SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras –
U.S. Southern Command is conducting an external evaluation exercise on Joint Task Force-Bravo to validate the unit’s overall readiness to a real world natural disaster at the Mariscal Zavala Guatemalan Army Base, Guatemala from Sept. 9-13, 2024.
JTF-Bravo is located at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, and is capable of deploying on short notice in support of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations throughout USSOUTHCOM’s area of responsibility when requested by a partner nation.
USSOUTHCOM will test this JTF-Bravo capability to include USSOUTHCOM’s Situational Assessment Team’s response to a simulated 7.6 magnitude earthquake scenario, while working with the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, the lead U.S. federal agency for U.S. foreign disaster assistance, Guatemala’s National Coordination for Disaster Reduction (CONRED), and the Guatemalan Army’s Humanitarian and Rescue Brigade.
U.S. Army aircraft from JTF-Bravo are a part of the exercise transporting personnel and equipment on CH-47F Chinooks and UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters from Honduras to Guatemala. During the exercise, the helicopters will be seen transiting from Mariscal Zavala to La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
This exercise will provide critical information to Guatemala’s governmental and non-governmental disaster response teams to strengthen cooperation and certify JTF-Bravo’s proficiency to respond to any natural disaster in the Caribbean, and Central and South America.
Photos of the exercises are available at: https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/JTF-B
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