GEN. KELLY TELLS CONGRESS OF IRAN'S INFLUENCE IN LATIN AMERICA

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Southcom Chief: Iran Working to Expand Influence in Latin America
By Nick Simeone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 20, 2013 - U.S. Southern Command's top officer told Congress today that Iran is actively working to expand its presence in Latin America to cultivate allies at a time when Tehran is facing tough U.S and international sanctions for its alleged nuclear weapons program.

Marine Corps Gen. John F. Kelly told the House Armed Services Committee that Iran "has been very, very active over the last few years" in cultivating diplomatic and cultural ties to the region, especially by befriending Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who died earlier this month.

"They've opened embassies, they've opened cultural centers," he testified, adding that on the surface, all of this appears to be normal.

"But to what end is obviously the issue," he told the House panel.

Kelly told lawmakers he could discuss details about what the Iranian government's goals might be only in a closed session. He mentioned Bolivia, Ecuador and Argentina as countries that have been the target of Iran's diplomatic and economic outreach.

Despite Iran's outreach to countries that he said have interests unfavorable to the United States, the general cast Iran's overtures as being far from successful and described a region as largely uninterested in Tehran's diplomatic engagement.

"The region as a whole has not been receptive to Iranian efforts," Kelly said in his prepared testimony. But he cautioned that Iran's allies, including Hezbollah, have established a presence in several Latin-American countries to deadly effect, recalling that Iran and Hezbollah were blamed for the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, that killed more than 80 people.

"Proselytizers with ties to global Islamic groups are attempting to radicalize and recruit among the Muslim communities throughout the region," he said, adding that the United States and its partners "should be extremely concerned whenever external extremist groups or state sponsors of terrorism see the Western Hemisphere as attractive or, even worse, vulnerable."

Kelly pointed out that Venezuelan government officials have been sanctioned for providing financial support to Hezbollah, as well as for supporting rebels in neighboring Colombia.

Kelly said China is another country far outside Latin America that wants to compete with the United States for influence in the region, and is very engaged economically, "buying commodities in a big way and also investing in port facilities." This, he added, is all the more reason for the United States to continue working to strengthen partnerships in the region.

"BEYOND THE HORIZONS 2012" BRINGS HEALTHCARE TO REMOTE VILLAGE

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
Army Capt. Gloria Graham, a 352nd Combat Support Hospital, teaches a Guatemalan girl how to properly brush her teeth during a five-day medical readiness training exercise in Pocola, Guatemala, as part of Beyond the Horizon 2012, June 27, 2010. DOD photo by Donna Miles

Beyond the Horizons' Clinic Fosters Health, Goodwill
By Donna Miles
POCOLA, Guatemala, June 28, 2012 - Thousands of local residents in this remote mountain village are getting what for many is one of their first experiences seeing a doctor, nurse or dentist during a five-day medical readiness training exercise being conducted here during Beyond the Horizons 2012.

U.S. service members, working hand in hand with Guatemalan doctors and health and agricultural officials and several Canadian and Colombian medical officers, are sponsoring the clinic as part of U.S. Southern Command's largest annual humanitarian civic assistance mission. This week's exercise is the third in Guatemala since Beyond the Horizons kicked off in April.

The crowds began assembling yesterday hours before the clinic moved into its third day, forming a line that extended miles beyond the tiny school that had been temporarily converted into a medical clinic. Young and old, all clamored to receive one of the 700 coveted tickets that served as the price of admission to preventive medical classes and sessions with military medical professionals specializing in internal medicine, women's health, pediatrics, dentistry or optometry.

"We try to increase it each day, to give as much chance for as many people to get seen as possible," said Army Capt. Sherry Kwon, an Army reservist from the 352nd Combat Support Hospital serving as officer in charge of the clinic. "When you have people willing to come and wait hours and hours for a bag of vitamins, it's so humbling that you want to do everything you can to help as many as possible."

