U.S. special operations service members instruct soldiers of the Guyana Defence Force, commonly known as the GDF, to use a simulated M-4 rifle during a weapons familiarisation event on March 3 at Camp Stephenson. The training event is one of many exchanges currently being conducted between U.S. and Guyanese forces as part of Exercise Fused Response 2012
A special operations exercise is underway in Guyana to enhance the capabilities of both the U.S. and Guyanese special operators and ensuring they have a foundation to respond together in the event of a common threat.
Exercise Fused Response kicked off on March 1 and continues through March 9, bringing together about 300 U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines with about 200 members of the Guyana Defence Forces, Navy Lieutenant Commander Ron Ralls, the lead planner, told American Forces Press Service.
The bilateral exercise, the largest of its kind in the Western hemisphere and with Guyana’s military this year, includes both field training and command post components. A full schedule of combined and joint training focuses heavily on communications, staff planning, reconnaissance and other military skills.
The goal, Ralls explained, is to develop a better understanding about how the two countries’ forces operate so they can share their best practices and, if required, work together more seamlessly. “We have been training and doing exercises with the Guyana Defence Force for many years, but this is the first time we have had an exercise of this scope with them,” he said. “It increases our ability to work with each other [and] know each other’s capabilities, which enhances our ability to work together in any circumstance.”
That ability is critical, he said, in standing up to what is recognised as the paramount threat in the region: transnational organised crime and illicit trafficking of drugs, humans and other contraband.
Guyana Defence Force soldiers gather around a helicopter during a training exercise
“This is a threat to everyone,” Ralls said, noting that the criminals involved operate without regard to national borders or legal constraints. In contrast, the regional nations striving to stand up to these threats are far less resourced, he noted. “So it’s a pretty daunting challenge when the criminal organisation has more influence than the country that is trying to fight it,” he said.
These engagements, some bilateral and some multilateral, include personnel exchanges, exercises and senior level forums that address broad, strategic issues. “Fused Response 2012 … reflects a broad and continuing United States commitment to military and civilian engagement to promote peace and prosperity in the Americas,” said U.S. Ambassador Brent Hardt at a press conference in Guyana, just before the exercise kicked off.
“We maintain cooperative relations with our partners in the region to enhance regional security and cooperation. Through operations such as Fused Response, as well as through an array of training and exchange programmes.” Hardt continued: “The United States is actively engaged to build the capacity of – and learn from – our partners and allies so that individually and collectively we can better protect our citizenry and enhance regional security.” (American Forces Press Service)
