arrived April 29 at the Port of Buenos Aires.

This visit marks a significant moment in the ongoing partnership between the U.S. and Argentina, aimed at enhancing maritime security and combating illicit activities at sea. During this visit, the crew will also conduct joint drills on the high seas with their Argentine counterparts, emphasizing the collaborative spirit of this mission.

The cutter, staffed by 150 men and women, is one of the largest and most technologically advanced ships in the Coast Guard’s fleet. The crew is dedicated to missions including combatting drug trafficking and monitoring for Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing (IUU-F) activities in the Atlantic Ocean. Their work not only supports U.S. interests but also contributes to regional stability and security.

James operates under the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area command, based in Portsmouth, Virginia, and engages in a variety of operations from counter-narcotics to maritime law enforcement. The cutter’s presence in Buenos Aires provides an opportunity for shared learning and further cooperation between the U.S. Coast Guard and its Argentine counterparts, solidifying the bond through practical and tactical engagements.

James is a 418-foot, Legend-class national security cutter that is homeported in North Charleston, South Carolina. Its design provides better sea-keeping, higher sustained transit speeds, greater endurance and range, and the ability to launch and recover small boats from astern, as well as aviation support facilities and a flight deck for helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND

SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras    –  

The multinational exercise CENTAM SMOKE ended with a closing ceremony awarding the five participating countries’ firefighters at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, April 26, 2024.

Twenty-six firefighters from Colombia, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Jamaica earned a diploma at the closing ceremony of the 17th iteration of CENTAM SMOKE inside Joint Task Force-Bravo’s 612th Air Base Squadron’s Fire Station.

“Remember this, we are living in challenging times, and it’s only by training together and preparing to face these challenges together that we can better support the people and the communities of this region,” said U.S. Army Col. Wiese, JTF-Bravo commander. “I know that the training was tough and at many points you were exhausted, but you persevered through it — by doing so you are now better prepared to assist your teams when needed.”

The first three days of the exercise focused on techniques and procedures on hose advancements up two stories, nozzle control, vehicle extrication, rescue operations and carrying a 150-pound mannequin.  

On day four, the firefighters got to use these learned techniques and procedures in structural live fire training and low-angle rescue evolutions.

“This week, we all joined together in training events to better understand how we operate independently, so that one day, if called upon, we can operate jointly,” said U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Gerald Allen, 612th ABS fire chief. “You have all demonstrated what we can accomplish when we come together as a team.”

At the closing ceremony, Jamaica was awarded “top country performers” of the Firefighter Challenge Obstacle Course averaging two minutes and 43 seconds. The “top performer” of the Fire Ground Obstacle Course was Gustavo Pena, a firefighter from Colombia, completing it in two minutes and 19 seconds.

Joint Task Force-Bravo is dedicated to its security commitments to our partner nations in Central America. This commitment is shown through the four-month preparation on these various training events to well-prepare these five countries firefighters to face any obstacle.

Together with our partner nations, Joint Task Force-Bravo plans, develops capabilities, trains, and conducts exercises to prepare for natural and manmade disasters in the region. 

“Visto lo visto. Retirada? Nada, au au!”

Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND

SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras  –  

The Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Troy E. Black visited personnel at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, April 22-23, 2024. 

Black is the fifth Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the U.S. military’s highest-ranking enlisted member. 

His visit to the Honduran installation, where over 600 U.S. military personnel are assigned to Joint Task Force Bravo, focused on assessing quality of life conditions, learning about JTF-Bravo facilities and inspiring the enlisted force during an all-call. 

“Your presence here is for a purpose that is greater than any single one of us,” said Black. “It is for all of us — for our partner nations and Allies.” 

The SEAC is responsible for advising the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on matters involving joint and combined total force integration, utilization, health of the force and joint development for enlisted personnel. 

During his visit, several service members were recognized for outstanding service and were coined by Black.  

