{"id":10884,"date":"2023-05-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=10884"},"modified":"2023-05-17T07:05:26","modified_gmt":"2023-05-17T07:05:26","slug":"us-colombian-armies-strengthen-partnership-during-training-rotation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=10884","title":{"rendered":"US, Colombian armies strengthen partnership during training rotation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n U.S. and Colombian Soldiers plan for a joint patrol during Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) Rotation 23-07 on Fort Polk, La., April 25, 2023. The rotation has served as an opportunity to enhance interoperability between the two nations, as well as validating their readiness for potential upcoming missions.
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FORT POLK, La. \u2014 The United States and Colombian armies are continually looking for ways to further strengthen the already rich partnership they share. The latest example of this comes as an infantry company from the Colombian Army was embedded with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, alongside U.S. Soldiers from the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade, during a recent Joint Readiness Training Center rotation at Fort Polk, Louisiana.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe importance of this JRTC Rotation with the Colombian Army is two-fold; it helps the Colombian Army understand a new operational environment including how to operate in large scale combat operations and it builds readiness for the U.S. Army,\u201d said U.S. Army Maj. Joseph Macchiarella, U.S. Army South Colombia foreign area officer. \u201c3rd Brigade, along with the 1st SFAB, were able to train on their critical task to integrate allies and partner nation forces into operations as well as identify gaps in capabilities which will need to be addressed in the near future.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n U.S. Army Col. Richard Taylor, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division Commander, provides operational updates to a senior Colombian army delegation during his brigade’s rotation at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La. on May 5, 2023. This training rotation had an infantry company from the Colombian army working as an embedded asset to the brigade throughout the duration of the exercise.
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When asked about the importance of military partnerships like that between the U.S. and Colombian armies, Col. Richard Taylor, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division commander, discussed how strategic friendships and partnerships are the bedrock of any large organization.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that the U.S. Army does not operate alone; every opportunity to serve alongside our partner forces is a chance to strengthen bonds and establish trust,\u201d he said. \u201cBoth traits are crucial for interoperability and ultimately allows us to jump, fight and win on the hardest day of ground combat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor also commended the professionalism demonstrated throughout the rotation saying, \u201cThe soldiers and leaders of the Columbian army are disciplined, lethal and highly competent. Our paratroopers gained knowledge from serving with them throughout the rotation.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n A U.S. Army Soldier observes a group of Colombian and U.S. Soldiers conduct a live fire training lane during their Joint Readiness Training Center rotation at Fort Polk, La. on May 5, 2023.
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Though there are several challenges presented anytime two nations\u2019 armies operate alongside one another. Consistent, realistic training builds an understanding that can ease those concerns should this partnership be put to the test in a real-world operation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are still many challenges to achieve interoperability, but combat training center rotations are the perfect scenario to identify shortfalls and work to find an immediate solution,\u201d said Macchiarella at the conclusion of the rotation. \u201cThere were many lessons learned by all participants, and now the challenge remains on how to improve before the next big event.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Colombian Army Maj. Gen. Alvaro Vicente Perez Duran, Deputy Commander of the Colombian Army, adresses a group of Colombian and U.S. Soldiers after they completed their live fire training lane during their Joint Readiness Training Center rotation at Fort Polk, La. on May 5, 2023.
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The military partnership between the U.S. and Colombia has been longstanding and in recent years the two nations began working together toward a common, more optimistic goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince 2021 the U.S. and Colombia have had a process of preparation and training a unit from the army with the goal of working up to a battalion level in order to improve and achieve true interoperability,\u201d explained Colombian Maj. Gen. Alvaro Vicente Perez, deputy commander of the Colombian Army. \u201cWe started in 2021 working together at the platoon level and during this JRTC rotation we trained together at the company level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Training at the company level as opposed to the individual squad or platoon level provided a greater understanding of each other\u2019s capabilities and tactics during a large-scale combat operations type of environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important thing about training like this, after talking with our soldiers, is the opportunity to interact, train with, and understand the capabilities of other armies like the United States and see operations from another point of view,\u201d continued Perez.<\/p>\n

In addition to this U.S.-hosted JRTC training rotation, Colombia played host last fall to U.S. Soldiers from both the Illinois and Georgia Army National Guard during Exercise Southern Vanguard 23 which was a two-week training exercise at Tolemaida Military Base in Colombia. The exercise included a Women Peace and Security panel discussion during which senior leaders from both armies shared experiences and ideas on furthering the roles of women in security efforts in their respective countries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. and Colombian Soldiers plan for a joint patrol during Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) Rotation 23-07 on Fort Polk, La., April 25, 2023. The rotation has served as an opportunity to enhance interoperability between the two nations, as well as validating their readiness for potential upcoming missions. (Photo Credit: Spc. Lilliana Magoon, U.S. Army) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10886,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10884"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10891,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10884\/revisions\/10891"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}