SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras –
Joint Task Force-Bravo personnel deployed at approximately 8 a.m. today to conduct disaster relief operations in Guatemala following Tropical Storm Agatha.
More than forty Joint Task Force-Bravo personnel, four helicopters and a command and control package will be supporting disaster relief efforts in response to Agatha as well as last Thursday's Pacaya volcano eruption.
The team from Joint Task Force-Bravo, based out of Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, received orders from U.S. Southern Command to deploy following an official request Monday for assistance from the government of Guatemala. The helicopters will assist disaster relief efforts by providing airlift capability, particularly transporting relief supplies and emergency personnel to inaccessible areas.
"The men and women of Joint Task Force-Bravo are going to do what we train to do," said U.S. Army Col. Gregory Reilly, Joint Task Force-Bravo commander. "We maintain constant readiness to rapidly respond to contingencies and provide humanitarian assistance throughout Central America. We have close relationships with Guatemala and all our partner nations in Central America, and working together in disaster relief efforts is key to maintaining and strengthening those relationships."