The first stop for all patients was a preventive medicine class, where Army Capt. Gloria Graham, a 352nd CSH nurse, reviewed along with a Colombian military doctor the basics about washing hands, boiling water to sanitize it, keeping food, utensils and toilet facilities covered to keep insects away, and practicing oral hygiene.

These lessons are critical in a region where periodontal disease and intestinal parasites are the leading killers, explained Army Sgt. 1st Class John Williams, the 35th Engineer Brigade's operations noncommissioned officer for the clinic.

Graham periodically strolled to the back of the room to chat in her native Spanish with children seated around a table with sheets torn from a coloring book and crayons in hand. Holding up a poster of a smiling girl, she gave each a chance to demonstrate how to use the toothbrushes she had given them, drawing shy giggles as she gestured the techniques herself.

Across the courtyard, Army Col. Theresa Mercados-Sconzo, a nurse administrator and 352nd CSH battalion commander, and Army Maj. (Dr.) Mike Crownover, an emergency room physician, consulted with a steady flow of patients suffering from vitamin deficiencies, abdominal issues, worms and other ailments.

Meanwhile, dozens of people waited outside the busiest clinic, where a team of dentists from the 133rd Medical Company in Colorado and dental technicians from the 185th Dental Company in California performed extractions and minor dental surgeries.

Studying the mouth of an elderly woman, Army Maj. (Dr.) Ricky Harrell, a professor of orthodontics at the University of Colorado, prepared to extract the tooth that had caused the woman so much pain for so long.
In an adjoining room, Army Maj. (Dr.) Jennifer Fiatreau, an active-duty optometrist from Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii, evaluated eye tests. In the adjoining room, Army Capt. Brian Kuruc from the 256th CSH kept the pharmacy humming to keep up with the demand for medications.

As they treated one patient after another, the service members said they were overwhelmed by the need for medical care and the appreciation patients extended for care they received.

"What we are seeing here is like nothing we see at home," said Army Maj. Wayne Musgrove, a registered nurse. "Many of these people have had no or minimal medical care, so they really appreciate what we provide them. You can see how happy they are that we are here."

"They are simply ecstatic to be getting this care," echoed Mercados-Sconzo. "They couldn't be more thankful."

While providing a vital need, medical readiness training exercises serve as a learning experience for everyone involved, she said.

"They're getting valuable training, similar to what they would get during a deployment," she explained, as the exercises involve preparing for the mission and setting up operations in austere conditions. "But it's also a learning experience across cultures. That's one of the biggest takeaways: developing understanding and respect for other cultures."

For Army Spc. Riyaz Jahn, a 352nd CSH medic, knowing the impact he and his fellow service members are able to make on people's lives makes the mission one of the most satisfying he's ever experienced.

"This is absolutely awesome. I love this," he said. "It's helping out the locals who need help and can't afford it, and you have the gratification of knowing what this means to the people. You can see it in the kids' smiles."

"These missions are very important, and all of us are enthusiastic about coming because we feel like we are making a difference," agreed Graham. "There's no question that people appreciate what we are doing."

Harrell, who joined the military at age 52 and has since deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, said being able to provide a desperately needed service gives him a new perspective on life. "Being a part of this, I know that I've helped a few hundred people who wouldn't otherwise have gotten help," he said.

Kuruc, who deployed for similar missions in El Salvador in 2004 and Peru in 2007, said he shot up his hand to volunteer to participate in this one. "It's very humbling to know we are here on a mission that is providing so much for so many people," he said. "It may be a small band-aid to a big problem, but it's very rewarding, and that's why I came back."

As they take pride in helping others, participants in the medical readiness training exercise said they recognize that they also are conveying an important message about the United States and the U.S. military.

Entertaining the local children as their parents awaited their medical care, Army Master Sgt. Gary Adamek of the Missouri National Guard's force protection element blew up latex gloves into balloons and drew funny faces on them. He also staged a contest, giving the children plastic trash bags and challenging each to bring back the biggest load of trash strewn across the nearby hillsides to win the loose change Adamek and his fellow soldiers had thrown into a kitty.

