For the last two weeks of August, over 2,000 personnel participated in the eighth iteration of PANAMAX, USSOUTHCOM’s largest annual exercise. Since 2003, PANAMAX has expanded from the original three countries (USA, Panama, and Chile) to eighteen this year. Focusing on security of the Panama Canal, the exercise reflects the broad regional consensus that the Panama Canal is a critical hemispheric and global economic resource, and confronting potential threats to the waterway calls for a multinational response. Indeed, the Panama Canal Treaties enshrine the United States’ and Panama’s commitment to secure the Canal and preserve its neutrality; forty other states have signed an Organization of American States supplementary protocol treaty stating their support for these neutrality provisions.

Although the focus of PANAMAX is, and will remain, security of the Canal, we recognize that military operations do not take place in a vacuum. Inserted into this year’s PANAMAX was a humanitarian assistance and foreign disaster relief scenario that added a layer of complexity to the multinational staff’s planning efforts. Intended to reinforce lessons learned from Operation Unified Response in Haiti, share them with other partner nations, as well as prepare ourselves for future potential disaster response scenarios, the exercise involved responding to a powerful hurricane which struck a fictional country already reeling from internal unrest and with a large number of internally displaced persons. As with our response to the earthquake in Haiti, this portion of the exercise allowed us and our partner nations to work closely with various international and non-governmental organizations to ease suffering to a devastated populace.

I participated in a Senior Leaders Seminar in Panama at the end of the exercise. Attended by senior civilian and military officials from our partner nations, the seminar provided us a great opportunity to speak frankly about the current and future iterations of the exercise, the importance of the Canal to the region, and the waterway’s ongoing expansion.

As always, Panamanian hospitality was first-rate. The highlight of my visit was an excursion to the Miraflores locks of the Panama Canal. Seeing this engineering marvel up close underscored the importance of ensuring it remains open for use by the community of nations. Overall, PANAMAX was a resounding success. Like all good exercises it enabled USSOUTHCOM to exchange ideas with friends, strengthen regional security, and continue to build key partnerships.