Exercise Fused Response 2011 fosters partnership between US, Dominican Special Forces

Photo By Sgt. Maj. Alejandro Licea | U.S. Army Lt. Col. Kevin Petro, assigned to Special Operations Command South, speaks to his counterpart, Maj. Junior Garcia Gomez, Dominican air force, during a morning update brief March 10 at San Isidrio Air Base during Exercise Fused Response. The training event allowed both militaries to refine their skills as both nations’s military leaders learned how to operate together as part of a joint task force.  

SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

03.21.2011

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Alejandro Licea 

Special Operations Command South

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - It was all about teamwork and communication during this year’s Fused Response exercise, a U.S. and Dominican special operations forces military exercise held from March 7-11 in Santo Domingo.

The purpose of Fused Response, which involved approximately 250 Special Operations personnel from the U.S. and Dominican forces, was to allow both nations to train on skills, such as personnel planning, reconnaissance, joint integration, as well as improving the interoperability and increasing the military capacity to confront common threats such as illicit trafficking, organized crime, and terrorism.

In order to support the exercise, Special Operations Command South personnel provided key logistic, operational, medical and staff support.

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jason Stahl, the lead planner for Fused Response, stated that the focus of the exercise is to ensure both countries’ military forces are comfortable and confident working with each other as they face common threats.

“The focus of the exercise is how to deal with threats such as drug trafficking,” said Stahl. “This exercise helps build rapport between the two nations as we work together and establish new relationships. By cross-training, they are learning from each other and, at the same time, building friendships that last a lifetime.”

From staff planning, tactical operations, and logistics movements, the weeklong exercise challenged personnel from both militaries to perform at a high level in a short amount of time.
“This exercise is an extremely rapid process and truly takes a combined effort to make everything work,” said Stahl.

At the tactical level, U.S. and Dominican SOF units conducted room-clearing procedures, close-quarters battle training and personnel recovery operations. The battle staff also received some key training as both the U.S. and Dominican military leaders learned how to work together as part of a joint task force.

U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Daniel Flaherty, the senior enlisted advisor for the SOCSOUTH training and exercise section, said that Exercise Fused Response allows both nations to see which skill sets are strong and which ones need improvement.

“The whole thing about the exercise evaluation process is that you get another set of eyes watching you from planning to execution,” he said. “You get all the great training tools you need because it identifies all the areas that you need to train in.”

Flaherty also said that a training event such as this one is vital to enable both partners to build upon their existing relationships and be prepared to work together in the event of an actual crisis.

“We know who we are going to be working with, so if a real-world situation were to evolve, we are not starting from scratch. You have a rolodex of people to contact and you know what to expect from the partner nation,” he said.

From the Dominican Republic’s role in assisting Haiti relief efforts, to hosting Fuerzas Comando 2010, which is a major Special Operations skills competition with 23 participating countries, the Dominican Republic is viewed as an invaluable security partner in the region.

Dominican Maj. Ambrocio Castillo-Volquez, the Commander of the Ministerio de Estado de las Fuerzas Armadas, known as the MIFA, said that he and his commandos have been working with the American military for the past three years and that the training has helped them improve as a military organization.

“Our unit is more professionally developed and there has been improvement in areas such as planning. The entire operational climate has improved,” said Castillio-Volquez. “Our interoperability with our soldiers and the American Soldiers is excellent and we are like brothers,” he added.

Prior to Fused Response, an Operational Detachment-Alpha team assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group has been training with members of the MIFA for the past couple of months.

The officer-in-charge of the ODA stated that the Dominican soldiers are capable of defeating any threat.

“They are well-trained and are consistently improving,” he said. “The goal is for them to develop their own training programs.”

During the closing ceremony of Exercise Fused Response, dozens of senior military commanders including Armed Forces Minister, Dominican Major General Luis A. Jiménez, U.S. Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Christopher A. Lambert, Army Lt. Gen. P.K. (Ken) Keen, and Navy Rear Admiral Thomas L. Brown II were on hand to see the final culminating military event of the exercise.

Brown, the commander of SOCSOUTH, spoke about the success of the exercise during his closing remarks.

“This exercise is very important for us,” said Brown. “We are grateful for the Dominican military, their friendship, and look forward to working with our partners again in the future.”

The next Exercise Fused Response is scheduled in the Spring of 2012.

• Date Taken: 03.21.2011
• Date Posted: 03.21.2011 21:56
• Story ID: 67508
• Location: SANTO DOMINGO, DO