"We realize that in everything we do here, we are ambassadors for the United States," he said. "That's everything we do -- whether it's helping get rid of trash, or something as simple as blowing up a balloon."

"I feel good knowing I am representing the United States," said Army Spc. Scott Doney, a member of the 304th Engineers who volunteered to support the medical clinic because most of the engineering projects for Beyond the Horizons are now complete. "When I leave here, I want to be able to say that I came here and helped make a difference."

Army Capt. Kwon said that difference will go a long way in U.S. Southern Command's efforts to forge a closer, long-term partnership between the United States and Guatemala. "We're forming a relationship between our two countries, and showing that we are friendly forces," she said. "We are here to help, working together, united."

NATURAL DISASTERS AND U.S. SOUTHERN COMMAND

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
U.S. Marines depart a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter as it prepares to depart from a landing zone in Leogane, Haiti, Jan. 25, 2010. The Marines established a humanitarian aid area for Haitian earthquake victims at a missionary compound. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Bobbie A. Curtis  

Southcom, Partners Prepare to Respond to Natural Disasters
By Donna Miles
MIAMI , June 22, 2012 - Putting lessons learned from the 2010 earthquake response in Haiti into practice, U.S. Southern Command has entered this year's hurricane season ready to provide timely, effective aid should another disaster strike the region, command officials reported.

"We remain deliberately prepared," Southcom commander Air Force Gen. Douglas M. Fraser reported to Congress in the lead-up to hurricane season, which kicked off this month.

"As we look at the hurricane season, we prepared for that, not only within our own headquarters, but with our partners in the region," Fraser said.

Southcom's area of responsibility, which includes Central and South America and the Caribbean, is no stranger to natural disasters. The largest earthquake recorded worldwide in the 20th century occurred in 1960 in Valdivia, Chile. Mount Pelee's 1902 eruption in Martinique caused more than 30,000 deaths, and the 1985 Nevada del Ruiz eruption and mudslide in Colombia killed 25,000 people. Major flooding in northern Venezuela in 1999 left more than 20,000 dead.

Haiti has been tormented throughout its history with cyclones, hurricanes, tropical storms, torrential rains, floods and earthquakes. Haiti's 7.0-magnitude earthquake in January 2010 left thousands dead and hundreds of thousands homeless. That disaster sparked the Southcom-led Operation Unified Response mission in support of the U.S. Agency for International Development's Office of Foreign Disaster Relief.

At the peak of that mission, Joint Task Force-Haiti included 22,000 service members -- 7,000 land-based and the rest operating aboard 33 Navy and Coast Guard vessels, 262 fixed-wing aircraft and 57 helicopters. They reopened the heavily damaged international airport at Port-au-Prince, repaired port facilities and delivered 2.6 million bottles of water, 2.9 million food rations, 17 million pounds of bulk food and 149,000 pounds of medical supplies into Haiti.

The task force also provided one of the largest medical outreach efforts in history, with humanitarian and engineering support continuing long after the six-month disaster response in Haiti concluded.

The mission proved to be a "tremendous learning experience" for Southcom that underscored the importance of close interagency and non-governmental cooperation, Army Maj. Gen. Gerald W. Ketchum, Southcom's director of theater engagement, told American Forces Press Service at the organization's headquarters here.
The response effort led to revisions in the command's disaster response plan, increases in its disaster-response capabilities and expanded disaster-preparedness outreach across the region, Ketchum reported.

Coincidentally, the Southcom headquarters was getting a demonstration of a new computer-networking tool to promote collaboration in the event of a natural disaster the very day Haiti's earthquake hit. The All Partners Access Network, initially introduced at U.S. Pacific Command, provides a standardized platform for coordinating efforts between the various interagency, non-governmental organization, international and military responders. The scenario being used to demonstrate the APAN system was a notional hurricane hitting Haiti and taking out its emergency response command-and-control capabilities.

