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A UH-60 Blackhawk from the 1-228th Aviation Regiment aims to extinguish a simulated wildfire to show the additional capabilities of Joint Task Force - Bravo during the Central America Sharing Mutual Operational Knowledge and Experiences (CENTAM SMOKE) exercise, April 11, 2019, at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras. CENTAM SMOKE brought together firefighters from Honduras, Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala and El Salvador to train with U.S. Air Force members as well as develop bonds and understandings of one another’s culture with team building exercises. The weeklong training included aircraft and structural fires, vehicle extrication, and a firefighter combat challenge. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Eric Summers Jr.)

April 16, 2019

JTF-B burns cultural barriers during CENTAM SMOKE

SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras — Firefighters from five Central American countries and Joint Task Force - Bravo participated in Central America Sharing Mutual Operational Knowledge and Experiences (CENTAM SMOKE) exercise, from April 8 - 12, here. CENTAM SMOKE, a biannual event hosted by the 612th Air Base Squadron, brought together fire fighters from Honduras, Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala and El Salvador to train with U.S. Air Force members as well as develop bonds and understandings of one another’s culture with team building training.

U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Zachary White, 612th Air Base Squadron, Fire Emergency Services crew chief, poses for a photograph at the Soto Cano Fire Department at Soto Cano Air Base, May 25th, 2017. Staff Sgt. White is in charge of deciding how his team of four responds to a fire emergency. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel)

June 9, 2017

Staff Sgt. Zachary White, Fire Crew Chief

Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras — U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Zachary White, 612th Air Base Squadron, Fire Emergency Services crew

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.

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.