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| U.S., Colombia, and Guatemala collaborate during Civil Affairs SMEE |
U.S., Colombia, and Guatemala collaborate during Civil Affairs SMEE
Story and photos by Capt. Daisy C. Bueno,
Special Operations Command South Public Affairs
U.S., Colombia, and Guatemala collaborate during Civil Affairs SMEE By Army Capt. Daisy C. Bueno, SOCSOUTH Public Affairs GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala –Civil Affairs officers from U.S. Southern Command and Special Operations Command South facilitated a Colombian-led Civil Affairs Subject Matter Expert Exchange (SMEE) with Guatemalan Civil Affairs (CA) counterparts in Guatemala April 23-25 to develop a strategy to increase Guatemala’s Civil Affairs capacity to disrupt transnational organized criminal activities in minimally governed areas. The SMEE was designed to provide the Civil Affairs representatives with a forum for sharing best practices in Civil Military Operations (CMO) and Civil Affairs Operations (CAO) and to discuss future CA focused engagement opportunities to complement U.S. Southern Command efforts in Countering Transnational Organized Crime (CTOC). “One of the outcomes we would like to see from this is SMEE is that Colombia and Guatemala have some type of civil affairs instructor exchange between the two countries,” said Army Capt. Roger Garcia, Civil Affairs Team leader in Guatemala. “This way they can actually share and learn from each other on a more permanent basis.” This SMEE, along with future exchanges, was conducted in order to equip participants with the tools and skills needed to assess communities, prioritize needs, and coordinate resources and efforts with the critical objective of improving the quality of life of Guatemalan citizens. Exchanges like these provide an opportunity for the two countries to learn from each other and to share best practices in working within the areas of CMO and CAO. “Both Guatemala and Colombia talked about their current situations, their strengths, their weaknesses, their successes, what they need to improve on, and of course how to apply them here in Guatemala,” said Army Maj. Steve Caceres, the Theater Civil Affairs Engagement Program executive officer at SOCSOUTH. “Obviously the threats are not exactly the same in both countries, but they’re similar and it’s extremely valuable to have them share their experiences.”
Elements of this exchange included discussions on doctrine, organization, education, materiel and equipment, experiences and lessons learned. Ideas from these discussions culminated in working groups where solutions were presented to the entire group on the final day of the SMEE. The end product would then be presented to the Guatemalan Ministry of Defense for solutions / recommendations on the way ahead. “This has been a very good venue to share experiences between the militaries of Colombia and Guatemala,” said Juan Correa, a defense information officer from Colombia. “We both have practices that are helpful to each other and this is a great opportunity to strengthen our civil affairs capabilities.” Representatives from all participating nations said they anticipate continuing to strengthen their relationships and improve interoperability with the Civil Affairs knowledge they gained during the SMEE. Guatemalan participants will be able to go back to their commands and educate their units on what they learned and said they are looking forward to other events like this with their Colombian counterparts.
To view more photos of SOCSOUTH in action visit the photo gallery
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| JROTC cadets take part in military training day at Homestead ARB |
JROTC cadets take part in military training day at Homestead ARB
Story and photos by Sgt. 1st Class Alex Licea,
Special Operations Command South Public Affairs
HOMESTEAD AIR RESERVE BASE, Fla.,- More than 100 Army and Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) cadets from two Homestead-area schools participated in a military training day here April 17. JROTC cadets from Homestead and South Dade High Schools participated in realistic military training as part of a daylong event hosted by servicemembers assigned to Special Operations Command South (SOCSOUTH). The event is part of SOCSOUTH’s ongoing mentorship program called the Special Operations Command Military Assistance Program or SOCMAP. The program was established in an effort to strengthen ties between SOCSOUTH and high school students across the Homestead area. “Today's event was meant to reinforce the JROTC goal of “motivating young people to be better citizens” by providing professionally administered military events that are safe, fun, interesting, and challenging to the cadets from South Dade and Homestead High Schools,” said Army Chief Warrant Officer Brain Masterson, the command chief warrant officer for SOCSOUTH. “This event helps further the development of a bond between our military personnel and the students and faculty of the participating high schools, which has a positive impact on everyone involved in the program."