They were: 

• U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Alexis Ortiz, Army Forces Battalion, 544th Military Police Detachment, Joint Task Force-Bravo 

• U.S. Army Spc. Izabella Conley, Army Forces Battalion, 394th Field Hospital, Joint Task Force-Bravo 

• U.S. Army Cpl. Brandon Martinez, 1st Battalion, 228th Aviation Regiment, Joint Task Force-Bravo 

• U.S. Army Sgt. Amy Rivas, 1st Battalion, 228th Aviation Regiment, Joint Task Force-Bravo 

• U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Christian Pizarro, 612th Air Base Squadron, Joint Task Force-Bravo 

• U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. William “Chris” Schlee, 612th Air Base Squadron, Joint Task Force-Bravo 

• U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jessica Shaffer, Joint Task Force Bravo J3, Operations 

• U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Austin Patterson, Joint Task Force Bravo J4, Logistics 

The SEAC coin is unique, shaped as a dog-tag that features the SEAC colors as his position is the only enlisted position with its own flag.  

A perfect coin for a unique base with the oldest Task Force in U.S. history responsible for a Joint Operations Area that encompasses seven Central American countries. 

“At Soto Cano, the U.S. Department of Defense provides humanitarian and disaster assistance, military to military leadership and development, and world-class warfighting capabilities, said Black. “No other nation can do it like we do.”  

Black concluded the all-call with a declaration to the enlisted attendees. 

“We have the best military history has ever known,” said Black. “Every single one of you who trains, works, supports, develops and maintains are here to do one thing; Fight and win wars.”  

Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND

MIAMI (April 18, 2024) — Army Gen. Laura Richardson, commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), visited Guatemala April 15-18, meeting with President Bernardo Arévalo and senior defense leaders as well as taking part in the Central American Security Conference 2024 (CENTSEC).

The trip to Guatemala was Richardson’s first official visit to the country. The general’s contingent included SOUTHCOM Civilian Deputy to the Commander, Amb. Sarah-Ann Lynch, and Senior Enlisted Leader, Sgt. Maj. Rafael Rodriguez.

During her first day in the country, Richardson and U.S. Ambassador Tobin Bradley met with President Arévalo to discuss strengthening the U.S.-Guatemala security partnership. 

Later on the 15th, Richardson and the ambassador met with Minister of Defense Brig. Gen. Henry David Saenz and Chief of the Guatemalan National Defense General Staff Brig. Gen. Carlos Antonio Medina Juárez to discuss collaborative efforts to address regional security challenges.

On April 16, the general and Bradley traveled to Santo Tomás de Castilla near the Guatemala-Honduras border to meet with leaders and service members who are operating in the area to counter transnational criminal organizations and illicit trafficking. Later, Richardson, Bradley and Guatemala’s Minister of the Interior, Francisco Jiménez, visited a UNICEF Guatemala migration center on the Guatemalan-Honduras border to learn about the humanitarian care work that UNICEF provides to children in migratory status.

Also on the 16th, Richardson, Sgt. Maj. Rafael Rodriguez joined Minister Saenz, senior Guatemalan military leaders and service members for a Women, Peace, and Security discussion focused on the importance of harnessing the talent and contributions of women in the security and defense sectors.

From April 17-18, Richardson joined senior U.S. defense and regional security leaders for CENTSEC 2024.

Security cooperation between the U.S. and Guatemala focuses on shared interests including combating transnational criminal organizations and other malign actors; disaster preparedness; cyber security; promoting respect for human rights; and the expanded integration of women in security, peace, and defense missions.

Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – For this year’s Central American Security Conference (CENTSEC), defense and public-security leaders from the United States and Central America discussed the central theme to the conference which was utilizing innovations to protect borders in all domains.

Guatemala City was the location this year as the Minister of Defense Brigadier General Henry David Saenz co-hosted this iteration of CENTSEC with U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which sponsors the annual conference.

“Today, the threats we collectively face have only increased in scope and intensity. Democracy and its values are under attack globally and here in the Western Hemisphere,” said U.S. Army Gen. Laura Richardson, commander of U.S. Southern Command. “Success requires a whole of society and integrated approach that leverages diplomacy, information sharing, military readiness, and economics. It’s what I call Team Democracy. Central America is critical to the Western Hemisphere, and it is so important this region and its people are bonded together by history, economics, and familial ties.”

Twelve nations participated with security leaders and delegations from Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Colombia, Mexico, Canada, United Kingdom, and the United States in attendance.

They were joined by officials and subject matter experts from the Coordination Center for the Prevention of Disasters in Central America and the Dominican Republic (CEPREDENAC), the Conference of Central American Armed Forces (CFAC), Inter-American Defense Board, and the Inter-American Defense College.

