Born in Santander, Colombia, Brigadier General Hernando Garzón Rey is deputy commanding general for Interoperability at U.S. Army South, located at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. This U.S. military base is one of the main headquarters of multinational exercise PANAMAX 2022, in which Brig. Gen. Garzón also coordinates interoperability among all the forces of participating countries. Diálogo spoke with Brig. Gen. Garzón about the importance of interoperability in real life and in exercise PANAMAX 2022.
Diálogo: What is your primary mission with U.S. Army South?
Colombian Army Brigadier General Hernando Garzón Rey, U.S. Army South deputy commanding general for Interoperability: Actually, I have several missions. One is to strengthen U.S. Army and Latin American armies’ interoperability by focusing on three aspects: human, technical, and procedural. For that there is a plan that seeks to increase interoperability levels according to U.S. doctrine. I also support the Army South commander with humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and as second-in-command, any other missions that he delegates to me as a special assignment, such as this one here in PANAMAX.
Diálogo: And what is your mission in exercise PANAMAX 2022?
Brig. Gen. Garzón: General [William L. Thigpen, U.S. Army South commanding general] determined that for this exercise I would also help him look at interoperability. The focus is on the “how.” We increased those interoperability levels in the three aspects already mentioned, being that the human aspect, in this case, has been very important — the leadership of each of the partner nations. The officers who have come are highly qualified and have developed extraordinary teamwork. You see the motivation, you see the participation.
Diálogo: Are the different languages an obstacle to achieving full interoperability?
Brig. Gen. Garzón: I would say yes. Language is an obstacle, although this has been resolved with a team of translators who have done an excellent job. It has also been a matter of motivating all the officers to express our ideas, regardless of whether the other person speaks English or Spanish.
We have a way to do that and we can communicate. Let me tell you that from the first day until now it is noticeable. We see teams that are more robust, more connected, and every day more united and with a common purpose in this exercise.
Diálogo: And with regard to the technical aspects?
Brig. Gen. Garzón: I could say that we don’t have a problem because we already use all the U.S. equipment [in Colombia]. So that’s not being evaluated for us, at least not for us.
Diálogo: What about procedural issues?
Brig. Gen. Garzón: It’s also an interesting issue because when there’s a common doctrine and very similar military decision-making processes, each country gives it a specific focus on certain points according to its vision and its strength. However, the working groups that have been established have been very important to improve mutual understanding and to be able to work together.
Diálogo: Is what you do every day considerably different from what you do in PANAMAX 2022?
Brig. Gen. Garzón: It has been an important laboratory because all the nations are here, and this is what we have to achieve. I believe that PANAMAX is the most important and largest interoperability exercise in the Americas. And it’s a way of measuring how we are doing, at least in the planning part, because here it’s a role-play exercise, a war game… without a doubt. The other part is to look at how we’re doing in terms of interoperability and at the level of each army’s own capabilities, and how we can make those capabilities operate jointly and in coordination within the same theater and among the different echelons in military operations.
Diálogo: What is missing in order to arrive at an optimal interoperability plan?
Brig. Gen. Garzón: I think it’s a project that we’re working on led by the U.S. Army. The countries we are working with are also very eager to contribute, to help and to improve interoperability. But everything is a process and there are some interoperability levels for which some countries are more advanced than others… but we’re all working to reach that optimal interoperability level.
