Brazilian Army (EB, in Portuguese) troops have been preparing throughout March for the international Combined Operations and Rotation Exercise CORE 22, which will be carried out with U.S. Army counterparts in Fort Polk, Louisiana.
“The activity is expected to take place in August and September 2022. The definitive date is still pending confirmation by the U.S. Army,” the EB Social Communication Center told Diálogo.
The preparation took place in stages. In early March, military personnel from the Army Aviation and the 12th Light Infantry Brigade (Airborne) took part in an operational readiness exercise for Aratu V, to prepare for CORE 22. The airborne operational readiness exercise took place in the city of Taubaté, São Paulo state, and included 22 aircraft, the Brazilian news site Defesanet reported.
“This activity is important to show Brazil, our people, that we are able to act quickly with this combat power, with this projection of power, anywhere in the national territory,” EB General Tomás Miguel Miné Ribeiro Paiva, commander of the Southeastern Military Command, said.
Aratu V
The 5th Light Infantry Battalion conducted exercise Aratu V, from mid- to late March, in the city of Três Corações, Minas Gerais, to prepare for activities with U.S. troops.
“Conducted under the guidance of the Land Operations Command (COTER, in Portuguese) and the 12th Light Infantry Brigade (Airborne), the preparation aims to improve tactics, techniques, and procedures of the CORE Company, which will participate in the international combined exercise CORE 22,” the EB said.
The CORE Company is composed of military personnel from the 5th and 6th Light Infantry Battalions, the 20th Field Artillery Group, the 12th Light Combat Engineering Company, the 1st Light Cavalry Squadron, and the 12th Light Communications Company.
Aratu V focused on platoons and combat groups’ actions, from planning to issuing orders to decision-making when facing unpredictable situations. Participants carried out activities typical of airborne troops, such as air assault, infiltration, long-range patrol, reconnaissance, attack and defense of a location, and evacuation of the wounded.
