News

Archive: 2018

July 14, 2018

Fuerzas Comando 2018 set to take place in Panama

Special operations forces from 19 countries will participate in Fuerzas Comando 2018 in Panama City, Panama, July 16-26.

U.S. Marine Maj. Gen. Helen G. Pratt boards USS Gunston Hall.

July 12, 2018

U.S. Marine Leadership Visit USS Gunston Hall as part of Southern Seas 2018 Deployment

Maj. Gen. Helen G. Pratt, commanding general, 4th Marine Logistics Group (MLG), U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and the U.S. Marine’s first female sergeant major, Sgt. Maj. Lanette N. Wright, 4th MLG visited USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44) met with embarked Marines from the Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force–Southern Command (SPMAGTF-SC), July 10.

A U.S. Navy sailor watches as a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force - Southern Command comes in for a landing on the flight deck of the USS Gunston Hall while conducting deck landing qualification training off the coast of Belize, July 7, 2018. The Marines of SPMAGTF-SC worked closely with Gunston Hall sailors to qualify six pilots and five enlisted aircrew members responsible for the helicopters’ safe operation. Having qualified Marines provides SPMAGTF-SC with helicopter movement capabilities of personnel and cargo between the shore and ship. The Marines and sailors of SPMAGTF-SC are conducting security cooperation training and engineering projects alongside partner nation military forces in Central and South America. The unit is also on standby to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in the event of a hurricane or other emergency in the region.

July 11, 2018

SPMAGTF-SC conducts deck landing qualifications aboard Gunston Hall

USS GUNSTON HALL, USSOUTHCOM, AT SEA — Southern Command’s aviation detachment conducted deck landing qualifications with two CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters aboard the USS Gunston Hall off the coast of Belize, July 7.

A team of Soldiers from the Colombian army met with South Carolina Army National Guard leadership and experts from the South Carolina Emergency Management Division to discuss disaster response best practices and lessons learned at the South Carolina National Guard Joint Operations Center, June 29, 2018.

July 11, 2018

S.C. Guard and Colombia discuss emergency management ops

A team of senior officers from the Colombian Army met June 29 with South Carolina Army National Guard leadership and experts from the South Carolina Emergency Management Division to discuss disaster response best practices and lessons learned at the South Carolina National Guard Joint Operations Center.

July 10, 2018

Civil affairs key to success in El Salvador exercise

LA PAZ DEPARTMENT, El Salvador -- Four Soldiers and one Marine are working quietly behind the scenes in El Salvador to make the Beyond the Horizons exercise a success.

The Amphibious dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall gets underway from Virginia Beach.

July 9, 2018

Southern Seas 2018 deployment begins

MAYPORT, Fla. (NNS) - The Whidbey Island-class amphibious dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44) with Destroyer Squadron Four Zero (DESRON 40) has deployed to the waters surrounding Latin America and the Caribbean to conduct Southern Seas 2018.

Soldiers build an addition to a school at Santa Rita, June 25, 2018, in La Paz Department, El Salvador. The construction is part of U.S. Army South-led Beyond the Horizon exercise lasting May 12 through Aug. 4, 2018.

July 5, 2018

U.S., Salvadoran Soldiers build structures, relationships

LA PAZ DEPARTMENT, El Salvador — Some 1,800 Soldiers from Combined Joint Task Force Hope are providing humanitarian assistance as part of their training during the Beyond the Horizon exercise in El Salvador. The U.S. Army South-led mission runs through Aug. 4, and includes Soldiers from all components, Air Force and Marine service members, Salvadoran soldiers, and personnel from non-governmental organizations.

A Salvadoran girl gets dental care during a medical readiness training exercise June 24, 2018, at Centro Escolar Canton La Esperanza de Olocuilta, El Salvador. The MEDRET is part of U.S. Army South-led Beyond the Horizon exercise lasting May 12 through August 4. The exercise involves about 1,800 Soldiers of all components, part of Combined Joint Task Force Hope and includes MEDRETS and construction of schools and a clinic addition.

June 29, 2018

Army medical readiness exercise provides rural Salvadorans with medical, dental care

LA PAZ DEPARTMENT, El Salvador — Army dentists took part in a medical readiness exercise that included Peruvian and Salvadoran doctors and nurses. Of the team of 40, 32 were U.S. Army medical personnel from Combined Joint Task Force Hope participating in the Beyond the Horizon exercise, which is led by U.S. Army South. The larger scope of the humanitarian exercise included construction of clinics and schools.

June 27, 2018

New Horizons 2018 humanitarian exercise in Panama completed

METETI, Panama – Exercise New Horizons 2018 officially wrapped up June 21, 2018, with a closing ceremony and ribbon cuttings throughout the Meteti, Panama, community at three separate locations where military construction projects have changed the landscape.