Honduran military shares vision with JTF-Bravo leaders

Photo By Capt. Steven Stubbs | Joint Task Force-Bravo leadership traveled to the Honduras capital of Tegucigalpa Sept. 19 to participate in the 2nd Annual Honduran Senior Military Leader Conference. During the conference, Honduran joint staff and service component senior leaders shared their vision and strategy for the next five years with key leaders from JTF-Bravo and the U.S. Country Team. (Photo by U.S. Air National Guard Capt. Steven Stubbs)  

SOTO CANO AIR BASE, HONDURAS

09.23.2014

Story by Capt. Steven Stubbs 

Joint Task Force Bravo

SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras - The Joint Task Force-Bravo commander and its major subordinate command leadership traveled to the Honduras capital of Tegucigalpa Sept. 19 to participate in the 2nd Annual Honduran Senior Military Leader Conference.

During the conference, Honduran joint staff and service component senior leaders shared their vision and strategy for the next five years with key leaders from JTF-Bravo and the U.S. Country Team.

"We focused this meeting on providing JTF-Bravo with proper guidance regarding the Honduran Armed Forces various operational fields," said Honduran Army Gen. Carlos Puerto, Honduran Army chief of operations, organization and training. "We also briefed them about FUSINA, the Military Police, which focuses on citizen safety nationwide that includes ocean, land and air protection."

JTF-Bravo leaders gained a better understanding of the Honduran military structure, strategy and vision throughout the briefings. During the question and answer sessions, JTF-Bravo leaders also learned about the challenges and concerns of the Honduran joint staff and service chiefs.

"General Puerto mentioned some of the limitations, mainly in air transportation, that we have since our territory has very hard-to-reach areas and it's difficult for us to do it on our own," stated Honduran Gen. Mario Castillo, Estado Mayor human resources commander. "The last meetings between U.S. Southern Command and the Honduran Armed Force's leadership have resulted in a search for assistance from the U.S. Army in order to accomplish the missions that will better our country's living conditions. This meeting is important because they know our limitations and it allows them to communicate our needs and available assistance for us in order to accomplish our mission."

U.S. Army Col. Kirk Dorr, Joint Task Force-Bravo commander, remains diligent to nurture and grow the relationship between the partner nations.

"I think it is a fundamental forum for us to come together to build understanding and cooperation with the Honduran military. The conference was also an important venue to reinforce U.S. Southern Command's support for our Honduran partners and continue to strengthen the relationship between JTF-Bravo and Honduran military leaders," said Dorr.

"It's a very important meeting for our leadership ... to emphasize our friendship, trust and cooperation especially in the operations, organization and training fields," added Puerto. "This support elevates our Armed Forces' operational readiness status. "

Castillo enthusiastically showed his appreciation of JTF-Bravo's support and partnership during the past 30 years.

"We thank you for your visit and your determination to work with us. Your presence is fundamental for us as we've been coordinating missions with Joint Task Force-Bravo (for a long time) and we hope to continue doing so in the future. It will always be an honor to coordinate Joint Task Force-Bravo and the Honduran Armed Forces' activities on a daily basis in search of bettering our citizens' (living) conditions."

• Date Taken: 09.23.2014
• Date Posted: 09.23.2014 18:26
• Story ID: 143066
• Location: SOTO CANO AIR BASE, HN