U.S. and Honduran Marines Integrate During CENTAM Guardian 24

Photo By Sgt. Gabriel Groseclose-Durand | U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Shane Wexler, a rifleman with Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, moves through the jungle during the culminating exercise alongside Honduran Naval Infantry during exercise CENTAM Guardian 2024 in the jungle near Puerto Castilla, Honduras, April 8, 2024. During CG24, U.S. Marines of Golf Company and Honduran Naval Infantry held a culminating exercise where they combined the knowledge shared over the course of the exercise to counter a simulated illegal narcotics operation. CENTAM Guardian 24 is an annual, multinational exercise designed to strengthen interoperability, domain awareness, information sharing, and counter-threat capabilities between the United States and participating Central American partner nations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Gabriel Durand)  

PUERTO CASTILLA, HONDURAS

04.15.2024

Story by Sgt. Gabriel Groseclose-Durand 

U.S. Marine Corps Forces, South

PUERTO CASTILLA, Honduras - U.S. Marines with Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, based out of Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, traveled to Honduras to participate in exercise CENTAM Guardian 24, April 2 - 15. CG24, an annual, multinational exercise, is designed to strengthen interoperability, domain awareness, information sharing, and counter-threat capabilities between the United States and participating Central American partner nations and is a SOUTHCOM-sponsored and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff-approved exercise, that is nested under JS-Large Scale Global Exercise 2024.

During CG24, Marines of Golf Company integrated with the Honduran Marines who provided expert knowledge on jungle operations and the two nations shared knowledge, tactics and techniques, and procedures. The training improved bilateral cooperation and combined platoon level operations as U.S. and Honduran Marines navigated the jungle, fired various weapon systems, and held a multitude of readiness-oriented classes together.

CENTAM Guardian concluded with a two-day culminating exercise where they combined the knowledge shared over the course of the training in order to shut down and seize a simulated illegal narcotics operation and apprehend a high valued target protected by a simulated oppositional force. The Marines achieved success by moving and communicating through the jungle in bi-lateral squads.

Over the course of CG24, Cyber service members from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras participated in a cyberspace defense exercise at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras. Instruction was provided by Arkansas Air National Guard, 189th Communications Flight members and a servicemember from the U.S. Southern Command Joint Cyber Center. Cyber operators used a cyber range from the Georgia Cyber Center in Augusta, GA and received exercise scenario injects from U.S. Marine defensive cyber specialists from 6th Communication Battalion in Ayer, Massachusetts. The participants learned about cybersecurity tools and techniques to identify vulnerabilities and threats and executed a domain defense capstone for each team. A cyber detachment from Company B, 6th Communications Battalion, Force Headquarters Group, Marine Forces Reserve participated in the exercise as the “Red Team” opposition force from their home training center in Ayer, Massachusetts. This Marine cyber detachment helped to evaluate partner force defensive cyber capabilities.

This year, U.S. SOUTHCOM aligned CENTAM Guardian 24 with Large Scale Global Exercise 2024. LSGE 24 is a U.S. European Command-coordinated exercise framework, comprised of dozens of exercises across multiple commands designed to strengthen agility and interoperability with Allies and partner nations.

U.S. SOUTHCOM is responsible for providing contingency planning, operations, and security cooperation in the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

MARFORSOUTH is the Service component of U.S. Southern Command, responsible for all U.S. Marine activity in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. MARFORSOUTH provides contingency planning, operations, and security cooperation plans to deter aggression, defeat threats, rapidly respond to crises, and build regional capacity, working with our allies, partner nations, and U.S. government team members to enhance security and help defend the U.S. homeland and our national interests.

• Date Taken: 04.15.2024
• Date Posted: 04.19.2024 10:37
• Story ID: 468929
• Location: PUERTO CASTILLA, HN