U.S. Marines with the 2d Battalion, 2d Marine Regiment, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and members of Panama’s National Air and Naval Service (SENAN) are working shoulder to shoulder in Panamá City, Panamá, sharing knowledge and skill and strengthening the vital partnership between the U.S. Department of Defense and Panamanian security partners.
This collaboration reflects U.S. Southern Command’s (SOUTHCOM) goal to expand ongoing coordination, collaboration, and security efforts. By working together, U.S. military personnel and Panamanian security forces can bolster collective capabilities, improve skills, and facilitate a combined learning environment.
“It’s an absolute honor and a privilege to be able to work with our partners,” said U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Jeffrey Solois, the company operations chief for Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Brigade. “By both of us bringing our expertise to the table, we can walk away with a better understanding of interoperability and capacity to further support our partnership.”
The U.S. Marines arrived in Panama in early June to support and foster this environment, engaging in mutually beneficial training with Panamanian security forces. This training includes Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC), jungle survival, patrol tactics, and land navigation.
“This experience strengthens the tactical and operational capabilities of all the units that are a part of our nation’s forces,” said SENAN Lieutenant Jesús Chen. “Through the knowledge we have gained, we have strengthened and expanded our capabilities.”
U.S. Navy Hospitalman Andrew Tidwell, a corpsman assigned to the Marine regiment, led the TCCC training. He taught a hands-on course focused on medical care in stressful environments. SENAN members learned trauma care phases, applied tourniquets, and practiced litter carries.
The challenging jungle terrain, with its humidity, dense vegetation, and austere conditions, combined with SENAN’s regional expertise, created an immersive training environment beneficial to both forces. These elements allowed U.S. Marines to develop critical skills that cannot be replicated in traditional training settings, while also fostering mutual learning and interoperability between the partner forces.
“We’re gaining a lot of valuable experience operating in a jungle environment which essentially encompasses the heat, humidity, the dense vegetation, and the limited visibility,” Sgt. Solois added. “We’re also gaining experience integrating with foreign forces, which refines our skills and communication, all that we can bring back to our home units.”
