Photo By Sgt. Nicole Paese | A paratrooper salutes Colombian jumpmaster after their descent onto Sicily Drop Zone...... read more read more
FORT BRAGG, N.C. - This year marked the first year service members from the Colombian military participated in the 18th Annual Randy Oler Memorial Operation Toy Drop. The event hosted by the U.S. Army Reserve and Civil Affairs & Psychological Operations Command (Airborne) here at Fort Bragg.
The three soldiers and one airman from the Colombian military all said they were very excited about participating in the event.
“We were looking forward to not only training with the Americans but the other armies as well,” said Cpt. Juan De Valdenebro, a senior jumpmaster with the Colombian Special Operations Command.
Multinational training afforded the Colombian military members the chance to share experiences and techniques with the U.S. and the other countries present. These countries included Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Latvia, and the Netherlands.
The integration of different countries for this event provided opportunities for these nations to learn from each other but also strengthen relationships.
“It is always good to see how other countries do things, their procedures so you have another point of view,“ the 16-year-veteran said about the training. “I think it will increase safety in our procedures as well because we plan to learn everything the other countries do and apply them as much as we can.”
De Valdenebro really enjoyed the logistics behind the operation, such as how the command ran the training and how they organized all the movements throughout the base.
“Its not only the jump, but everything else in the background,” said De Valdenebro. “There are a lot of people involved in the planning and the execution of the operation.”
“We are very grateful to USACAPOC for inviting us,” added De Valdenebro. “We love being here, they have been taking good care of us.
In order to return the care the Americans have shown to them, the Colombians were able to bestow an honor to the American paratroopers that jumped with them.
“It’s a unique opportunity for me to give paratroopers from this country wings for the first time,” said Staff Sgt. Yair Calderon about the pinning ceremony.
“Now we have something else to take home, the experience,” added De Valdenebro.
| Date Taken: | 12.04.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 12.07.2015 11:40 |
| Story ID: | 183685 |
| Location: | FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 103 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Something else to take home, by SGT Nicole Paese, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