During the event, the cadets participated in several military stations such as rappelling from a 50-foot tower, a series of physical training activities, military communications familiarization and the opportunity to wear a military parachute. Retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Reginald Murray, who is a JROTC instructor at South Dade High School, said he appreciated the opportunity to have his students partake in these events on a real military installation with military members. He also said that events like this will leave a lasting impression on his students. “This type of event really shows our cadets the types of opportunities they have and that with hard work you can achieve anything,” said Murray. “They also learn a new sense of appreciation for the men and women in the military, and I can tell you these guys [servicemembers] are really making a difference in these cadets’ lives and setting a good example on what it is to be a productive citizen.”
Murray added that the South Dade JROTC program has more than 400 students from grades 9-12. In order for the cadets to take part in events like this, they must maintain a good grade-point average in all of their classes. The program also encourages all its members to strive to achieve their dreams and pursue higher education. For 16-year-old Kevin Ferrera, who attends South Dade high school and wants to study music, this event was a refreshing break from the classroom. “This was a really great day and I had a lot of fun doing all these military exercises,” he said. “I really appreciate what the military does for our country.” Masterson, along with other members of the command, understands how helping to develop tomorrow’s leaders through positive role models and mentorship. “Let's be clear that the faculty, staff, and JROTC cadre from both schools are developing these young people for the future, and I would add that there are no finer people than those who commit their lives to the education of our children,” he said. “Our goal with this event today is to assist them by providing additional positive role models and by offering our time, knowledge, and experience." Members of SOCSOUTH hope to continue their work in the community and with programs such as SOCMAP which has helped establish the command’s ongoing commitment to the community. “Numerous members of this command dedicate countless hours during their spare time in volunteering as coaches in youth sports and helping those in need,” said Masterson. SOCMAP enables us to build the outreach program in the local community so we can impact as many young people as possible."
To view more photos of SOCSOUTH in action visit the photo gallery
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| U.S., El Salvador partnership leads to mission success in Afghanistan |
U.S., El Salvador partnership leads to mission success in Afghanistan
By Air Force Tech. Sgt. Shanda L. De Anda
U.S. Southern Command Public Affairs
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Eleven Salvadoran airmen returned from Afghanistan to El Salvador on Feb. 28. During their deployment, the group filled the roles of aviation advisors and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) liaison officers (LNOs), positions which have been filled by U.S. servicemembers in the past. The partnership between the United States and El Salvador is a long standing one. Not only does El Salvador host a joint air force base at Comalapa that serves as a platform for regional drug interdiction missions, but it has also contributed military personnel to assist with international peacekeeping missions in Iraq, Haiti and Lebanon. Currently, El Salvador is the only country in U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility contributing forces to Afghanistan. “As chief of the Salvadoran Air Force, I am very proud that our personnel can be a part of such an active mission and support an important role of another air force,” said Salvadoran Col. Carlos Mena, Chief of the El Salvadoran Air Force. “They know that they are contributing to maintain the peace worldwide, specifically in Afghanistan.” To prepare for this deployment, SOCSOUTH was instrumental in facilitating the process, from requisitioning the necessary equipment to recommending pre-deployment training. A role SOCSOUTH is very familiar with as they use small units in military actions focused on strategic or operational objectives with partners throughout the region. SOCSOUTH, based in Homestead, Fla., is responsible for all U.S. Special Operations activities in the Caribbean, Central and South America; it serves as a component for U.S. Southern Command. “Having expert advisors who had already been there, as well as having a team of all volunteers for this Afghanistan mission, made training easier,” said Col. Mena. “It really makes the training easy because the airmen that went wanted to be there, they wanted to receive the training, and they wanted to be a part of the mission.” The training that the Salvadoran airmen went through is similar to what U.S. servicemembers receive in preparation for deployment. The
