Some 300 soldiers from the armies of Colombia and the United States met in the South American country, July 28-August 2, for strategic exercise Hydra III. The bilateral, U.S. Army South-led exercise, formerly known as Dynamic Bilateral Force Employment, focuses on improving technical, procedural, and human interoperability among its airborne forces, and demonstrating the ability to employ forces strategically in the region.
“Our goal is to improve our interoperability so that we can operate together seamlessly as a single multinational force, when necessary,” Major General Philip Ryan, U.S. Army South (ARSOUTH) commanding general, said in a statement. “Let’s take advantage of this shared experience and remember that, despite our different backgrounds and languages, we are united by our common identity as paratroopers —Defense and Brotherhood!” Maj. Gen. Ryan added quoting ARSOUTH’s motto.
“On this occasion there were 240 paratroopers, who, with a static line jump, graced the Colombian skies, honoring their motto, ‘From the clouds, victory!’”, the Colombian Army said in a statement about the motto of Colombian Army paratroopers. “For this, paratroopers from all over the country gathered, who after an update training led by the National Army Airborne School were fit to execute this exercise, which culminated with a wing exchange between both nations.”
On July 30, U.S. and Colombian paratroopers conducted night jumps as part of this exercise at the Tolemaida Military Fort, 120 kilometers south of Bogotá. Colombian Army paratroopers from the Battalion of Counternarcotics and U.S. paratroopers from Apache Company, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, as well as the 7th Special Forces Group, 1st Security Forces Assistance Brigade participated in the exercise.
Paratroopers from both armies also carried out a jump on August 1, in the presence of Maj. Gen. Ryan and Major General Luis Emilio Cardozo Santamaría, commander of the Colombian Army. “[It consisted of] a binational parachute jump, bringing together the men and women who sport the golden wings on their chest to conduct a jump at more than 1,000 feet, allowing for an exchange of insignia with troops from U.S. Army South,” the Colombian Army said in a statement.
The jumps reiterated both nations’ commitment to strengthening military cooperation and readiness, and reinforcing operational readiness, while fostering collaboration to address regional security challenges.
In addition to cementing cooperative ties, these exercises strengthen the capabilities of the men and women in the forces. “This represents great interoperability and above all the brotherhood that exists between these two armies with a history of more than 200 years,” General Omar Esteban Sepúlveda Carvajal, deputy commander of the Colombian Army, told the press at Tolemaida Military Base.
“I think these exercises help us to strengthen binational ties; conducting these types of jumps help us to strengthen certain important relationships that we must have as a National Army,” Second Lieutenant Tatiana Jara Orgánica of the Colombian Army Communications School told the press. “It’s important because it helps us to strengthen our capabilities as paratroopers and then clearly as military, and then gives us the opportunity to us, as women to be able to teach soldiers throughout the territory.”
