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Judi Lynn

(164,122 posts)
2. Although they've been at it since the 1950's, the latest round seems to have started in 2019...
Mon Jun 21, 2021, 12:42 PM
Jun 2021

Here's a US Army statement:

Colombian Army trains at JRTC, conducts Staff Talks with Army South
By Donald SparksJune 15, 2021

The U.S. Army can trace its history training with the Colombian Army (COLAR) to more than 60 years ago when U.S. Army Ranger officers developed the Lancero training program for the COLAR in the mid-1950s. Since that time, the initiative has resulted in one of the longest one-on-one professional military relationships with U.S. Army South taking the lead in maintaining the long-lasting partnership; culminating with the first time a COLAR unit conducting bilateral training at the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Fort Polk, La.; followed by bilateral staff talks between the two armies at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

Having arrived to Louisiana in early May, a platoon element of the COLAR’s elite Counternarcotics Brigade integrated with the 1st Battalion, 118th Infantry Regiment, South Carolina Army National Guard, as part of rotation 21-08 to conduct tactical infantry operations, exercise interoperability, and strengthen their ability to plan and execute complex maneuver operations.

“JRTC is a crucible environment and is the culmination of a brigade’s training – it requires units who are qualified and capable to go into combat after training at one of the Army’s premier combat training centers,” said Maj. Gen. Daniel R. Walrath, Army South commanding general, during a visit June 8-10 to JRTC with senior Colombian Army leaders. “Army South has many partners in the region, and the Colombian Army is one of the best. We’re very proud and happy for their participation, and we hope to continue to have these types of training events as a continued effort in strengthening our relationship with Colombia.”

. . .

“They start moving, get in position, and are engaged and attuned to what they have to do – when it’s go time, it’s go time for them,” Perez said. “This platoon is very aggressive and gets after the enemy in the attack. Our [U.S. Army] soldiers are observing how disciplined they are and tapping into their tactical knowledge.”

. . .

Held in a hybrid manner, the staff talks featured a COLAR delegation led by Lopez at Fort Sam Houston, and the U.S. Army represented by a delegation led by Col. Jeffrey Lopez, Army South Security Cooperation Directorate chief, in Bogota, Colombia. Prior to the executive meeting from June 8-10, the COLAR and ARSOUTH staffs conducted virtual and in-person working groups to develop a five-year bilateral plan for calendar year, 2021-2025.

More:
https://www.army.mil/article/247575/colombian_army_trains_at_jrtc_conducts_staff_talks_with_army_south

(George W. Bush's Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, referred to Colombia as America's "lily pad nation" from which the US could roll north to Central America, or turn to operate in any of the South American countries, when "needed." )

No doubt this last agreement was already finalized well before the last election.



Donald Rumsfeld as a younger man.



George W as a younger man.



George H W Bush, also as a younger man.



Death Squad Dick Cheney, as a younger man.

( "Let's roll." )

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