Salvadorans also received psychological and medical evaluations and other exams to ensure they were fit for a combat mission. The Salvadoran airmen said that while the training prepared them for their deployment to Afghanistan, there were some realities that could only be taught through first-hand experiences. After the 10-month deployment for the nine aviation advisors and eight-month deployment for the three ISAF LNOs, some of those realities were encouraging. “Most of the time you know that the news usually shows only the bad side, the shocking news, but once you’re in theater you realize that Afghanistan has changed a lot,” said Salvadoran Col. Manuel Calderon, who deployed to Camp Arena in Herat, Afghanistan. “You are now able to see female children going to school and you see some women on the street not wearing burqas; it’s getting better.” Lt. Col. Joel Quintanilla, who deployed to ISAF HQ as a logistics staff officer to Kabul Afghanistan said, “The most rewarding part for me was helping to develop a better future for the people of Afghanistan. We are very proud to be representing our country, but I think as a troop-contributing nation, we’re doing plenty to keep the peace and freedom of the people of Afghanistan.” The peacekeeping role will increasingly become the responsibility of NATO partners like El Salvador as the U.S. continues to bring troops home from Afghanistan. “As the U.S. administration begins its withdrawal from Afghanistan, U.S. servicemembers will have to be replaced with partner nations,” said U.S. Army Maj. David Schulz, Deputy Army Section Chief at the Military Group in El Salvador. “Historically, El Salvador is one of the strongest partners in Central America and the missions that they’re doing now in Afghanistan are ones that had been done by U.S. counterparts in the past.” El Salvador has an upcoming deployment that will replace U.S. troops in a role that will take them outside the wire as they directly partner with Afghan Police. This particular mission will be supported by 13 El Salvadoran military personnel. U.S. Special Operations Forces personnel will be partnering with the Salvadorans when they train at
Ft. Polk, La., later this year. In order to help prepare the team, Maj. Schulz coordinated a pre-deployment site survey and traveled with a team of five Salvadoran officers to Afghanistan for two weeks to meet U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) leadership, to modify equipment requisitions as needed, and to meet their Afghan counterparts. “It’s going to be the first Salvadoran contingent to go outside the wire, as their mission is to advise an Afghan police battalion in Herat, Afghanistan,” said Maj. Schulz, whose most recent deployment to Afghanistan was in 2011, when he was a company commander on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Schulz added, “It was a truly amazing experience, something I had never done before, but something I took a lot of pride in doing because of the importance of the mission.” The Salvadoran counterparts agreed with the importance of the mission and said that things are better; however, stability in Afghanistan has yet to be completely achieved. “Even though I fought the [civil] war here in El Salvador for three years, the thing that shocked me the most was an attack that occurred in September when a suicide bomber approached ISAF Headquarters in Kabul, but could not get through, so he killed himself outside the gate. He blew himself up, killing six children and three adults,” said Lt. Col. Quintanilla. “We had built a relationship with these children who sold knickknacks outside the headquarters, so it was a very sad thing to witness that.” As Afghanistan works to establish and maintain stability in all regions of their country, NATO forces including military-to-military partners like the United States and El Salvador continue to support them. These partnerships not only illustrate the similarities of our militaries, but also strengthen the values and bonds shared among servicemembers. SOCSOUTH continues its partnership with El Salvador, as they continue to improve the capabilities of both militaries and to work toward meeting today’s challenges and asymmetrical threats.
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| Special Ops Command South Presses for Increased Engagement |
Special Ops Command South Presses for Increased Engagement
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2013 – Despite dwindling resources and a national defense focus on the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, the commander of Special Operations Command South is committed to not only maintaining, but increasing engagements in Central and South America and the Caribbean.
Regular, sustained engagement is key to SOC South’s core mission: building partner capacity so regional nations can address their own challenges, Army Brig. Gen. Sean P. Mulholland told American Forces Press Service while here for an annual Special Operations and Low-intensity Conflict Symposium and Exhibition.
“On any given day, I have over 300 people deployed downrange to Central and South America, including members of every service’s special operations force and their civil affairs and military information support teams,” he said. “SOC South is engaged 365 [days a year], 24/7.”
A Green Beret who has served most of his career within Latin America, Mulholland said he’s convinced that persistent engagement establishes a level of credibility and trust simply not possible through traditional training and exercise programs. “Building partner capacity is planting seeds” that require nurturing over time, he said.
“It’s really not rocket science. It’s about personal relationships and what we do as we build partner capacity,” he said. “It is always letting your partners know that you are there, inside their country, helping them out -- whether it is one guy or 50 guys and gals. It is all about contact.”
Since assuming command in October, Mulholland has made a concerted effort to promote these contacts, all governed by the host nation’s requests, in collaboration with the U.S. embassy country team and at the direction of U.S. Southern Command.
“We don’t do anything [the host nation] doesn’t ask for. And we don’t do anything the embassy hasn’t approved that we do,” he explained. “There is nothing spooky or under-the-table about what we do. It is all above-board, and it is all about building partner capacity.”
That capacity is vital to stemming the challenges in the region: drug traffickers and other transnational criminals and terrorist elements seeking footholds in ungoverned spaces, among them. These groups use these areas to flow drugs and other illicit shipments through Central America and Mexico and, ultimately, to the United States.
