Jan. 4, 2021

Still holding strong: Task force Marines built lasting structures, relationships in Honduras

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — Almost two weeks after Hurricane Eta, a category 4 storm, ripped through Central America with torrential rain and heavy winds, Hurricane Iota, another category 4 storm, hit the already strained region. Hurricanes Eta and Iota hit Honduras hard with winds surpassing 100 mph and caused more than 6 feet of flooding. The storms affected more than a third of the population causing destruction of homes, extreme flooding and deadly mud slides. As the winds and rain demolished buildings across the country, four buildings in Puerto Lempira, Honduras, stood strong – so strong that locals abandoned their homes and took shelter in them...

Dec. 11, 2020

USS Gabrielle Giffords Interdicts Over $100 Million in Drugs

EASTERN PACIFIC OCEAN — The Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) with embarked U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) 407 seized an estimated 2,810 kilograms of suspected cocaine, Dec. 5.

Dec. 11, 2020

Newest U.S. Navy Submarine Visits Newest Brazilian Submarine Base

RIO DE JANEIRO — The Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Vermont (SSN 792) is operating in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations and conducted a brief stop for logistics in Rio de Janeiro Dec. 10-15.

Dec. 3, 2020

JTF-Bravo Concludes Disaster Relief Efforts

SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras — After nearly a month of supporting Foreign Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief operations under authorities granted by the Acting Secretary of Defense, at the request of U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Southern Command and Joint Task Force-Bravo concluded immediate response missions for Hurricanes Eta and Iota in Central America on Dec. 2, 2020.

Nov. 30, 2020

Base COVID Testing Ensures People Throughout Central America Remain Healthy

SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras — Juggling in itself is no easy feat, but for medics juggling health-protection requirements in the aftermath of two back-to-back hurricanes all while ensuring the personnel assigned to Soto Cano Air Base remain safe in the midst of operating in a pandemic environment, one can easily assume something would fail.

Nov. 17, 2020

USS William P. Lawrence, Helo Maritime Strike Squadron 37 Save Lives in Honduras

SAN PEDRO SULA VALLEY, Honduras — The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110) and the embarked “Easyriders” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 37 Detachment 7 completed search and rescue (SAR) operations in the areas affected by Hurricane Eta, Nov. 15.

Nov. 13, 2020

USS Sioux City Assists Distressed Mariner

CARIBBEAN SEA — The Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Sioux City (LCS 11) assisted a tanker in distress while operating in the U.S. Fourth Fleet area of operations, November 11.

Nov. 12, 2020

JTF-Bravo Commits to Additional Assistance

SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras — As life-saving efforts continue in Honduras, Panama and Guatemala, Joint Task Force-Bravo begins to transition from rescue operations to delivery of necessary aid to communities that have been cut-off for days since Hurricane Eta passed through Central America.

Nov. 9, 2020

JTF-Bravo Continues to Rescue Victims of Hurricane Eta

SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras — Joint Task Force-Bravo continues conducting life-saving efforts in Central America in the wake of Hurricane Eta and has now deployed military members to assist the people of Guatemala.

Nov. 3, 2020

U.S. Navy Joins Regional Allies in Ecuador for 61st UNITAS Exercise

MANTA, Ecuador — Naval forces from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, and the United States commenced UNITAS LXI, an annual multinational exercise, Nov. 2 in Manta, Ecuador.