But based on real-life events, the Southcom staff quickly took the demonstration live and hundreds of organizations began using APAN to coordinate a faster and more efficient relief response that saved lives. Southcom is now using the system as part of an improved framework for military support to civilian-led disaster relief operations, Fraser noted in his command's 2012 posture statement.

Meanwhile, Southcom is collaborating with regional partners to increase their ability to prepare for and respond to natural disasters. Fraser described a three-part effort through Southcom's humanitarian assistance program, disaster preparedness projects and annual humanitarian assistance exercises.

Last year, those efforts included building disaster-response warehouses, wells, potable water systems and emergency operations centers, he said. In fiscal year 2011, Southcom also conducted 169 projects designed to increase disaster preparedness in Central America, South America and the Caribbean.

In addition, the command supports the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, a regional effort to increase disaster resilience and response capabilities among the 18 Caribbean nations involved.

A new project Southcom sponsored in the wake of the Haiti earthquake involves forward-staged kits that provide disaster-response teams with essential services, including potable water, hybrid renewable power, communications and situational awareness.
"Past experience has demonstrated that one of the biggest challenges in providing an effective response is the ability to accurately assess the situation on the ground after communications go down and transportation infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed," Fraser noted in his commander's blog.

Pre-positioned Expeditionary Assistance Kits, or PEAKS, developed in partnership with the National Defense University, "enable decision makers to gain a better understanding of how best to deploy relief efforts," he said.

The kits underwent a joint capability technology demonstration last year at Soto Cono Air Base in Honduras, less than a year after the program's inception, Fraser noted. Joint Task Force Bravo in Honduras, Southcom's main expeditionary organization, and members of Honduras' military and civil-relief agencies, put the kits to the test under realistic field conditions.

Meanwhile, Fraser emphasized the importance of training to ensure the Southcom staff is prepared to support USAID, the lead federal agency for international disaster response, if called upon. This includes a joint operations course it hosts, with classes presented by USAID.

"This recurring training guarantees that when disaster strikes, U.S. Southern Command is ready to assist," Fraser said.

And to ensure regional nations are as prepared as possible for disasters when they occur, many Southcom-sponsored exercises incorporate disaster-response scenarios or training activities that enhance capabilities and cooperation, Ambassador Carmen Martinez, Southcom's civilian deputy to the commander, explained.
The Fuerzas Aliadas Humanitarias annual exercise series, sponsored by Southcom and executed by U.S. Army South, helps bring together regional militaries, civilian disaster management agencies and first responders to train in disaster relief and recovery efforts. The 2011 exercise, held in Trinidad and Tobago and Guatemala, included 640 participants from 27 nations to practice the national and international response to an imaginary earthquake.

Martinez credited these efforts with building partner-nation capability, noting that no U.S. military forces were called on during last year's hurricane season to provide support.

"I think that is the direct result of the constant training and exercising and assisting of these nations, that they were able to take care of things themselves," she said. "And I think that's a real tribute to the host nations. But it is also a tribute to the programs that U.S. Southern Command has conducted in the region."

SOUTHCOM COMMANDER SAYS EVENTS IN SOUTH AMERICAN NATIONS AFFECT NATIONAL SECURITY

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE 
Marines attached to a Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force guard an extraction point in the marshes of Santo Tomas, Guatemala, Dec. 6, 2011, as a part of Amphibious-Southern Partnership Station 2012, an annual deployment of U.S. military teams to the U.S. Southern Command region. Partnership is a cornerstone of U.S. military engagement in the Southern Command area of responsibility. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Isaiah Sellers III.  



Regional Challenges Drive Southcom's Agenda
By Donna Miles
MIAMI, June 18, 2012 - Air Force Gen. Douglas M. Fraser, commander of U.S. Southern Command, regularly tells members of Congress, audiences around the region and members of his command that events in South America, Central America and the Caribbean affect U.S. national security.

"The hemisphere is our shared home," Fraser noted in his Command Strategy 2020 "Partnership for the Americas" document issued in July.