“The best way to go after a threat is to have that partner nation develop a security capacity and diminish that threat,” Mulholland said. “I can affect this bridge coming up north through Mexico to the United States. I can do that by helping build partner capacity with [host nation] units that are actually going to go out there and do something about it. And that is happening.”
Mulholland cited Colombia as the shining example of what capacity building can achieve.
Historically, the FARC -- Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia -- ran rampant in Colombia, terrorizing citizens with a spate of murders, kidnapping and other activities associated with narcotics trafficking. But 25 years ago, the Colombian police force was corrupt and the military forces were in disarray.
Today, thanks to strong Colombian leadership and persistent U.S. support and engagement, Colombia has capable, highly respected security forces. In addition to securing their own country, they are now training other regional militaries.
“They have become exporters of [force integration training],” Mulholland said, taking what they have learned and sharing it with their neighbors. “This is Latins training Latins, and that is a beautiful story,” Mulholland said. “It’s poetry.”
Other success stories can be found in Brazil, which has long stood as a strong example in the region, and increasingly in Panama, Guatemala and El Salvador.
Mulholland acknowledged concerns about Honduras, where constrained resources limit its special operators’ ability to reach ungoverned sections of the country that offer traffickers safe havens.
Training exercises in these “dark areas” have had a temporary effect of diverting traffickers, but they consistently return after the operations there end, he said.
“The problem is that the activity is not persistent,” Mulholland said, noting that’s a problem SOC South alone can’t fix.
“Mobility is a big challenge in Honduras, and if you can’t get to the show in these ungoverned spaces, then that is a big issue,” he said.
Mulholland recognized that no matter how much he tries to expand engagements, he’ll never have the assets to keep up with demand. So he seeks out opportunities to partner in countries interested in “training, not just for training’s sake, but to go operational.”
SOC South’s special operators help partner military and police forces improve their counterdrug capabilities, then embed with them to help them plan and conduct actual missions.
“We can’t go out on the objective, patrol or do combat operations with them” due to U.S. legal restrictions, Mulholland explained.
“But we can go to the last base and provide planning and medical support,” he said, “and once a mission is completed, help assess what went right and what needs improvement.”
This forms a bond simply not possible through traditional schoolhouse training and short-duration exercises, he said.
“We are practitioners, not visitors. … This deepens our commitment to them, and they know it,” Mulholland said. “They know we are there for them, so I think it builds partnership capacity faster.”
It’s a formula that’s been tested and proven over time, even while wartime requirements in Iraq and Afghanistan tapped some of SOC South’s personnel and equipment. At one point, for example, Mulholland was serving as commander of the 7th Special Forces Group that focused on Latin America and the Caribbean when he was deployed for a year to Regional Command North in Afghanistan.
“SOC South, the ‘quiet little store,’ has been doing this forever. … So even after 9/11, the little store stayed open, continually grinding away, building partner capacity,” he said.
Now, as defense budgets get tightened, he said he’ll do everything he can to increase engagement in the region. That, Mulholland recognized, is likely to require scrapping the “nice to have” activities and concentrating on what’s essential.
“If I have to tighten my belt, I will,” he said. “I am willing to strip away everything else, but I would be hard-pressed to cut engagements, because that is where we make our money.
“So I am going to try to force the envelope and do more,” he continued. “I want to be sure my soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are engaging, because the priority is contact -- flesh to flesh, training and advising with our partners. And that will not suffer on my watch.”
Meanwhile, Mulholland has made a concerted effort to rebuild capabilities that have eroded during the past decade of conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. He’s pressing to increase Spanish-language proficiency across the command, speaking only in Spanish to his staff and offering Spanish classes for spouses.
In addition, he’s limiting the time SOC South members spend at their headquarters at Homestead Air Reserve Base in Florida.
“I’m pushing them out to Honduras, to Colombia, to Peru, and increasing their level of engagement without breaking their backs,” Mulholland said.
“In these times of reducing resources, we need to push out as much as we can,” he said. “We can’t take on this protracted tortoise mentality, saying we don’t have enough money or resources. Instead, I am going to do everything I can to get more people out there.
“If we do the tortoise in the shell game, I think we are going to miss something,” Mulholland added. “And I don’t want to be the guy on watch who missed something.”
