The Chile Battalion, a team of Soldiers from Chile, El Salvador and Honduras, recently won the gold medal in the second Peacekeeper Challenge, a competition between troops who are serving in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
The Chile Battalion, a team of Soldiers from Chile, El Salvador and Honduras, recently won the gold medal in the second Peacekeeper Challenge, a competition between troops who are serving in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
The team won the competition by compiling 93 points in various events testing their military skills in late November. The Peacekeeper Challenge included team and individual events – among them shooting weapons, changing tires on military vehicles, and communicating with other UN teams.
In its role of providing security as part of the MINUSTAH mission, the Chile Battalion includes Soldiers from Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Honduras, but Ecuador did not participate in this competition.
Promoting cooperation and camaraderie
The Peacekeeper Challenge promotes cooperation and a sense of camaraderie among MINUSTAH troops from different countries. It was created in 2013 by the MINUSTAH Force Commander, Brazilian Army Lieutenant General Jose Luiz Jaborandi Jr., and Deputy Force Commander, Chilean Army Brigadier General Jorge Peña Leiva.
“You have to understand that they are forces from different countries and the military competition is a mechanism for socialization, which helps generate knowledge and mutual understanding, very important elements for the mission’s success in general,” said Miguel Navarro, a security analyst at the of Chilean Academy of Political and Strategic Studies (ANEPE).
“The moment of triumph is a moment of joy, camaraderie, and it’s an important event for the winning team, like any other competition. Those who lose are the result from the rule of fair play; here, what’s more important over who wins is to compete.”
Participating in the competition also helps MINUSTAH Soldiers relieve stress. In addition to keeping the peace, troops in the mission must deal with living far from their homes in a country with a different culture and climate than what they are accustomed to.
“On a military mission, time for recreation is necessary to strengthen the comprehensive development of all military personnel.”
Chile Brigade recognized for MINUSTAH service
About two weeks after it won the Peacekeeper Challenge, the Chile Battalion was recognized for its service in MINUSTAH.
During the ceremony known as the Medal Parade on December 10, MINUSTAH officials recognized the Chile Battalion, the Chilean-Ecuadorian Horizontal Construction Engineering Company and the Chilean Air Force Helicopter Group for their work on the peace keeping mission.
“I’d like to point out that all the duties that we have been assigned during our presence in the mission area have been performed with the greatest commitment, efficacy, efficiency, dedication and professionalism, all virtues that characterize a Soldier,” said the Commander of the 21st Chile Battalion and Head of the National Contingent, Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Muñoz de la Fuente..
He also emphasized the hard work of Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen during the time Chile has been a part of MINUSTAH, saying that “it has earned them recognition around the world”.
Chilean peacekeeping efforts
The Chilean Armed Forces have been performing well in Haiti since 2004, the year the UN launched MINUSTAH.
Soldiers from Chile and other countries kept the peace and provided humanitarian aid following the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that killed as many as 300,000 people and injured another 350,000 in January 2010.
To recount and analyze the country’s contribution to the peacekeeping effort, the Chilean Army organized a seminar titled, “Ten years of the Army’s participation in Haiti: Challenges and Projections,” in November.
“A decade has passed since the Chilean government made the decision to deploy Army Troops to the Republic of Haiti, an event of special historical significance because of our national commitment to global security. It was a qualitative and quantitative leap for a tradition that dates back to 1935, when the institution began participating in missions on behalf of international peace and stability,” said the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, General Humberto Oviedo Arriagada.
With regard to the mission, he said, “It has been an extraordinary professional experience in which our challenge is always to have trained and qualified personnel because therein lies the operability of our strength.”
The Chile Battalion, a team of Soldiers from Chile, El Salvador and Honduras, recently won the gold medal in the second Peacekeeper Challenge, a competition between troops who are serving in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
The team won the competition by compiling 93 points in various events testing their military skills in late November. The Peacekeeper Challenge included team and individual events – among them shooting weapons, changing tires on military vehicles, and communicating with other UN teams.
In its role of providing security as part of the MINUSTAH mission, the Chile Battalion includes Soldiers from Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Honduras, but Ecuador did not participate in this competition.