"We are all Americans" in the region, he added.

While a mere glance at a map underscores the obvious physical connection among the hemisphere's nations, Fraser cited other bonds that cross economic, cultural, ideological and security lines.

"Latin America and the Caribbean are vitally important to the security and future of the United States," he said. "The nations of the region are inextricably linked, and we face common challenges to our security and stability."

With globalization unfolding at lightning speed over the past decade, transforming commerce, culture, trade and technology, it's had a profound impact on security as well, the general noted in his 2012 Southcom posture statement, released in March.

Fraser said he's particularly concerned about "the parallel globalization of organized crime, violence, murder and kidnapping related to illicit trafficking."

He noted that in many parts of the hemisphere, particularly in Central America, transnational organized crime has evolved to become a "volatile and potentially destabilizing threat to both citizen and regional security."

These sophisticated networks operate across national borders and dividing lines for U.S. geographic combatant commands, demanding an unprecedented level of cooperation among those attempting to counter them -- regionally, nationally and across U.S. agencies, he said.

"The challenge for United States Southern Command is to find creative ways to enhance the interagency, public-private and partner-nation cooperation as we plan, train and operate with regional military to address the predominant security concerns in the region," Fraser said.

Fraser recognized other persistent challenges facing the region, including poverty, crime, corruption, institutional weakness, illicit trafficking and terrorism. "These challenges complicate our collective efforts to secure the hemisphere," he stated in his 2020 command strategy. "At the same time, security helps provide the very means to address these issues."

He cited the vulnerability of much of Latin America and the Caribbean to humanitarian crises, mass migrations and natural disasters.

Southcom works closely with partner nations to strengthen their humanitarian assistance and disaster relief capabilities, Fraser told the House Armed Services Committee in May. "And we remain ready to respond should our assistance be requested," he added.

Meanwhile, Southcom watches for potential geopolitical turbulence that could affect U.S. citizens and military personnel in the region, he said in his posture statement. He cited Cuba, Haiti, Bolivia and Venezuela as areas of particular interest.

Frasier noted the yet-to-be-seen long-term effects of Cuba's market reforms under Raul Castro's leadership. Haiti, while making slow but steady progress, remains vulnerable to natural disasters and economic hardship, the general said.

Meanwhile, he added, public demonstrations in Bolivia related to low wages, high food prices and energy shortages are likely to continue until the Bolivian government addresses these issues. And in Venezuela, Fraser recognized continuing uncertainty about President Hugo Chavez' health, as well as continued economic instability and escalating violence that he said place increasing demands on that country's government.

Adding to the list of concerns, Fraser pointed to Hezbollah supporters operating throughout South America and the fact that the region has become home to a small number of violent extremist organizations.

"We remain vigilant for the potential radicalization of homegrown extremists," he said. Fraser noted that Sunni extremists, while small in number, are actively involved in radicalization efforts.

Jamaica's Shaykh Abdullah al-Faisal, for example, was convicted in the United Kingdom for inciting terrorism, he said. Al-Qaida senior operative Adnan el-Shukrijumah has held valid passports for the United States as well as Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, where he has family and associates. And despite recent convictions in the 2007 plot to attack the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, one of the alleged co-conspirators remains at large in Guyana.

Meanwhile, Fraser noted, Iran represents a troublesome influence in the region, attempting to circumvent international sanctions through ties with Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Cuba. "We take Iranian activity in the hemisphere seriously, and we monitor its activities closely," he said.

In presenting his command priorities, Fraser emphasized four major objectives:

-- Strengthen regional partnerships;
-- Increase partner capability;
-- Confront regional challenges; and
-- Support humanitarian and disaster response, as required.

Fraser called partnership-building "the cornerstone of our strategic approach." It ensures the forward defense of the United States, he said, by promoting capable regional militaries that share in the responsibility of hemispheric security and stability.