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| NSW Operators Assist Honduran Military |
NSW operators assist Honduran military to establish elite maritime unit.
ByNaval Warfare Unit-Four
With a rate of 86 people killed for every 100,000 inhabitants, Honduras is considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world according to statistics from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report in 2011.
With a murder rate four times higher than Mexico, these alarming numbers depict a nation where violence is part of everyday life. Many of these casualties are linked to narcotics trafficking, where Honduras and other Central American nations are used as a transit point from South America into Mexico and the U.S.; the preponderance of these illicit activities enter the region by maritime.
During a recent six-month deployment, members of Naval Special Warfare Task Element-Alpha (NSWTE-A), a deployed maneuver element attached to Naval Special Warfare Unit-FOUR (NSWU-4) in support of Special Operations Command South, partnered with their Honduran counterparts to train and increase the military capacity of the newly established Honduran Fuerza Especiales Naval or (FEN). The FEN is a maritime unit of Special Operators capable of combating transnational organized crime in and around their waterways.
NSWU4, stationed in Joint Expeditionary Base, Little Creek, Va., and in support of SOCSOUTH, headquartered at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla., designed and implemented a comprehensive training and maintenance plan to build the FEN into a strong counter-narcotic force.
Ten operators from SEAL Team 18, attached to NSWU-4, spent six months training and observing the FEN in a multi-disciplinary approach, resulting in 45 highly qualified Honduran Special Operators by the end of the two, eight-week Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/s) style training. These courses were modeled after the BUD/s selection training done by the U.S. Navy SEALs in Coronado, Calif.
Some of the conditioning assessments included an eight-mile log physical training event and a six-nautical mile ocean swim across the Bahia de Trujillo. After completing these physical and mental hardships to become a member of the FEN, the 45 qualified individuals continued through more rigorous and operationally-focused skills training, which completed their transformation into a disciplined and dedicated team capable of providing the Honduran Fuerza Naval a capable maritime branch of special operations.
To compliment the efforts of the Navy SEALs, members from Naval Special Warfare Special Boat Team 22 also spent a month with counterparts from NSWTE-A training the FEN in basic watercraft maintenance skills and procedures, nautical chart familiarization, boat vectoring and intercepting techniques, small boat handling tactics, and long-range navigation exercises.
Outside of the physical and technical training that is associated with a special operator, NSWTE-A focused on creating a team of communication specialists within the FEN to become experts in Harris radio technologies, a skill set that is lacking in most Central American units due to the lack of expertise. “In my whole military career, I can only remember three times when radios were used successfully on a mission,” said the FEN’s commanding officer. He added that the skills learned during this training should improve the success rate of radios during military movements.
NSWTE-A also focused its efforts on partner nation self-sustainment strategies when seven FEN members were selected as future instructors, shadowing NSW counterparts during all training evolutions. This mentorship provided each Honduran instructor with the competence and confidence to conduct future selection courses and internal sustainment training unilaterally.
Organizational departments were also created to include assault, boats, communications, engineering and training with a senior officer and enlisted advisor assigned to each department. “The unique task organization, presentation of functional skill sets, and development of unit pride and esprit de corps has effectively paved the way for continued Honduran led training and operations in the future in order to keep their borders secure against transnational organized crime and illicit trafficking,” said the NSWTE-A officer in charge.
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| Ranger graduates from Kaibil School |
Ranger graduates from Kaibil School
By Tracy A. Bailey
75th Ranger Regiment Public Affairs
FORT BENNING, Ga. (USASOC News Service, Dec. 18, 2012) – For the first time in more than 25 years, an American Soldier has graduated from the Guatemalan special operations Kaibil School, in Poptún, Guatemala.
Staff Sgt. Joel R. Rodriguez, Jr., a Ranger Reconnaissance Team Leader assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., graduated December 2012.
"I volunteered to attend this school because I wanted the challenge," said Rodriguez. "I wanted to test myself and it's something I wanted to accomplish during my military career."
The Kaibil School is considered one of the most prestigious, vigorous, arduous military courses in Central America. Their motto: "If I advance, follow me. If I stop, urge me on. If I retreat, kill me."
Within one week of starting the process, Rodriguez was en route to Guatemala City to start his training with no preparation whatsoever.
The Kaibil School specializes in jungle warfare tactics and counter-insurgency operations, small unit tactics and students endure great mental and psychological stresses and physical fatigue.
