News

Expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Burlington (T-EFP 10) arrives in Santa Marta, Colombia, Aug. 20, 2023.

Aug. 30, 2023

Continuing Promise 2023 Concludes in Santa Marta, Colombia

SANTA MARTA, Colombia — The Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport ship, USNS Burlington (T-EPF 10), completed its second stop in Santa Marta, Colombia, Aug. 30, 2023 in support of the Continuing Promise 2023 (CP23) mission.

Aug. 25, 2023

New York Army National Guard Medics Train in Brazil

Fifteen New York Army National Guard medics and physician assistants traveled to Brazil to participate in South America’s largest military humanitarian response exercise Aug. 12-18. The Soldiers, from the 466th Medical Company, Area Support, joined 100 other foreign military personnel from 13 countries and 1,700 Brazilians for Operation Parana III in Parana State.

Multinational senior leader participants of the South American Defense Conference 2023 (SOUTHDEC 23), pose for a group photo.

Aug. 25, 2023

South American Defense Leaders Meet to Discuss Regional Threats, Cooperation

The conference aimed to strengthen partnerships to address two key issues that concern security leaders and citizens: cyber security and climate/environmental security. During SOUTHDEC, leaders worked to identify ways to strengthen those capabilities and collaborate to assume an environmental defense role in South America.

An Embedded Health Engagement Team from the U. S. visited the Jamaica Defense Forces Medical Center in Kingston to share best practices and help boost Jamaica’s military medical readiness, strengthening relationships and building trust with this U. S. partner in the Caribbean. The three-person U. S. team spent a week with Jamaican healthcare providers, sharing best practices and treating patients together.

Aug. 24, 2023

Jamaican-born Airman reconnects with her roots

KINGSTON, Jamaica — A recent medical training mission became an opportunity for one U. S. Airman to give back to the country of her birth.Senior Airman Oshin Mullings, a physical therapy technician with the 633rd Operational Medical Readiness Squadron at Langley Air Force Base, Va., recently traveled to Jamaica as part of an Embedded Health Engagement Team, or EHET,

U.S. service members participate in a volleyball game with members of the local community in Almirante, Panama as part of the Continuing Promise 2023 mission.

Aug. 18, 2023

Continuing Promise 2023 Completes First Mission Stop in Almirante, Panama

The Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport ship, USNS Burlington (T-EPF 10), completed the first stop in support of Continuing Promise 2023 in Almirante, Panama, Aug. 17, 2023.

U.S. Southern Command Public-Private Cooperation Office, partner Non-Federal Entities, U.S. Navy personnel and Panama’s Department of Security Entities participate in humanitarian assistance and disaster response training as part of Continuing Promise 2023 in Almirante, Panama.

Aug. 17, 2023

Continuing Promise 2023 Partners Host HA/DR Training for First Responders in Almirante, Panama

Local first responders partnered with U.S. Southern Command’s (SOUTHCOM) Public-Private Cooperation Office (PPC), U.S. SOUTHCOM Non-Federal Entities (NFEs) and U.S. Navy personnel in a collaborative effort to engage in humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) training in Almirante, Panama, August 14-15, 2023.

20230701-N-EA586-1012 ALMIRANTE, PANAMA (July 2, 2023) Expeditionary fast transport USNS Burlington (T-EFP 10) arrives in Almirante, Panama, August 11, 2023. The U.S. Navy expeditionary fast transport USNS Burlington (T-EPF 10) is on deployment to the U.S. Southern Command area of operations over the next two months as part of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command /U.S. 4th Fleet's Continuing Promise 2023 mission.(U.S. Navy photo by MC2 Conner Foy)

Aug. 11, 2023

USNS Burlington Arrives in Almirante, Panama

ALMIRANTE, PANAMA — USNS Burlington (T-EPF 10) arrived in Almirante, Panama, Aug. 11, marking the first of many stops throughout the course of the Continuing Promise 2023 mission. During Burlington’s time in Panama, U.S. Navy and partner nation medical personnel will work together to provide care in community clinics. The vessel recently returned from participating in UNITAS, the world’s longest-running multinational maritime exercise in the world.

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Daniel Schiller, chief of safety and F-15C Eagle pilot at the 125th Fighter Wing, with a photo of his biological mother and brother, both from Colombia, at the Jacksonville Air National Guard Base, Fla., July 31, 2023. Schiller was adopted by a U.S. couple at a young age and eventually commissioned into the Air Force in 2003.

Aug. 8, 2023

Florida Pilot’s Homecoming a Fitting end to Storied Career

Florida Air National Guard Lt. Col. Daniel Schiller’s last tour of duty couldn’t be a more satisfying final act in his two-decade military career. Just months before his retirement, the fighter pilot and chief of safety at the 125th Fighter Wing returns to Colombia — the country where he was born and placed for adoption more than four decades ago.

Airmen with the 1st Special Operations Wing, 73rd Special Operations Squadron, showcase the AC-130J Ghostrider and its 30mm and 105mm weapons to Lt. Gen. Jean Desgroux, Chilean Chief of Defense, and Lt. Gen. Cristian Guedelhoefer, Comando de Operations Especiales (COPE) commander, during Exercise SOUTHERN STAR, July 25, 2023. Exercise SOUTHERN STAR, a Chilean-led special operations forces exercise with close collaboration with Special Operations Command South, brought together forces from Chile and the United States to improve integration and enable asymmetric capabilities between Allies and partners. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Cody H. Ramirez)

Aug. 8, 2023

U.S. Air Force gunship trains in Chile alongside Bullfighter, Chilean, US JTACs

CERRO MORENO AIR BASE, Chile — 1st Special Operations Wing participates in Exercise Southern Star 23, an annual special operations forces exercise led by Chile, from July 24 to Aug. 10, 2023. The training event, organized by Special Operations Command South, aims to strengthen relationships between partner forces, enhance integration, and enable asymmetric capabilities.

Aug. 4, 2023

Space Plays Larger Role in U.S. Southern Command's Mission

An increasing interest in space by partner nations in South America may prove beneficial to the U.S. Southern Command mission there, its commander said.