Promoting cooperation and camaraderie
The Peacekeeper Challenge promotes cooperation and a sense of camaraderie among MINUSTAH troops from different countries. It was created in 2013 by the MINUSTAH Force Commander, Brazilian Army Lieutenant General Jose Luiz Jaborandi Jr., and Deputy Force Commander, Chilean Army Brigadier General Jorge Peña Leiva.
“You have to understand that they are forces from different countries and the military competition is a mechanism for socialization, which helps generate knowledge and mutual understanding, very important elements for the mission’s success in general,” said Miguel Navarro, a security analyst at the of Chilean Academy of Political and Strategic Studies (ANEPE).
“The moment of triumph is a moment of joy, camaraderie, and it’s an important event for the winning team, like any other competition. Those who lose are the result from the rule of fair play; here, what’s more important over who wins is to compete.”
Participating in the competition also helps MINUSTAH Soldiers relieve stress. In addition to keeping the peace, troops in the mission must deal with living far from their homes in a country with a different culture and climate than what they are accustomed to.
“On a military mission, time for recreation is necessary to strengthen the comprehensive development of all military personnel.”
Chile Brigade recognized for MINUSTAH service
About two weeks after it won the Peacekeeper Challenge, the Chile Battalion was recognized for its service in MINUSTAH.
During the ceremony known as the Medal Parade on December 10, MINUSTAH officials recognized the Chile Battalion, the Chilean-Ecuadorian Horizontal Construction Engineering Company and the Chilean Air Force Helicopter Group for their work on the peace keeping mission.
“I’d like to point out that all the duties that we have been assigned during our presence in the mission area have been performed with the greatest commitment, efficacy, efficiency, dedication and professionalism, all virtues that characterize a Soldier,” said the Commander of the 21st Chile Battalion and Head of the National Contingent, Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Muñoz de la Fuente..
He also emphasized the hard work of Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen during the time Chile has been a part of MINUSTAH, saying that “it has earned them recognition around the world”.
Chilean peacekeeping efforts
The Chilean Armed Forces have been performing well in Haiti since 2004, the year the UN launched MINUSTAH.
Soldiers from Chile and other countries kept the peace and provided humanitarian aid following the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that killed as many as 300,000 people and injured another 350,000 in January 2010.
To recount and analyze the country’s contribution to the peacekeeping effort, the Chilean Army organized a seminar titled, “Ten years of the Army’s participation in Haiti: Challenges and Projections,” in November.
“A decade has passed since the Chilean government made the decision to deploy Army Troops to the Republic of Haiti, an event of special historical significance because of our national commitment to global security. It was a qualitative and quantitative leap for a tradition that dates back to 1935, when the institution began participating in missions on behalf of international peace and stability,” said the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, General Humberto Oviedo Arriagada.
With regard to the mission, he said, “It has been an extraordinary professional experience in which our challenge is always to have trained and qualified personnel because therein lies the operability of our strength.”
Dear Friends,
I want to highlight and thank you for disseminating this important event, whose main objective is to demonstrate the ability of MINUSTAH (UN Stablization Mission in Haiti) troops and further encourage unity among its members.
I take this opportunity to make an observation. Our Chilean Battalion (CHIBAT), as well as three other teams – Bolivian Company (BOLCOY), Brazilian Battalion (BRABAT) and Guatemalan Company (GUAMPCOY) – reached the score required for a GOLD classification. However, although it wasn’t our specific objective to name a winner, the team with the highest score was the one that represented our Bolivian Company.
I want to clarify that I make this observation for the sake of justice only, and nothing dulls the brightness achieved BY ALL PARTICIPANTS in an activity that required a lot of preparation, expertise, personal effort and teamwork. We all won, even those who just cheered to support their representatives in their exceptional achievements.
Here, in Haiti, in our Military Component, we wave many flags, but we are only one family!
I want to thank all countries that have contributed troops for their efforts in maintaining professionals in MINUSTAH that are so dedicated and geared toward the tasks they’ve accepted to accomplish. They deserve our appreciation and admiration.
Warm regards,
Division Lieutenant General José Luiz JABORANDY Junior
MINUSTAH Force Commander