TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras –
Personnel from Joint Task Force-Bravo met with the Permanent Commission on Contingencies (COPECO) during Jaguar Sentinel Honduras, an emergency response tabletop exercise series Feb. 27-28 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
The two-day event invited U.S. military and Honduran civil and government agencies to practice their responses to a simulated natural disaster that escalated over time.
The scenario involved a hypothetical 7.3 magnitude earthquake striking the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa in the early morning. Initial reports cited 1.5 million residents affected by severe damage to the city's infrastructure, 300 deaths, more than 8,000 injured and 20,000 people displaced as hospitals and shelters reached capacity.
On the first day, participants gave capabilities briefings and answered questions to strengthen everyone's knowledge of crisis response. On day two, members divided into three teams to discuss their standard operating procedures for responding to the scenario and learn from each other how to better work together during a complex emergency or disaster.
“Success looks like improvement. This exercise series allows us to come to the table, understand each other’s unique capabilities and learn from one another,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Achim Biller, JTF-Bravo J9 director. “The better we can synchronize and plan before a crisis hits, the better we will be able to respond and mitigate serious consequences and preventable tragedy.”
Jaguar Sentinel, formerly known as Sentinel Watch, is designed to be a subject matter exchange based on realistic scenarios aimed at enhancing agency interoperability. It is a forum for key players to share experience, capabilities and act as force multipliers during a crisis.
“If we look at history over time, we have seen how the way we respond has improved,” Biller said. “This exercise series relies on two-way communication and reinforces the trust we place in each other as members of the same team with shared interests. Jaguar Sentinel and other similar exercises show our sustained investment in growing capabilities and increasing our efficiency and effectiveness.”
Presentations included briefings from COPECO, the Red Cross, the United Nations and JTF-Bravo. Topics covered included medical response, logistics, engineering, aviation operations and crisis communication.
To date, Jaguar Sentinel has taken place in Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama and Belize. There are plans to bring it to the Dominican Republic later this year.
JTF-Bravo is U.S. Southern Command’s regional rapid response element. It is committed to supporting its partners through humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions to save lives and promote security throughout the region.