According to the Ministry of Defense, the Kaibil Center's mission is to train and develop elite commando forces: "To select by means of arduous, difficult training under physical and mental pressure, members of the (Guatemalan) army are capable of engaging in commando operations."
"Our training started with an introduction to our instructors while rolling around in mud puddles and a duck walk in four foot deep puddles and saying the Kaibil creed and motto at the same time," said Rodriguez.
The students ran five miles to the school grounds, stopping for extracurricular activities such as high and low crawling through brush, duck walking in formation, for an unknown distance, followed by low crawling in the mud.
"Once we arrived at the school, that's where the actual course began," said Rodriguez. "And there was only one way in – low crawling 400 meters to the classroom."
Eating is always a challenge when attending any military course but the Kaibil School puts unique demands on its students.
"A Kaibil student must do several events in order to eat," said Rodriguez. "Run 2 miles in 18 minutes or less in full combat gear, conduct five pull ups and 10 pushups. Then we duck walked 50 meters to the dining facility and while waiting to enter the building, we had to stay in the duck walk position."
Once the students reached the Dining Facility, they were given 30 seconds to eat.
"We ate what we could as fast as we could," said Rodriguez.
It's no wonder the Ranger lost 40 pounds.
Phase One training consisted of forced road marches from distances of three miles to 32 miles, introduction to GPS and land navigation course, basic first aid, introduction to patrolling, hand-to-hand combat, obstacle courses and introduction to the Kaibil doctrine of patrolling.
During Phase One, which is three weeks long, 30 students out of 49 dropped from the course.
Phase Two is the mountain phase and consisted of mountaineering techniques, waterborne operations, introduction to SCUBA training, construction of improvised bridges, SERE training, incursions, weapons familiarization, small unit patrols, basic demolitions, basic air mobile techniques, react to contact, and ambush classes.
"The intensity of the course did subside some in Phase Two," said Rodriguez. "The course was a little more relaxed."
The students were exposed to prisoner of war camp situations and survival courses. However, Rodriguez did not want to say too much in order to protect the integrity of the course.
"I experienced what it is like to be a POW and what stresses and stressors a POW may experience," said Rodriguez. "We were also taught how to process game and forage for food."
Phase Two is four weeks long and Rodriguez experienced the same physical and mental stress as Phase One. Four additional students dropped from the course during this phase.
Several events took place during the final phase of the course, including final patrols, ambushes, raids, partisan link-up procedures, react to contact and infiltrations.
Throughout the entire course, "…displaying the intestinal fortitude required to fight on to the Ranger objective and complete the mission" was always in the back of Rodriguez's mind but never more so than in the final phase.
"I conducted patrols in nothing but underwear, with no boots, while walking on azimuth through thorn filled brush, and rolled around in the thorns to fortify the body," said Rodriguez. "As crazy as it sounds, after a while, the body goes numb and no pain is felt."
"The mental change is that no matter what happens, no matter what task is given, no matter how impossible the task may seem, everything is possible if one can push through the pain and discomfort to accomplish the mission," said Rodriguez. "This is what makes a Kaibil, a unique soldier."
Rodriguez was one of 15 students to graduate from the course.
"I recommend this course to all who want to attend. However, you will go through very intense training that may be considered inhumane by others but this is the kind of training a Soldier needs to be prepared for combat," said Rodriguez. "I see the world in a whole new way, and have learned what my body is capable of accomplishing with minimal equipment, food, water and support from outside sources."
Rodriguez is no stranger to taking on the tough military schools.
He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Ranger Course Jumpmaster Course, Advanced Leader Course, Pathfinder Course, Long Range Surveillance Leader Course, Javelin Training Devices, Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Course, Combatives Level 1 and 2, the Warrior Leader Course, Emergency Medicine Technologist Basic Course, the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program and the Basic Airborne Course.
Rodriguez has deployed six times in support of the War on Terror with four tours to Iraq and two to Afghanistan for a total of 23 months deployed.
Rodriguez is a native of Penitas, Texas and has been in the U.S. Army since May 2005. | | |
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| SOCSOUTH and Jamaican partners participate in training exchange | Port Royal, Jamaica September 25, 2012
Story and photos by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Alex Licea, Special Operations Command South Public Affairs
Located in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, Jamaica is surrounded by beautiful beaches and tropical weather making it a popular destination for tourists from all over the world.
