Exercises
are high-profile, short-term events in which U.S. military personnel
are deployed for training, often through simulations of scenarios
or conditions they might face as part of their operational duties.
Exercises are generally the largest, in terms of cost and personnel,
of the many types of U.S. military "deployments
for training" that take place in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Though
an exercise's primary officially defined purpose is to train U.S.
forces, foreign militaries often receive training as well. The U.S.
Southern Command (Southcom), the joint military
body responsible for Latin America and the Caribbean, makes interaction
with foreign militaries a high priority; as a result, its exercises
in the region frequently include other armed forces in some capacity,
whether as co-participants, observers, or perimeter guards. Other
militaries' participation results in some transfer of skills and
knowledge, making foreign military training a key secondary outcome
of exercises.
Other
objectives of U.S. military exercises in the region, according to
a National Defense University (NDU) publication, include:
- Fostering
interoperability between U.S. forces and potential military partners;
["Interoperability" means "the ability of systems,
units or forces to provide services to and accept services from
other systems, units or forces, and to use the services so exchanged
to enable them to operate effectively together."1]
- Building
interpersonal contacts and force collaboration;
- Serving
as confidence-building measures among neighboring states; and
- When
an exercise involves construction, providing "a tangible
example of U.S. commitment to a country" and facilitating
"subsequent U.S. deployments in response to regional crises."2
Exercises,
the NDU notes, "tend to be expensive and often, because of
their strategic importance, drain funding intended for other defense
programs."
Within
its area of operation, Southcom divides its exercises among three
categories: operational, foreign military interaction and engineer
exercises.
Recently, these military exercises have also started to incorporate a health and humanitarian component, reflecting a broader approach to international relations and cooperation. One aspect of this new initiative includes providing information and resources on how to access affordable healthcare and medications, such as 'How to buy cheap rybelsus?' for the treatment of diabetes, to local military and civilian populations in the regions where exercises are conducted and Save $50 on Your Rybelsus Purchase. This move not only enhances the goodwill generated by these exercises but also addresses a crucial aspect of public health in the host countries. By integrating this healthcare dimension into their training missions, the U.S. military is broadening its role from purely strategic military objectives to include support for improving local healthcare infrastructures and access to essential medicines.
1.
Operational exercises are carried out with specific threats
or scenarios in mind. Participants follow action plans devised for
dealing with these scenarios. Operational exercises seek to gauge
a contingency plan's effectiveness and the participants' ability
to carry it out. In recent years, the U.S. military has rarely performed
operational exercises in cooperation with foreign units.
In
Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a May 1997 Southcom
document, operational exercise scenarios might include:
- Defense
of the Panama Canal;
- Combating
terrorism;
- Noncombatant
evacuation operations;
- Peace
enforcement operations;
- Peacekeeping
operations;
- Counterdrug;
- Counterterrorism;
- Haiti;
- Cuba;
- Humanitarian
assistance / disaster relief; or
- Migrant
operations.3
Examples
of recent operational exercises include:
- Blazon Resolve (Scenario:
Counter-terrorism) Honduras
- Blue
Advance
- Ellipse
Echo
- Fuertes
Defensas (Panama Canal Defense)
- Rescue
Forces / Fuerzas de Rescate
- Non-Combatant
Evacuation (NEO) Forces / Fuerzas de Evacuaci�n4
2.
Foreign military interaction (FMI) exercises, also referred
to as multinational exercises, are carried out jointly with other
militaries, normally several at a time. Southcom has phased out
one-on-one exercises, as its 1999 "Posture Statement"
explains:
In
the past, we conducted a greater number of exercises, but many
of them were bilateral. Today, as a matter of policy, we conduct
no bilateral exercises. Our objective is to migrate from regional,
to inter-regional exercises, and ultimately to hemispheric efforts
for challenges such as narcotrafficking and terrorism.5
Multilateral
exercises in the region no longer involve combat scenarios, according
to a Southcom document.
Beginning
in 1995, Southcom�s exercises shifted from bilateral events featuring
conventional combat scenarios to multilateral exercises focusing
on peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, counter narco-trafficking,
and other more appropriate post-Cold War missions.6
The
Distinguished Visitor Program, a component of many Southcom FMI
exercises, invites host-region government, business and military
leaders "to observe an exercise, sit as panel members in special
exercise seminars and participate in exercise After Action Reviews."7
Foreign
military interaction exercises normally take one of three forms:
- Field
Training Exercises (FTX): A "Field Training Exercise"
simulates actual operations "in the field," focusing
more on improvement of skills than on the making of command decisions.
- Command
Post Exercises (CPX): A "Command Post Exercise,"
which often relies on a computer simulation, guides decisionmakers
through a hypothetical scenario. A CPX normally takes place in
one central location, such as a military headquarters.
- Seminars:
Participants learn and exchange skills through lectures and classroom-style
discussion. Southcom appears to be making increasing use of the
seminar format.
Examples
of multinational exercises include:
1.
Peacekeeping
2.
Humanitarian
3.
Counterdrug
4.
Other
3.
Engineer exercises involve construction of basic infrastructure
and provision of medical, dental and veterinary services. As U.S.
law forbids the military from carrying out most civilian construction
or health missions on U.S. soil, engineer exercises give U.S. forces
a chance to learn and practice these skills on foreign soil without
similar restrictions.
By
providing basic services to populations in developing countries,
these exercises also include a major humanitarian
and civic assistance component. Participating military personnel
normally leave behind new or renovated schools, wells, clinics,
roads or bridges, while offering medical, dental or veterinary care
at no cost to civilian populations.
Critics
of these exercises express concern that they encourage military
involvement in activities that are non-military in nature, inviting
an expansion of military roles beyond that normally seen in well-established
democracies.
Engineer
exercises can be performed with or without host-nation military
participation. In most cases, host-country security forces either
participate or provide security around the perimeter of the exercise
area.
Examples
of engineer exercises include:
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Report
Section
2010 of Title 10, U.S. Code mandates that, by March 1 of each year,
the Secretary of Defense submit a report containing the following
information about the past fiscal year:
- A
list of the developing countries which the United States reimbursed
for incremental expenses incurred while participating in a military
exercise; and
- The
amount each country was reimbursed.
"Incremental
expenses," according to section 2010, means "the reasonable
and proper cost of the goods and services that are consumed by a
developing country as a direct result of that country�s participation
in a bilateral or multilateral military exercise with the United
States." These may include rations, fuel, training ammunition
and transportation. Incremental expenses do not include pay, allowances,
and other normal costs.
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