SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras –
The 17th iteration of Exercise CENTAM SMOKE is kicking off on Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras from April 22-26.
This iteration is training 26 firefighters from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Colombia and Jamaica alongside 39 Joint Task Force-Bravo’s 612th Air Base Squadron firefighters.
Training will consist of various techniques and tools for vehicle extrications and live fire burns advancing operational knowledge.
The purpose of CENTAM SMOKE, a bi-annual exercise, is to strengthen capabilities through the exchange of practices between countries and train under real scenarios.
Since 2007, CENTAM SMOKE has trained more than 900 firefighters from Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama and Belize.
These trained Central American firefighters have been able to rapidly respond to wildfires and successfully combat the wildfire crisis saving habitats and economies.
A safe, stable Central America is dependent on multinational exercises like CENTAM SMOKE that increases interoperability and builds combined partner capabilities.
For photos and videos on CENTAM SMOKE or for more information on Joint Task Force-Bravo at: https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/JTF-B
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