SOUTHCOM Commander: Expect Enhanced Ship, Aircraft Presence in Hemisphere

摘要

The hemisphere surveyed by U.S. Southern Command will see an increased U.S. military presence with more platforms and security forces to improve regional readiness and interoperability and better enable counterdrug operations, the combatant commander said March 11. The command has been consistently working with between six and eight ships, whether they be Navy platforms, Coast Guard cutters or law enforcement vessels. But it requires additional forces to address the counter-narcotics mission set, U.S. SOUTHCOM Commander Adm. Craig Faller told reporters at the Pentagon on Wednesday. “Recognizing these complex challenges in our neighborhood, we will see an increase in U.S. military presence,” Faller said. That will include ships, aircraft and security forces “to reassure our partners, improve U.S. and partner readiness and interoperability, and counter a range of threats, to include narcoterrorism.” “You'll see additional forces in the air, on land, sea, and some maneuver forces ashore, some security force assistance brigades to work with our partners,” he added. “It will be an alldomain approach.”