Articles
Joint Task Force Bravo personnel from Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras and Costa Rican organizations partner to do damage assessment and identify humanitarian assistance projects in the wake of Hurricane Otto which hit Costa Rica Nov. 26. The storm brought heavy rains, flooding and mudslides to the area.

Dec. 14, 2016

JTF Bravo sends hurricane damage team to Costa Rica

LIMON, Costa Rica — Joint Task Force Bravo sent two personnel from Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras to Costa Rica to assist in damage assessment in the aftermath of Hurricane Otto, which hit the country on Nov. 26.

An HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter assigned to Joint Task Force-Bravo’s 1st Battalion, 228th Aviation Regiment, provided airlift support for a team of special forces troops performing air assault training during Operation Serpiente, a joint training mission led by members of the U.S. 7th Special Forces Group and Naval Special Warfare, Dec. 1, Lake Ilopango, El Salvador.

Dec. 13, 2016

US, El Salvador forces execute air assault training

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Salvadoran Soldiers and Special Operations personnel assigned to 1st Airborne Brigade and Special Forces Command completed Operation Serpiente, a joint air assault training mission led by members of the U.S. 7th Special Forces Group, Naval Special Warfare, and Joint Task Force-Bravo’s 1st Battalion 228th Aviation Regiment Nov. 28 – Dec. 2, at

Colonel Douglas Lougee, Medical Element commander and pediatrician, weighs a child during Operation Pura Vida, a joint humanitarian mission and Medical Readiness Training Exercise at an indigenous region in the Caribbean province of Limón, Nov. 2. A Group of 16 JTF-Bravo medical professionals arrived in four helicopters from the 1st Battalion 228th Aviation Regiment and joined 30 Costa Rican physicians to provide basic healthcare services to approximately 300 residents of the indigenous village of Piedra Mesa, Telire region of Talamanca, Limón.

Nov. 15, 2016

JTF-Bravo, Costa Rican medical teams bring healthcare to remote indigenous village

LIMÓN, Costa Rica — A group of 16 doctors, nurses, dentists and other specialists from Joint Task Force-Bravo took part in Operation Pura Vida, a joint humanitarian mission and Medical Readiness Training Exercise at an indigenous region in the Caribbean province of Limón, Nov. 1 to 3. The group arrived in four helicopters from the 1st Battalion 228th Aviation Regiment and joined 30 Costa Rican physicians to provide basic healthcare services to approximately 300 residents of the indigenous village of Piedra Mesa, Telire region of Talamanca, Limón.

Two UH-60 Blackhawk and a CH-47 Chinook helicopters prepare to land at Soto Cano Air Base Oct. 17. The aircraft are returning from Haiti where Joint Task Force - Bravo was mobilized in support of Joint Task Force – Matthew for hurricane relief after the category four storm devastated the island.

Oct. 25, 2016

JTF-Bravo completes Haiti relief mission after huge airlift effort

SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras — More than 200 Joint Task Force-Bravo and Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force South personnel worked around the clock for 15 days providing airlift support carrying personnel and relief supplies to Hurricane Matthew-stricken Haiti. A combination of HH-53 Super Stallion, HH-60 Black Hawk, and CH-47 Chinook helicopters deployed to Haiti from Soto Cano starting Oct. 5. The extensive operation began wrapping up with personnel and cargo returning to SCAB beginning Oct. 16 and ended with all people and equipment back Oct. 20.

U.S. Marines with the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Southern Command board a C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, Oct. 8, 2016, for a deployment to Port-au-Prince, Haiti where they will augment approximately 150 other Soldiers, Airmen and Marines from Joint Task Force-Bravo and SPMAGTF-SC who deployed earlier this week with two CH-53E Super Stallion, three CH-47 Chinook, and two UH-60L and two HH-60L Black Hawk helicopters to provide heavy and medium lift to support the U.S. Agency for International Development-led mission. While in Haiti, SPMAGTF-SC and JTF-Bravo personnel are part of Joint Task Force Matthew, a temporary command established by SOUTHCOM in Port-au-Prince, under the command of U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Cedric Pringle, to coordinate and execute the combined Department of Defense supporting elements that include the Marine and Army aircraft from Soto Cano and ships and aircraft from the Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. David Liapis)

Oct. 8, 2016

SPMAGTF-SC, JTF-Bravo disaster relief in Haiti enabled by logistics, ‘Rapid Global Mobility’

SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras — U.S. Air Force heavy airlift was called upon to support approximately 200 Soldiers, Airmen and Marines from Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Southern Command and Joint Task Force-Bravo who deployed this week with two CH-53E Super Stallion, three CH-47 Chinook, and two UH-60L and two HH-60L Black Hawk helicopters to provide heavy and medium lift to support the U.S. Agency for International Development-led mission to alleviate human suffering and bolster Haitian disaster response capabilities.

