B.D.F. returns from Panama; U.S. troops depart after jungle training
This morning a U.S. Air Force C-130 touched down at the Philip Goldson International Airport. Its mission was twofold: drop off thirty soldiers and pick up thirty more. Patrick Jones explains.
Their homecoming consisted of a heavy downpour and questions from curious reporters. Nonetheless the twenty-nine men and one woman of the Belize Defence Force were happy to be back on familiar territory. They spent the last two weeks in the jungles of Panama brushing up on their military skills under the watchful eye of the United States Southern Command.
Colonel Hugh Cain, P.R. Officer, B.D.F.
“Patrick, this is part of our annual exchange with the United States Armed Forces. At about this time each year we send thirty members of our defense force to go and do a two weeks training in Panama. At the same time we have thirty members of the United States army who come up and do training in Belize. This year we’ve been able to host them in Salamanca, where they have just completed a two week basic jungle training course in the Toledo District.”
The returning B.D.F. soldiers gave their brief stint in the Panamanian countryside a mixed review, but they all agreed that the experiences will help to further their career in the armed force.
Private Javier Mendez
“I was a bit excited when we first reach in there, when we start the training and thing because we did some of the training that we didn’t do down here in Belize.”
Q: “What did you learn?”
Private Javier Mendez
“Well we learn mostly the rappelling and thing that we don’t really do here in Belize off the Blackhawk. So that’s basically it and the navigation that we do in the Panama jungle, it’s much easier than our jungle that we have here.”
Lance Corporal Francisco Chun
“We expand our training environment, in terms of the systems they have out there.”
Second Lieutenant Alvin Amoa
“Well, the training, what it does is to help the B.D.F. soldiers in order to find out the tactics about the Americans in case that we need to work along with them in some sort of situation. For example what we did in Haiti. Then we’ll actually know the way they do things, and it also will be that all of us will be together. And what will happen is that we will have different tactics but in order to achieve one mission, we will do anything possible in order to achieve that mission.”
Mission accomplished in this year’s military training exchange, the B.D.F. soldiers returned to their respective companies, not only to share pictures and stories but also the training they received in Panama. While the local troops found the Panama experience uplifting, so too did the visiting United States infantry, which had just completed a two-week workout in the Belizean high bush.
Captain Leroy Chisolm, Contingent Commander, U.S.A.S.
“It was fun, exciting. The training was good, especially the last part of the exercise, which consists of a four day field prop. That was the highlight of the whole exercise.
Oh it was pretty rough, very rough and very thick, filled with a lot of insects and a lot of snakes. But everything was safe. No problems. The training was conducted to timing and to standard so it was a success all around.”
Sergeant James Thompson
“Yes sir, we really learned some good techniques that we are going to take back to our home station and put to use. Some really good ideas.”
Sergeant Joseph Kenkel
“Well it showed us different types of tactics that they use. It’s very similar to us and their jungle tactics which is very important for us being in Panama and fighting in the jungle ourselves.”
Q: “So this exchange program does well for both the host country and for you all in the U.S. Army?”
Sergeant Joseph Kenkel
“Absolutely. I believe it’s very beneficial for the host country, getting the experience of the U.S. military and for us seeing how another military works and how they operate and perhaps getting different ideas and different ways of working.”
But the jungle facility wasn’t the only thing that impressed the U.S. troops. According to Lieutenant Matthew Selke, for a small developing country, the B.D.F. is not too dusty.
Lieutenant Matthew Selke
“Very professional soldiers. I was very impressed with the leadership that they have. The jungle’s a very tough terrain and they seem to have overcomed that and they were able to teach us a couple of things.”
Q: “What were some of those things?”
Lieutenant Matthew Selke
“Oh just living, surviving the jungle. Jungle craft, how to build shelters and such. Things that we as U.S. forces haven’t been doing and we were able to learn from your B.D.F.”
Captain Anthony Sankey, Contingent Commander
“They were able to compare first of all terrain difference: the type of terrain that we have here in Belize and the type that they had to encounter and train in in Panama. Good to say about for them, it worked out for Belize to be a bit easier in Panama than in Belize, especially when it came to the jungle aspect, because we have much more denser, more rugged jungle terrain than they do in Panama. So that was a plus for them.
However, there were certain other aspects which they certainly did learn from because of the U.S. being a well-equipped force. We were able to get hands on practice and training in different other aspects of operation, for example water borne training.”
Since the exchange program started a couple of years ago, Colonel Cain says that almost fifty percent of the B.D.F has had international exposure, a trend that is expected to continue well into the future. Patrick Jones for News Five.
This weekend eighty policemen from Singapore will arrive in Belize for a month of jungle training and in October four hundred fifty British Royal Marines will be joined by one hundred and fifty B.D.F. soldiers for another session in the bush.