"What we focus on in the region is building partner capacity and security cooperation, collaboratively, with willing nations," Navy Vice Adm. Joseph D. Kernan, Southcom's military deputy commander, told American Forces Press Service at the command's headquarters here. "We endeavor to plan extensively with them, ensuring that our efforts to help build their security in ways they believe are helpful to them."

These efforts are coordinated closely with the State Department and with full respect for each partner nation's sovereignty, Kernan said.

"We truly want to be the security partner of choice," said Army Maj. Gen. Gerald W. Ketchum, director of the command's theater engagement directorate, who oversees many of the programs designed to build those partnerships. "And as we work to build them, we want those partnerships to be enduring."

In establishing new ties and strengthening existing ones, Kernan said, Southcom is demonstrating the deep U.S. commitment to the region.

"We have to pursue a persistent, welcomed presence with countries in the region," he said. "That is what builds lasting relations and mutual respect. We need to be able to stand alongside our partners and talk about collectively addressing common security problems."

Fraser said efforts to strengthen and enhance partner nations' ability to respond to domestic and regional threats -- individually and collectively -- will pay off in long-term security for the region.

"We envision a hemisphere characterized by nations working together to address the emerging security challenges of the coming decade," he said.

U.S. SOUTHERN COMMAND FOCUSES ON TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME

The following excerpt is from the Department of Defense American Forces Press Service:

Southern Command Targets Transnational Organized Crime

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 13, 2012 - U.S. Southern Command is focused on stopping transnational organized crime and building partners' capabilities, Air Force Gen. Douglas Fraser said here today.

Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Southern Command commander detailed the challenges facing Southcom, which has responsibility for U.S. military relationships in Central and South America and the Caribbean.

Working with other U.S. federal agencies, the command has focused on a concern that permeates the region: transnational organized crime, which the general said "is seriously impacting citizen safety in Central America, especially Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras."

Transnational crime rings "threaten to overwhelm law enforcement capacities, and in an effort to reduce violence and halt the spread of these criminal groups, these countries have deployed their militaries in support of law enforcement organizations," he said.

Disrupting these narcosyndicates is part of the overall strategy in the region, Fraser said. In the past year, the command developed and implemented Operation Martillo, a plan to disrupt illicit maritime traffic in the departure zones of South America and the arrival zones in Central America, the general said.

Southern Command personnel have helped train partner nations' military members to support local police, and provides "network analysis of transnational criminal organizations and their operations," Fraser said.

The command works in the Caribbean under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, which is developing the regional maritime interdiction plan to enhance the capabilities of Caribbean partners, Fraser said.

"In South America, we will sustain our support to Colombia and to Peru as they fight narcoterrorist groups in these countries," he said.

The command is working to build enduring international and interagency partnerships by promoting cooperation and information-sharing, Fraser said.

Personnel also are working through traditional military channels to strengthen disaster relief capabilities," he said. "We remain ready to respond should our assistance be requested," he said.

The command has been busy. In 2011, it conducted hundreds of training and educational events, 12 major multinational exercises with partner nations in the hemisphere and 56 medical readiness training exercises in 13 countries.

"This sustained engagement is yielding important benefits," Fraser said. "Last year, for the first time, Colombia assumed the land component commander role during Panamax, our annual multinational exercise focused on supporting the defense of the Panama Canal."

This year, Brazil will command the maritime component of the exercise, he said.

Threats are not limited to the homegrown varieties. Iran is very engaged in Latin America, the general said. "They have doubled their number of embassies in the last seven years," he said. "They now have 11 embassies. They have 40 cultural centers in 17 different countries throughout the region."

Southern Command officials see the Iranian activity as trying to build cultural awareness and awareness for Iran to circumvent international sanctions against Iran. "They are seeing an opportunity with some of the anti-U.S.-focused countries within the region as a method on being able to do that," he said.

The concern lies with Iran's connections with Hezbollah and Hamas terrorist groups, both of which have organizations in Latin America, Fraser said. "Those organizations are primarily focused on financial support to organizations back in the Middle East, but they are involved in illicit activity," he said.