However, the small island, like much of the region between North and South America, is a potential location for illicit traffickers to use as a transit point to move illegal drugs across the region and into the United States. It is a concern for many across the island nation who see this activity as a threat to their security.
So when Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen (SWCC) assigned to Special Boat Team (SBT) – 22, in support of Special Operations Command South (SOCSOUTH), and members of the Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School, better known as NAVSCIATTS, participated in a Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET) event in Jamaica during the month of September. Members of the Jamaica Defense Forces, simply known as the JDF, welcomed the group of American sailors.
The primary focus of this month-long JCET for the Stennis, Miss.- based special boat team and NAVSCIATTS personnel was to gain regional knowledge and improve their teaching abilities while training with members of the JDF.
JCETs also benefit U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) because they allow SOF personnel to train in ally nations, like Jamaica, and hone their military tactics and skills in unfamiliar settings, while also improving bilateral relations and interoperability with other militaries.
For the JDF, this event also proved to be helpful. Although the JDF’s size is small compared to other nations across the Western Hemisphere, their military continues to expand into a well-rounded force with multiple skill sets, regardless of branch of service, in an effort to deter illicit traffickers from its borders and waterways.
During this event, more than 20 Jamaican servicemembers, mostly from the Army and Coast Guard, saw this JCET as a great opportunity to train and enhance their maritime operations and boat maintenance skills with U.S. servicemembers. “It is hard for the [Jamaican] Coast Guard to be tasked to do everything and we can do some of these operations and take the load off of them,” said a Jamaican Army officer, who serves as a troop commander. “We see ourselves in the future being able to do more operations and interdictions in the water.”
As part of SOCSOUTH’s Theater Security Cooperation program, these JCET programs enable partner nations to increase their capacity to conduct security operations. SOCSOUTH, based in Homestead, Fla., is responsible for all U.S. Special Operations activities in the Caribbean, Central and South America; it serves as a component for U.S. Southern Command.
For U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Timothy Piccin, who serves as the SOCSOUTH country officer for Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, this JCET is vital in the continued training of all U.S. Naval forces working in the region but also serves a essential piece for the development of the JDF, specifically its maritime capabilities due to its geographically location.
“This program allows our [U.S.] forces to get excellent training in the region and it serves as a great benefit for our partner nations to increase their military capacity in a very unique platform where exchanging tactics and procedures benefit everyone involved,” he said. “From boat maintenance procedures to tactical training, this event allows everyone to train and learn from each other.”
During the first few days of the JCET, members assigned to NAVSCIATTS trained with their Jamaican counterparts on basic watercraft maintenance skills and procedures. The maintenance portion of the JCET ended with members of the JDF breaking down a boat engine piece by piece in order to learn standard boat engine components and putting it back together.
The final two weeks of the JCET focused more on military tactics using boats as SWCC personnel trained with their Jamaican partners on specialize techniques, such as Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure, a maritime boarding action designed to capture hostile vessels and high value targets onboard a water craft. The U.S. Sailors also instructed members of the JDF on boat interdiction and extraction techniques, boat handling maneuvers on small tactical boats, long-range navigation and close-quarters defense. For SWCC members assigned to SBT 22, this JCET allowed them to learn new skills in a variety of different areas outside of their normal routine.
“This event is very important for us because it takes us away from our comfort zone and presents us with a different challenge,” said the U.S. Special Boat Operator Chief in charge of the JCET. “We typically operate in rivers so working with the JDF in the open ocean really put us in conditions we are not use to, but it helped us learn how to work in those environments.”
For the SWCC members, this JCET was also valuable because they built a strong partnership with members of the JDF.
“We have a great relationship with these guys, and we have learn a lot from them,” said the Special Boat Operator Chief. “From working out together to talking about our experiences, it has been great working with them.”
JDF members reflected those same sentiments following a small closing ceremony where each participate received a certificate of training from their American counterparts.
“I wish the training was longer, but they covered a little bit of everything and it is now our job to not lose what we learned and stay current,” said the Jamaica troop commander. “It was really great working with [SBT-22] them, and I wish we could have this type of event twice a year. We clicked right away and it was really fun to be with them.”
Piccin hopes to replicate this experience with a similar event sometime next year. “There is no doubt this exchange greatly benefits both the U.S. and JDF in order to learn new techniques to protect the region from the threat of transnational organized crime,” he said. “We hope to continue to work with our JDF partners and are planning to do this again next year.” | | |
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