Spotlight Interviews Archives - Page 20 of 36

US Southern Command’s Exercises and Coalition Affairs Directorate (J7/9) Strengthens International Cooperation and Interoperability among Partner Nations

Colombia and the United States have had a mutually supportive relationship for decades, with strong ties of teamwork, operations, exercises, and combined efforts. This relationship has been further consolidated with Colombian Army Brigadier General Erik Rodríguez, who leads the Exercises and Coalition Affairs Directorate (J7/9) at U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). A native of Bucaramanga, Colombia, with 32 years of service…

June 07, 2021

New AFSOUTH Commander Stresses Building Strong Partnerships in the Region

On August 21, 2020, Major General Barry Cornish assumed command of U.S. Air Forces Southern/12th Air Force (AFSOUTH) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. AFSOUTH, is U.S. Southern Command’s (SOUTHCOM) air component, focused on countering regional threats, assisting with humanitarian aid, and training partner nations. Maj. Gen. Cornish spoke with Diálogo about AFSOUTH’s role in the region as…

June 01, 2021

Canadian Military Advisor Discusses Importance of SOUTHCOM’s Liaison Officer Program

A native of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, Lieutenant Colonel Ghislain Rancourt joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1982. As an air navigator, Lt. Col. Rancourt has over 3,800 hours flying on the CP 140 Aurora and CC 130 Hercules aircraft, with two deployments to Afghanistan. During his second tour, he served as strategic advisor to the commander of the International…

May 17, 2021

Chile and SOUTHCOM: Two Decades United through the PNMA

With 32 years of military service, Chilean Navy Captain Guillermo Ceballos is one of the 11 partner nation military advisors (PNMA) at U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). Capt. Ceballos is a marine corps specialist and a native of San Fernando city, in the Libertador General Bernardo O’Higgins region of Chile. He joined the PNMA program in January 2020 and has since…

May 10, 2021

The Work of a Female Soldier Following the Hurricanes in Guatemala

The first contact Lesvia Leticia Gallardo Morales had with the Guatemalan Armed Forces was when she first saw soldiers patrolling near her house. The then 5-year-old turned to her mother and said, “When I grow up, I want to be a soldier.” Throughout the years, she kept reminding her mother, but the answer was always no. She was so persistent…

May 03, 2021

British Captain Talks about His Role in the Partner Nation Military Advisors Program at SOUTHCOM

Royal Navy Captain Stephen Anderson is one of 11 foreign military advisors embedded at U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) as part of the Partner Nations Military Advisor (PNMA) program. This program is designed to strengthen partnerships through increasing SOUTHCOM’s understanding of the region by adding perspectives from these advisors. A native of Glasgow, Scotland, Capt. Anderson joined the Royal Navy in…

April 26, 2021

Peruvian Military Advisor Strengthens Bonds with SOUTHCOM

A native of Lima, Peru, with 26 years of military service in his country’s Army, Colonel Rubén Requena has been serving as a Partner Nations Military Advisor (PNMA) at U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) since March 2020. His work in the PNMA program strengthens relations of cooperation between Peru and regional partner nations. SOUTHCOM’s PNMA program was created in 1998 to…

April 19, 2021

Argentine Military Advisor is Committed to Interoperability

Argentine Army Colonel Horacio Alonso, who has 36 years of military service, has been a Partner Nations Military Advisor (PNMA) at U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) since September 2019. Col. Alonso spoke with Diálogo about the mission and his interagency work as a PNMA program representative. The program, which SOUTHCOM created in 1998, is traditionally known as the Partner Nations Liaison Officer…

April 12, 2021

Brazilian Navy Has First Female Marine Corps Midshipman

The history of the Brazilian Armed Forces reached a milestone in 2014. For the first time, women were able to enter the prestigious Naval Academy (EN, in Portuguese) — a higher education institution of the Brazilian Navy (MB, in Portuguese) in the heart of Rio de Janeiro, with a very competitive application process, where hundreds of candidates compete for a…

April 05, 2021

Colombia United to SOUTHCOM through Military Advisor

Colombian Army Colonel Héctor Iván Macías, Partner Nations Military Advisor (PNMA) at U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) since October 2020, has a very specific goal: to strengthen cooperation relations between the armed forces of his country and the United States. With 29 years of military service, Col. Macías is one of 11 members of the PNMA, a program SOUTHCOM created in…

March 29, 2021

First Woman to Lead Uruguayan Army Infantry Unit

Brazilian General Talks about His Role as Deputy Commander for Interoperability at U.S. Army South

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Special Report

For decades, Ecuador was perceived as an exception in a region plagued by drug trafficking, armed violence, and criminal capture of the state. While neighboring countries faced open wars between cartels and state forces, Ecuador seemed to remain on the sidelines of these dynamics. That image began to slowly crack and finally collapsed in January […]