Paraguayan Army First Sergeant Antonia Paredes is the first noncommissioned officer (NCO) from her country to attend the Sergeants Major Course at the NCO Leadership Center of Excellence (NCOLCoE) in Fort Bliss, Texas.
A Conversation With


Celebrating 50 Years of Professional NCO Development
The Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) Leadership Center of Excellence (NCOLCoE) is a premier institution driving innovative development for U.S. Army’s enlisted leaders (ELs). The center provides professional military education that fosters ELs to meet the challenges of today’s complex world.

Ensuring Partnership, Trust, Teamwork
U.S. Navy Rear Admiral James A. Aiken Jr., commander of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. Fourth Fleet (USNAVSO/4THFLT) is committed to work with the maritime forces of Latin American and Caribbean partner nations to enhance the security and stability of the Western Hemisphere.

Colombia Delivers Historic Results Against Narcotrafficking Value Chain
General Jorge León González Parra, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Colombian Military Forces, spoke with Diálogo during his official visit to U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) in Miami. During the interview, Gen. González spoke about Colombia’s advances in the fight against criminal organizations, expert exchanges on information capabilities, and the important role of citizens in national security.

First Female Pilot Marks Milestone in the Chilean Navy
The Chilean Navy, created in 1817, has a female pilot in its ranks for the first time in its history. On October 14, 2021, Lieutenant Junior Grade Daniela Figueroa Scholz finished the Naval Aviation course at the top of her class, fit to fly the Pilatus PC-7. Lt. j.g. Figueroa spoke with Diálogo about her achievements and goals for the future.

AMAN: a World-Class Military Educational Institution
The Agulhas Negras Military Academy (AMAN, in Portuguese), in Resende, Rio de Janeiro state, is the higher education institution entrusted with training career officers of the Brazilian Army (EB, in Portuguese). The school recently hosted the U.S. Army and EB combined exercise CORE 21/Southern Vanguard 22. Diálogo spoke with EB Major General Paulo Roberto Rodrigues Pimentel, AMAN commandant, following the end of the exercise, on December 16.

72nd Poseidon Task Force against Narcotrafficking: Direct Offensive against Narcotrafficking
Amid the inclement weather and the inhospitable swamps, rivers, and coastal areas of the Colombian Pacific, members of the 72nd Poseidon Task Force against Narcotrafficking, a unit of the Colombian Navy, conduct operations to curb the boom of narcotrafficking in the area, which has large concentrations of coca leaf, and close maritime routes to illegal traffic that seek to move the drug to international destinations.

Southern Vanguard 22, an Exercise Designed to Increase Interoperability
U.S. and Brazilian army soldiers kicked off exercise Southern Vanguard 22 in Lorena, São Paulo, Brazil on December 6. Southern Vanguard — called CORE 21 in Brazil — is a U.S. Southern Command-sponsored, U.S. Army South-conducted exercise at the operational and tactical levels designed to increase interoperability between U.S. and Western Hemisphere forces. Diálogo spoke with Major General William L. Thigpen, U.S. Army South commanding general, about this combined exercise.

Integration Is What Matters
The Southeast Military Command is the only one in Brazil composed of a single state, São Paulo, the most populous and the most important economically in the country. Brazilians and Americans decided to start an important integration exercise between troops of both armies, in the city of Lorena, 110 miles from the state capital, in the Paraíba Valley. Diálogo spoke with Brazilian Army General Tomás Miguel Miné Ribeiro Paiva, Southeast Military Command chief, about this exercise, known in Brazil as CORE 21 and as Southern Vanguard 22 in the United States.

Hercules Joint Stabilization and Consolidation Task Force, a Powerful Military Unit Against Narcotrafficking
The Hercules Joint Stabilization and Consolidation Task Force, created in 2018 with the support of Colombia’s Office of the Attorney General, the Office of the Inspector General, and the Judicial Police, gathers land, sea, and air service members to halt the violence that illegal armed groups and illicit crops generate in the Tumaco region and municipalities of the Nariño department, Colombia, near the border with Ecuador.

Chilean Army Commando Strengthens Ties in Exchange Program with 82nd Airborne
The U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne and Special Operations Forces, located in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is where for the past 16 years, the Chilean Army has been participating in an exchange program, sending an officer to work and train with the fabled airborne division.

Paraguayan Army Targets Institutional Modernization
Army General Oscar Arnaldo Cardozo González, commander of the Paraguayan Army, met with Diálogo at his headquarters to discuss institutional advances.