Browsing: Spotlight Interviews

‘We Are Often Right Beside Them and Assisting with Whatever Challenges They Face’

‘We Are Often Right Beside Them and Assisting with Whatever Challenges They Face’

The 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade (1st SFAB) is a specialized unit which has for core mission to conduct training, advise, assist, liaise, and support operations with partner nations in U.S. Southern Command’s (SOUTHCOM) area of responsibility (AOR). This is how its commander, U.S. Army Colonel Christopher Landers, describes his highly trained soldiers, who are hand-selected advisors capable of operating…

February 22, 2023
Argentina’s Joint Aerospace Command Optimizes Capabilities to Meet Security Challenges

Argentina’s Joint Aerospace Command Optimizes Capabilities to Meet Security Challenges

The mission of the Joint Aerospace Command of the Argentine Armed Forces’ Joint Chiefs of Staff is to defend the aerospace under Argentina’s jurisdiction around the clock, 365 days a year. This was expressed by its commander, Major General Alejandro Bisso, during the Space Conference of the Americas, held at the headquarters of U.S. Southern Command in Miami, Florida, January…

February 13, 2023
Colombia Strengthens Its Space Capabilities

Colombia Strengthens Its Space Capabilities

Colombia is committed to strengthening its space capabilities for the benefit of its people. Those were the words of Colombian Air Force (FAC) Brigadier General Luis René Nieto Rojas, Air and Space Operations commander, to participants of the Space Conference of the Americas, held at the headquarters of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) in Miami, Florida, January 30-31, 2023. Brig. Gen.…

February 10, 2023
Consolidating Partners in the Space Domain

Consolidating Partners in the Space Domain

British Army Brigadier Paul Tedman, U.S. Space Command’s (SPACECOM) deputy director of Policy and Strategic Partnerships, is committed to strengthening relationships with existing allied and partner nations, attracting new partners in the space domain, and building and maintaining a competitive advantage to deter aggression. Brig. Tedman spoke with Diálogo about SPACECOM’s partnership with nations within U.S. Southern Command’s (SOUTHCOM) area…

February 03, 2023
Strategic Training Supports Paraguayan Air Force Mission

Strategic Training Supports Paraguayan Air Force Mission

Captain María Belén Jara Lovera is the first woman in the Paraguayan Air Force (FAP) to complete the military air pilot training at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, under the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Aviation Leadership Program (ALP). Her training began in May 2011, when she traveled to the United States to take an English course at the Defense Language…

December 15, 2022
Dominican Armed Forces Doctors Bring Care Aboard the USNS Comfort 

Dominican Armed Forces Doctors Bring Care Aboard the USNS Comfort 

The U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort not only changes the lives of patients receiving care in its operating rooms, but also those of its crew members.   That is the sentiment of Lieutenant Abraham de Los Santos, a specialist in emergency medicine and critical patient management, and Lieutenant Junior Grade Nidio Pérez, a general practitioner, both from the Dominican Navy,…

December 07, 2022
Brazilian Admiral Leads Anti-Piracy Task Force in the Horn of Africa 

Brazilian Admiral Leads Anti-Piracy Task Force in the Horn of Africa 

On August 18, 2022, the Brazilian Navy (MB) took command of Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151) for the second time, in a ceremony held in Manama, the capital of Bahrain. CTF-151 is a multinational task force that conducts operations to deter, disrupt, and suppress piracy in the Horn of Africa. It is one of four task forces subordinate to the…

December 02, 2022
Ecuadorian Navy: Ready to Face New Maritime Challenges

Ecuadorian Navy: Ready to Face New Maritime Challenges

Rear Admiral John Merlo León assumed command of the Ecuadorian Navy on August 21, 2022. Prior to his appointment, Rear Adm. Merlo was commander of Naval Operations and head of the First Naval Zone in Guayaquil. He was also a naval advisor to the Ministry of Defense, head of the XVII Antarctic Expedition, Ecuador’s Defense attaché in Italy, and director…

November 29, 2022
Continuing Promise to be a Trusted Partner to the Latin American and Caribbean People

Continuing Promise to be a Trusted Partner to the Latin American and Caribbean People

U.S. Army General Laura J. Richardson, commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), visited the crew of U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort, together with Colombian Defense Minister Iván Velásquez, and General Helder Giraldo, commander of the Colombian Military Forces, on October 14, 2022, in Cartagena. On her tour, she was also accompanied by U.S. Navy Rear Admiral James A. Aiken,…

November 18, 2022
US Marines Provide Support to Continuing Promise Aboard USNS Comfort

US Marines Provide Support to Continuing Promise Aboard USNS Comfort

When the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort departed the Port of Miami on October 23, on its last stateside port of call before setting sails toward Latin America and the Caribbean as part of Continuing Promise, it brought hope to thousands of people who, otherwise, would not have access to medical and dental care, among other benefits. On board,…

November 15, 2022
Sailing as a United Team

Sailing as a United Team

As the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort sails to Latin America and the Caribbean as part of Continuing Promise 2022, mission commander, U.S. Navy Captain Bryan Carmichael, commodore of Amphibious Squadron (PHIBRON) Four, makes sure that they accomplish the two-month humanitarian assistance, readiness building, and goodwill mission to help people in need in five partner nations ofthe Caribbean, Central…

November 07, 2022
USNS Comfort, Bringing Long-lasting Medical Care to Partner Nations

USNS Comfort, Bringing Long-lasting Medical Care to Partner Nations

U.S. Navy Captain Kathryn Elliott is the commanding officer of hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) Medical Treatment Facility (MTF) since May 2021. The USNS Comfort is currently deployed to Latin America and the Caribbean as part of mission Continuing Promise 2022. The mission, which already stopped in Guatemala and Honduras before continuingon to Colombia, Dominican Republic, and Haiti, has…

November 04, 2022