Strengthen Partnerships

U.S. Southern Command is part of a multinational and whole‐of-government team working to advance security, governance, and economic opportunity in our neighborhood. 

A Soldier from the Florida Army National Guard's Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) advises members of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) on terrain mapping during Tradewinds 2021, Camp Seweyo, Guyana, June 19.

A Soldier from the Florida Army National Guard's Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) advises members of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) on terrain mapping during Tradewinds 2021, Camp Seweyo, Guyana, June 19. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. N.W. Huertas)


Our partnerships are vital to hemispheric security, prosperity, and our collective ability to meet an array of complex security challenges. Working from a foundation of trust, mutual respect, shared interests in cooperation and interoperability, and pursuit of human rights to include gender integration, we recognize that we are a part of a broader team invested in advancing security, freedom, and prosperity in the Western Hemisphere and globally.

We foster relationships across three broad categories of partners while incorporating these partners into our integrated deterrence efforts:  USG agencies, Partner Nations and Allies, and civil society or “whole-of-society.”

Our Efforts to Strengthen Partnerships

U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Jorge Avila, instructor, gives directions to a Guatemalan Marine during a training exercise March 9, 2016, Guatemala.Building Partner Capacity | Supporting Our Partners

Active engagement with our neighbors in Central America, South America and the Caribbean contributes to regional and U.S. security. The U.S. military builds regional security through sustained engagement in order to deter adversaries, preserve stability, support allies and partners, and cooperate with others to address common security challenges.

 


 

The hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) is anchored off the coast of La Brea, Trinidad and Tobago, Sept. 3, 2019.Humanitarian Assistance

​Our Humanitarian Assistance programs and exercises are aimed at improving the capacity of U.S. and partner nation forces to respond to humanitarian crises. SOUTHCOM works in concert with other U.S. government agencies that provide assistance in the region.

 


 

U.S. service members stack boxes of aid which and water while off loading a U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook during an aid relief mission Oct. 14, 2016 in Anse d'Hainault, Haiti. Foreign Disaster Relief

We focus on supporting U.S. government efforts to reduce human suffering in the aftermath of natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes. The goal is to help set the stage for long-term recovery.

 


 

U.S. Marines assigned to a landing attack subsequent operations team lead a discussion with Guatemalan service members about human rights July 28, 2014, in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, during Southern Partnership Station (SPS) 2014.Human Rights

Promoting respect for human rights in Central and South America and the Caribbean is one of our top priorities. We have integrated respect for human rights as part of the SOUTHCOM mission since 1990.

 


 

South Carolina National Guardsmen talk with an officer of the Colombian army.. State Partnership Program in Latin America and the Caribbean

The U.S. National Guard's State Partnership Program (SPP) has been successfully building relationships with partner nation forces since 1993. In SOUTHCOM's Area of Responsibility, 17 U.S. states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia have active partnerships with defense and security forces from 23 nations in the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

 


 

Armada de Chile Ens. Sofia Ulluoa Gonzalez watches as CNS Williams leaves port in Valparaiso, Chile, from aboard USS Michael Murphy. Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Program

The U.S. Southern Command Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Program is part of a national effort to promote the meaningful contributions of women in the defense and security sectors around the world. 


 

A Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Technical Assistant Field Team member completes boat checks June 7, 2016 in St. George's, Grenada, during Exercise Tradewinds 2016. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Melissa Leake) CBSI Technical Assistance Field Team (TAFT)

The CBSI Technical Assistance Field Team (TAFT) is a small team comprised of U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Army engineers and logisticians who help select Caribbean coast guards and maritime-patrol units improve maintenance and operational readiness through technical assistance visits. The TAFT operations support U.S. efforts to strengthen regional security by bolstering the maritime security and counter-trafficking capabilities of Caribbean partner nations.


 

Dr. Judith Brill, a physician volunteering with the non-governmental organization Operation Smile, comforts a Nicaraguan patient in the post-operating room aboard USNS Comfort during Continuing Promise 2015. (U.S. Navy photo)Public / Private Cooperation

U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) seeks to build partnerships with public agencies and private sector entities to enhance security and stability in the command’s Area of Responsibility (Central America, South America and the Caribbean).  The Public / Private Cooperation (PPC) program serves as a hub to facilitate these partnerships.

 


 

U.S. Navy Cmdr. Tony Silvetti, a gynecologist assigned to Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune, explains the process to safely resuscitate a chocking baby to a group of medical students as a part of subject matter expert exchange with medical staff at Naval Hospital Cartagena during Southern Partnership Station 2016.SOUTHCOM’s Global Health Engagement

SOUTHCOM provides direct support to the training and readiness of partner nations' military and civilian health systems through Global Health Engagements across Latin America and the Caribbean. We help build capacity in military health service support; force health protection; disaster preparedness and response; health surveillance; medical research and development; and detection, prevention and response to disease threats.

 

 

SOUTHCOM LogoTheater Maintenance Partnership Initiative

The Theater Maintenance Partnership Initiative (TMPI) is a U.S. Southern Command-sponsored program that aims to build the security capacity of partner nations in Latin America and the Caribbean by addressing maintenance requirements of U.S.-provided defense articles.

COMMANDER'S PRIORITIES