A CH-47 Chinook helicopter crew chief assigned to Joint Task Force-Bravo’s 1st Battalion, 228th Aviation Regiment, prepares to a load a box at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, Oct. 5, 2016, in preparation for a flight to the Grand Cayman Islands and eventually on to Haiti to provide airlift capabilities for Hurricane Matthew relief efforts as requested by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance. The mission of Joint Task Force-Bravo includes being prepared to support disaster relief operations in Central America, South America and the Caribbean, when directed by SOUTHCOM. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Siuta B. Ika)

Oct. 5, 2016

JTF-Bravo deploys to support Haiti disaster relief mission

SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras — Joint Task Force-Bravo (JTF-B) and Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Southern Command (SPMAGTF-SC) helicopters and crews that departed Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, Tuesday arrived in Kingston, Jamaica today and will remain until the weather is safe for helicopter travel to Haiti. Upon arrival, they will provide heavy lift support to ongoing U.S. disaster relief assistance missions requested by the government of Haiti.

An HH-60L Blackhawk helicopter assigned to Joint Task Force-Bravo’s 1st Battalion, 228th aviation regiment, prepares to launch from Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, Oct. 4, 2016, to stage at the Grand Cayman Islands to provide airlift capabilities for Hurricane Matthew relief efforts if requested by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance. One hundred members of Joint Task Force-Bravo and Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Southern Command departed Honduras’ Soto Cano Air Base today aboard CH-53E Super Stallion, CH-47 Chinook, and UH-60L Blackhawk helicopters. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Siuta B. Ika)

Oct. 4, 2016

SOUTHCOM stages relief team at Grand Cayman

MIAMI — U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) directed a team of approximately 100 military personnel and nine helicopters to Grand Cayman Island today where they will be staged and ready to support U.S. disaster relief operations in the Caribbean if requested by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA).

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Lisa Kent, Joint Task Force-Bravo Medical Element veterinary food inspection specialist, begins a preventive medicine briefing during a medical readiness training exercise, or MEDRETE, in the village of Bacadilla, Olancho district, Honduras, Sept. 22, 2016. During the preventive medicine class, patients learn about the importance of different preventative health aspects, and receive vitamins and soap.

Sept. 29, 2016

Healing bodies, winning hearts and minds

OLANCHO, Honduras — JTF-Bravo has been conducting MEDRETEs throughout Central America since 1993 to provide a variety of medical services to local residents who otherwise would be unable to receive regular medical care. In 23 years, more than 330,000 patients have been treated during MEDRETEs. On Sept. 22 and 23, the JTF-Bravo MEDEL team conducted a two day MEDRETE in the village of Bacadilla, Olancho district, Honduras.

Thirteen Honduran PUMCIR (Personal Utilizado en Misiones Contra Incendio y Rescate – Personnel Used in Fire and Rescue) volunteers and six U.S. Air Force Airmen assigned to Joint Task Force-Bravo who included firefighters and Personnel Recovery Coordination Cell members, led by Herberth Gaekel (left), 612th Air Base Squadron Fire Department liaison at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, and PUMCIR founder and instructor, pose for a photo midway through a three-mile hike up to a cave located in Comayagua National Park near El Volcan, Honduras, Sept. 24, 2016, to conduct search and rescue training. Gaekel seeks to involve U.S. service members in order to provide them an opportunity to share with and learn from their Honduran counterparts as well as to encourage positive relationship building between the two nations. Gaekel said the training he provides significantly augments what training the volunteers, who are also often full or part-time Bomberos, already receive, and in many cases would not receive if not for his program. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. David Liapis)

Sept. 29, 2016

Honduran, U.S. volunteers conduct underground search and rescue training

SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras — Nearly a dozen Honduran PUMCIR (Personal Utilizado en Misiones Contra Incendio y Rescate – Personnel Used in Fire and Rescue) volunteers and seven U.S. Air Force Airmen assigned to Joint Task Force-Bravo at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, conducted a search and rescue exercise in Comayagua National Park near El Volcan, Honduras.

U.S. Army Maj. Jonathan Reagan, Joint Task Force Bravo Medical Element physical therapist, is applying a low load, static stretch technique to an eight-month-old burn victim during a weekly visit to Centro de Rehabilitación Integral de Comayagua, August 3, 2016, where he treats Honduran patients and provides follow-up care for their rehabilitation process. JTF-Bravo regularly partners with the partner nation Ministries of Health to provide various levels and types of medical care in a variety of locations throughout Central America, to include physical therapy, trauma, preventive medicine and dental. (U.S. Army photo by 1st Lt Jenniffer Rodriguez)

Sept. 29, 2016

JTF-Bravo MEDEL: Providing more than medical care

COMAYAGUA, Honduras — JTF-Bravo regularly partners with the partner nation Ministries of Health throughout Central America to provide various levels and types of medical care to include physical therapy, trauma, preventive medicine and dental.

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