Nestled in the heart of Colombia’s Andes mountain range, some 75 miles south of Bogotá, roughly 300 soldiers from the U.S. and Colombian armies forged partnerships during the bilateral airborne infiltration exercise, Hydra III 2024 (HYDRA 24) July 28-August 1, at the Tolemaida Air Base, Colombia.
The U.S. Army South-led exercise, HYDRA 24, formerly known as Dynamic Force Employment, is an agreed-to-action between the partner nations and the third iteration of its kind.
“It is no secret that around the globe it is growing more important with each passing month and year that while we are experts in some aspects we have so much to learn from our partners around the world,” said U.S. Army Major Adam Amor, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment operations officers and lead officer in charge of the 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers participating in HYDRA 24. “The reality is in today’s battlefield partner force integration is the standard, it isn’t just a one-off opportunity and it is not just something we only do for training exercises but everywhere that we go around the globe we are going to be shoulder to shoulder with another partner nation.”
The exercise aimed to enhance the technical, procedural, and interoperability between Colombian and U.S. paratroopers.
For many of the paratroopers, it was their first time integrating and interacting with a partner force.
“I was very impressed that everybody was able to expand and work out the language barriers to make the operations a success, in addition to some of our ad hoc translators who stepped up to help integrate with our partners,” said Maj. Amor. “We also learned that we have different methods of executing higher operations and battle tracking across the area, but our paratroopers could easily integrate with their partners even despite the language.”
Maj. Amor stressed the importance of learning to synchronize planning efforts to facilitate battlefield operations anywhere in the world.
With a focus on pre-deployment operations, HYDRA 24 allowed U.S. Army soldiers to enhance their agility in a new training domain alongside partner forces. This collaboration further improved interoperability and prepared them for success in competition, crisis, and conflict.
“The Colombian Counter Narcotics Battalion 1 [which took part in the exercise] has a specific mission, and we also have a specific mission set with a global focus,” said Maj. Amor. “Because of this we were able to share lessons with airborne operations and learn how they execute operations that may be more localized using different types of aircraft and different types of jungle movements.”
Maj. Amor added that he was impressed with the initiative of the Colombian Army’s company commanders and appreciated their hospitality and capabilities, which facilitated the exercise.
“The Colombian Army is currently working on becoming interoperable with other armies worldwide. This exercise represents a significant step forward in that process,” said Colombian Army Lieutenant Colonel Bayardo Pena, senior observer and operations officer in charge for the Colombian Army. “The U.S. Army has been supporting us for many years. The fact that we are conducting this exercise is going to strengthen and increase our partnership for the future.”
Lt. Col. Pena stressed the importance of both armies being able to conduct the planning process, execution of the maneuver, understand each other’s doctrine, and execute an exercise.
“The U.S. Army has a world standard in terms of doctrine, and it is going to help us standardize our processes too,” said Lt. Col. Pena. “I am proud of our soldiers and how they conduct themselves with other armies like the U.S.”
The U.S.-Colombia partnership remains one of the most vibrant and mutually productive relationships in the Southern Hemisphere. SOUTHCOM and U.S. Army South’s bilateral exercises aim to demonstrate the United States’ commitment to the region and its citizens.
