PANAMA CITY, Panama - Teams from 17 countries participating in Fuerzas Comando 2018, competed in various marksmanship events, 18-19, July 2018, in different areas of Panama. The groups were divided and transported to their respective locations for the events which included; La Mendoza, Instituto Superior Policial, and Cerro Tigre, to carry out sniper and assault competitions.
Competitors were transported to t La Mendoza where the snipers participated in the event of unknown distance. During the exercise the participants had to calculate the distance of 10 targets, having two opportunities to impact them in a maximum time of 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, other competitors held their events at ISPOL and Cerro Tigre, Panama.
The events at Cerro Tigre had back-to-back exercises where the participants performed dummy drags on a stretcher simulating a victim, then proceeded with shots to the targets, both in terms of sniper shooter and assault.
"We are used to the exercises, because they are similar to the ones we used to do in our training," said Sgt. Eduardo Dias with team Brazil. "This is the first time I have participated in this competition and it has seemed like a great opportunity to share with special forces from other Latin American countries."
For some, Panama’s climate presents a major challenge in the competition.
"I thought the competition was good, but adapting to the weather made it difficult for us," said one of the Chilean participants. "Right now in Chile it's winter and we had to adapt to the humidity here."
For this participant, his team seems to be adapting well. Chile is currently number three among the team standings after the conclusion of day four in Fuerzas Comando.
Through friendly competition, this exercise promotes interoperability, military-to-military relationships, increases training knowledge, and improves regional security.