Richardson, along with Guatemalan Minister of Defense Brigadier General Henry David Sanez, addressed the group of leaders during a ceremony officially marking the start of the day’s multilateral discussions. The day before, Richardson along with Minister Saenz attended a Women’s Peace, and Security event held by SOUTHCOM.

The panels for this year’s CENTSEC included plenary sessions on data analytics to counter threats, as well as cyber security.

In her opening remarks, Richardson reiterated the importance of cyber security and the threats that non-state actors and countries like China, Russia, Iran, can pose in the cyber domain to influence, undermine, and destabilize societies.

“Cyber is an all-encompassing domain that links every facet of society, from social media disinformation to essential infrastructure. The fact is, is that the cyber domain affects everyone, including presidents, ministers, government organizations, the private sector and every single citizen,” said Richardson.

SOUTHCOM sponsors CENTSEC to promote and facilitate dialogue and cooperation among regional security partners focused on challenges of mutual concern and shared goals. These SOUTHCOM-sponsored conferences are an opportunity for defense and security leaders to strengthen cooperative ties among regional forces, engage in candid dialogue on pertinent issues, evaluate challenges impacting regional security, share successes and lessons learned, and explore ways to enhance security cooperation to build on prior successes.

Guatemala last hosted CENTSEC in 2014.

Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND

U.S. Army South capitalized on the expertise of the Joint Planning Support Element from the Joint Enabling Capabilities Command for multidomain operational planning during a mission readiness exercise held at the U.S. Army South headquarters at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston from Feb. 26 to March 8, 2024.

Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND

IQUIQUE, Chile  –  

The U.S. and Chilean armies, along with civilian planners from U.S. Army South, 11th Airborne Division, 75th Field Artillery Brigade, 1st Security Forces Assistance Brigade and Texas Army National Guard, conducted a mid-planning conference for exercise Southern Fenix 2024, April 1-5, 2024, in Iquique, Chile.

Southern Fenix 2024 is a bi-lateral exercise between the two countries. This will be the first U.S. Army-led exercise where the U.S. Army M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, platform is deployed to the United States Southern Command area of operation, piloting new warfighting concepts in partnership with the Chilean Army.

“Southern Fenix 24 is the first of its kind for the U.S. Army in the Southern Command area of operations,” said Col. Charles Karels, U.S. Army South training and exercise director.

“HIMARS deployments are common in other theaters but training with this strategic asset with our Chilean partners is a major opportunity to increase our interoperability and training and deployment readiness.”

The five-day planning conference, held in Tarapacá, the northern region of Chile, was aimed at gaining a shared understanding of Chilean Army and U.S. Army logistical requirements, exercise scenarios and training objectives for the forthcoming bilateral event that will take place in August of 2024.

The Chilean terrain provides the U.S. Army with an opportunity to conduct theater level sustainment in support of combined operations in a coastal desert area.

The exercise aims to increase Chilean Army and U.S. Army technical and procedural interoperability while strengthening hemispheric cooperation and collaboration in alignment with the U.S. Southern Command campaign plan and U.S. National Defense Strategy.

“The objective of Southern Fenix 2024 is to execute a field training exercise combining units of the Chilean Army and [U.S.] Army South in a fictitious context of [military operations other than war] related to an adversary with unconventional characteristics.” said Commander in Chief of the 6th Division of the Chilean Army, Brig. Gen. Ruben Castillo Herrera.

He added that training of Chilean troops and executing this exercise with the United States Army is motivating and makes him proud.

The coordination of the exercise between Chilean Army and U.S. Army planners was held in the facilities of the Armored Combat Training Center.

Approximately 200 U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to U.S. Army South, 11th Airborne Division, 75th Field Artillery Brigade, 1st Security Forces Assistance Brigade, Texas Army National Guard and New York Army National Guard Soldiers will train alongside over 500 Chilean army personnel assigned to the 6th Division.

The exercise includes the expeditionary deployment of a U.S. Army M142 HIMARS section, a fire direction center and a U.S. Army Airborne company.

