COMPLETED    From March through September 2008, U.S. military personnel deployed to Honduras, Trinidad & Tobago and Suriname to conduct comprehensive humanitarian assistance exercises.  As part of the Beyond the Horizon program, troops specializing in engineering, construction and health care provided services to communities in need while receiving valuable training and building important relationships with partner nations.

Details: Beyond the Horizon (BTH) is the newest take on U.S. Southern Command’s proud legacy of humanitarian assistance exercise programs.  Like the New Horizons exercises over the past two decades, BTH deploys U.S. military engineers and medical professionals to Latin American and Caribbean nations for training and to provide humanitarian services.  But, the program builds upon those previous efforts, adding a series of engagement events for U.S. troops to exchange knowledge with host nation officials.   Another new feature is a three-year phased support strategy in each nation that will result in better humanitarian support, stronger local relationships and more persistent community involvement.  In addition to this year`s exercises in Honduras, Trinidad & Tobago and Suriname, U.S. military teams will begin the first three-year BTH support programs in Belize, Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Panama, setting the stage for full-scale humanitarian exercise deployments next year.   BTH is a concept that integrates several U.S. Army South (USARSO) events under one umbrella thereby making best use of resources. The Texas-based USARSO is the coordinating authority for the planning and execution of this exercise, which is sponsored by the U.S. Southern Command.  The governments of each participating nation, the U.S. Department of State, and Department of Defense have carefully evaluated and approved these exercises.   Deploying U.S. personnel: About 350 U.S. service members, representing National Guard and Reserve forces from all services, were in Honduras, Trinidad & Tobago, and Suriname at any one time during the exercise. The vast majority of personnel deployed for short periods of time.  National Guard and Reserve personnel deployed for two weeks, which is their usual training cycle.  Some Reserve personnel deployed for three weeks and some were assigned as part of the long-term staff, returning to their home stations at the end of the exercise.   BTH requires units to carefully plan and conduct logistical operations to support these deployments to remote regions.  Such mobilization and real-world execution provides unparalleled training that could not be simulated in the U.S.   Humanitarian services provided: Troops built schools, clinics, community centers, water wells, and other quality of life enhancement facilities.  The schools and clinics can resist winds up to 150 miles per hour, an important feature in a region that is a hotbed of powerful storms every hurricane season.   Below are the major construction projects for each country:   Honduras Trinidad & Tobago Suriname »   Build two schools »   Renovate three schools »   Build our water towers »   Build four lavatories »   Build two schools »   Build a clinic »   Repair a 110 bed facility that serves as a children’s home »   Renovations to three schools »   Renovations to three clinics   U.S. military health care professionals also conducted four Medical Readiness Training Exercises (MEDRETEs) in each country, providing general and specialized medical and dental services to thousands of citizens requiring care.  The exercises also included veterinarian care, a vital service that ensures the health of valuable food sources and helps prevent diseases that could be passed from animals and livestock to a population.   Engagement Activities: Each BTH exercises included Small Unit Familiarization Program engagements, reciprocal platoon exchanges, Subject Matter Expertise Exchanges and state partnership activities.   History: This was the first year of BTH exercises support activities. The New Horizons program began in the mid-1980s.

PHOTOS:   PARAMARIBO, Suriname -- Members of the 155th ‎Engineer Company, South Dakota Army National Guard construct a cement pad July 12 at the Niewe ‎Grond Clinic as part of the Beyond the Horizon 2008 exercise in ‎Paramaribo, Suriname. (Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Theanne Tangen)‎ (MORE BTH PHOTOS)       KEY  POINTS:   Beyond the Horizon missions are designed to foster goodwill and improve relations between the United States and the governments of the region. Better government-to-government and people-to-people relations mean better responses to the challenges that face our partnerships in the Caribbean and the Americas.     Beyond the Horizon allows personnel and units to sharpen their occupational skills and practice deployment and redeployment to be better trained and better prepared to respond to future challenges, while bringing lasting benefits to our partner nations and their people.     Beyond the Horizon is a new concept that integrates several of U.S. Army South’s events under one umbrella thereby making best use of resources.  This innovative approach simultaneously benefits many poor rural communities while building partner nation capabilities.  It includes what was previously known as New Horizons, a U.S. Southern Command-sponsored program that began in the mid-1980s and focused only on engineering and medical activities.     Beyond the Horizon exercises are essential for U.S. reserve components to maintain a high state of readiness and serve to enhance their ability to mobilize and deploy in support of their active duty counterparts, if required.