South American sergeant majors gathered at the Senior Enlisted Leaders Seminar 2019 in Natal, Brazil, on August 20-22. The event was part of the South American Defense Conference (SOUTHDEC) 2019, sponsored by U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) and the Brazilian Ministry of Defense. Canada, Spain, and the United Kingdom also took [ … ]
International Relations
Senior Leaders Discuss Regional Defense Cooperation In Response to Hemispheric Challenges In Brazil
The United States and its South American partners are committed to working together to address hemispheric challenges affecting Latin America and beyond, the U.S. Southern Command commander said in his opening remarks at the South American Defense Conference (SOUTHDEC), which took place in Natal, Brazil, August 20-22. U.S. Navy Admiral Craig S. [ … ]
USNS Comfort Captain Says Mission to “Assist People” Continues
The ship can treat 500 patients a day, said U.S. Navy Captain Brian J. Debold, mission commander, during a press videoconference. The goal of the mission, known as “Enduring Promise,” is to relieve the pressure on public health systems of countries that have welcomed the 4 million Venezuelans who have [ … ]
Naval War College and Perry Center Sign Memorandum of Understanding
Brazilian Navy Admiral Alipio Jorge Rodrigues da Silva, ESG commander; U.S. Army Lieutenant General (ret.) Frederick S. Rudy Rudesheim, director of the William J. Perry Center; Liliana Ayalde, former U.S. ambassador to Brazil; and Brazilian Air Force Lieutenant General Leonidas de Araújo Medeiros Júnior, ESG deputy commander, signed the memorandum. [ … ]
USNS Comfort Starts Providing Medical Assistance in Panama Following Opening Ceremony
The purpose of the mission is for U.S. service members and medical professionals to work alongside partner and host nation medical specialists to provide medical assistance and help relieve pressure on health systems strained by the Venezuelan migration crisis. The ceremony signifies that medical sites are fully operational and will [ … ]
Continuing Promise Delivers Construction Projects to Wayuu Communities in La Guajira
The works were part of mission Continuing Promise carried out in December 2018, in which the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort provided medical assistance to more than 5,000 people in La Guajira. Among the beneficiaries were immigrants from Venezuela, where basic and specialized medical services are scarce. The works [ … ]
Brazil, Second South American Country To Become A U.S. Major Non-NATO Ally
“I am very proud to announce that our visit to the United States bore fruit. President Donald Trump has accepted us as a major non-NATO ally,” said Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, at a military event in Brazil, on June 15, 2019. The news was expected since March, when the leaders [ … ]
Brazilian Instructors Train Peacekeeping Mission Troops in the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country defined by historical conflicts. The United Nations (UN) has been intervening in the region since 2010 to restore security and peace, and to protect the population. The current commander of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of [ … ]
US Southern Command Hosts Brazilian Chief of Defense
Brazil’s top military leader met with U.S. Navy Admiral Craig S. Faller, SOUTHCOM commander, and other command leaders and experts to discuss the deepening and expanding cooperative defense ties between the Western Hemisphere’s two largest democracies. The U.S. and Brazilian armed forces enjoy longstanding ties, and defense cooperation between them [ … ]
Panama, Colombia Join Efforts at their Border Against Transnational Crime
The Panamanian National Border Service (SENAFRONT, in Spanish) and the Armed Forces of Colombia updated and evaluated their security operations in the fight against organized crime. The XV Panama-Colombia Regional Border Commanders Meeting took place April 23-26, 2019, in Panama City. “This cooperation strengthens our capabilities to counter organized crime [ … ]
Hemispheric Air Forces Strengthen Partnerships against Disaster, Emergencies
Air force commanders from 21 countries celebrated the LIX Conference of Chiefs of the American Air Forces (CONJEFAMER, in Spanish) June 17-21, 2019, in San Salvador, El Salvador. The annual meeting strengthens and integrates the capabilities of the System of Cooperation Among American Air Forces (SICOFAA, in Spanish), to address [ … ]
Chile Brings Together Regional Special Operations Leaders
“We gather in an atmosphere of friendship, partnership, and cooperation,” said Army Mayor General Antonio Fletcher, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command South (SOCSOUTH), as he welcomed military, security, and government leaders from partner nations of the Western Hemisphere, who met at the Senior Seminar Leader Seminar on June 24-28 in [ … ]