Southern Fenix 2024 provides a different theater of operations for the 11th Airborne Division paratroopers to demonstrate their expertise in partnering with foreign counterparts to fight and win in an austere environment. The 11th Airborne Division is an Indo-Pacific-aligned unit with extensive experience working with partner nations across their respective area of responsibility.

“The 11th Airborne Division is the Army’s only Arctic-focused unit and provides the only airborne capability to the Indo-Pacific,” said U.S. Army Maj. Leah Ganoni, 11th Airborne Division public affairs officer.

“That requires the ability to quickly project troops throughout the Arctic, the European and Indo-Pacific theaters, and the world, including the high-altitude environments we’ll see here in the Atacama Desert.”

The ability to quickly partner with an allied force to deliver a strategic asset and conduct HIMARS rapid infiltration, anytime and anywhere demonstrates the capability of airborne forces to provide commanders tailorable and scalable options.

“The strategic and rapid deployment of Airborne forces cannot be dismissed. As a unit aligned against Indo-PACOMs immediate response force, we are counted on to remain ready to deploy on short notice,” Ganoni said.

“Paratroopers share an instant bond, no matter what nation they come from. That bond comes from shared values of discipline, physical fitness and mental toughness and that’s going to be on display in Chile for Southern Fenix 2024, proving the 11th Airborne Division can deploy and partner with allies anywhere in the world.”

The next pivotal milestone in the Southern Fenix 2024 planning process will be the final planning conference in July.

“The Chilean Army is an excellent partner and exercises like Southern Fenix provide opportunities for U.S. Army forces to train with our most capable partners in the region,” Karels said.

Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND

See originally posted release on U.S. Embassy Guatemala website | En Espanol

U.S. Army Gen. Laura Richardson, commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), will arrive in Guatemala City, Monday, April 15, marking her first official visit to the country. 

Richardson’s four-day agenda in Guatemala includes scheduled bilateral meetings with President Bernardo Arévalo, military leadership including Minister of Defense Brigadier General Henry David Saenz, and other defense leaders. The engagements will be focused on the longstanding bilateral security partnership between the United States and Guatemala and collaborative efforts to address security threats and challenges of mutual concern. 

Security cooperation between the U.S. and Guatemala focuses on shared interests including combating transnational criminal organizations and other malign actors; disaster preparedness; cyber security; promoting respect for human rights; and the expanded integration of women in security, peace, and defense missions. 

During her visit, Richardson will also join Minister Saenz in co-hosting this year’s Central American Security Conference (CENTSEC), where defense and public-security leaders from across the Americas and Europe will exchange ideas, experiences, and perspectives on regional collaborative efforts to address security challenges in the 21st century. This year’s CENTSEC will include plenary sessions on critical infrastructure protection in the cyber domain, climate change and environmental security, and human rights. The conference, sponsored annually by SOUTHCOM, was last hosted by Guatemala in 2014. 

Additionally, Richardson will participate in a panel discussion on the integration of women in peace, security, and defense missions, emphasizing the importance of inclusivity and diversity in global security efforts.

Source: United States SOUTHERN COMMAND

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.  –  

USSPACECOM, Brazilian Air Force Sign Liaison Officer Agreement
 
PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. – U.S. Space Command and the Brazilian Air Force signed an arrangement to assign a Brazilian liaison officer to USSPACECOM, Apr. 11, 2024.
 
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Brian Gibson, USSPACECOM director of strategy, plans and policy, and Maj. Gen. Eric Cólen, Brazilian Space Operations Center commander, signed the agreement during Space Symposium 39 in Colorado Springs, Colo.
 
In order to strengthen the U.S.-Brazilian military partnership in the space domain, the liaison officer will provide Brazilian armed forces expertise and insights to USSPACECOM, facilitate communications among Brazilian and U.S. space units, support U.S.- Brazil space-related partnership opportunities, and perform tasks that are mutually beneficial for the U.S.-Brazilian defense cooperation.
 
Foreign liaisons officers are direct conduits into USSPACECOM headquarters and represent their nation’s equities. The Brazilian liaison officer will serve as the national representative for all aspects of USSPACECOM-Brazilian cooperation with regard to the military use of space and share insight and recommendations to improve bilateral and multilateral relationships.
 
Media queries should be sent to U.S. Space Command Public Affairs Office at 719-554-3478 or USSPACECOM.pa.workflow@us.af.mil.