U.S. Marine Corps Forces, South

Exerecise UNITAS LXV Marines strengthened partnerships and encouraged the establishment of new relationships through the exchange of maritime mission-focused knowledge and expertise of forces from 25 countries to include Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, South Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, United States, and Uruguay. United States Southern Command | 4th Marine Division | US Navy #unitaschile2024 #unitas2024 #UNITAS #Marines #Navy #AirForce #Army

In a groundbreaking and historic moment for the Fuzileiros Navais do Brasil, the first group of female Marines graduated from the rigorous Brazilian Marine Corps boot camp July 5, 2024. This landmark achievement signifies a pivotal step toward gender equality and integration within the armed forces and underscores the increasing opportunities for women in the military.

Any Clime and Place Marines with 4th Civil Affairs Group, participate in Exercise CENTAM Guardian Phase II in order to enhance humanitarian/disaster aid in various locations throughout Costa Rica. #StrongerTogether #marines #costarica #USSOUTHCOM United States Marine Corps

U.S. Marine John Kelliher, a squad leader with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, Marine Forces Reserve, was promoted to the rank of sergeant during exercise #tradewinds24 at Paragon Army Base, Barbados. Promotion ceremonies are a significant achievement in a service member’s career and are a testament to their commitment, mastery of duties and skills, and leadership capabilities. #StrongerTogether | #EnduringPromise | #USMC | #Military | #Promotion (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Gabriel Durand)

#SharedHeritage: U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Villiana Jeanfrancois turned hardship into honor in her new country while still keeping close ties to her Haitian heritage. ?

MARITIME SECURITY ?? MARFORSOUTH deputy commander Brig. Gen. Omar J. Randall participated in the African Maritime Forces Summit and Naval Infantry Leadership Symposium alongside Brazilian and Colombian Marine Corps leaders, where they discussed shared security challenges and the imperative of maintaining a free, prosperous and secure South Atlantic region. #NILSA | #AMFS | #EnduringPromise | #IUUFishing

BUILDING PARTNERSHIP ?? In a move to increase collaboration and partnership, the Comando Infantería Marina de Armada Paraguaya (COMIM) hosted members of U.S. Marine Corps Forces, South, for collaborative planning between militaries from April 8 -11. The Staff-planning Working Group, held in the city of Asunción, Paraguay, marks an important step in continuing and bolstering the relationship between the Paraguayan Marine Infantry and the U.S. Marine Corps. Officials from both sides emphasized the importance of maintaining a strong partnership to increase regional security in the Western Hemisphere. “This is the first step in the right direction in reestablishing relationships,” said Contra-almirante (Paraguayan rear admiral) Albino Bogarin Flor, commander of COMIM. For MARFORSOUTH, staff-planning working groups with partner nations are routine business. For Paraguay, this marks a change in the relationship as the U.S. Marine Corps wants to establish a 5-year plan to build training objectives and personnel exchanges with Paraguay that start with assessments and hope to lead to bi-lateral training exercises. While the two Marine Corps have not conducted many bi-lateral exercises, they participate together in the multi-lateral exercise UNITAS annually. “This is about fostering and building relationships through the entire planning process and execution of our training,” said Col. Jason A. Borovies, operations director for MARFORSOUTH. “A more expansive bilateral military relationship between Paraguay Marine Infantry and the United States Marine Corps can significantly enhance security in the region.” Paraguay’s marine infantry has a particular mission that reflects the geographical nature of the country. As a land-locked country, Paraguay accesses the ocean through the tri-border area with Argentina and Brazil where the Iguazú and Paraná rivers converge. With that, part of Paraguay’s marine infantry’s mission includes coastal defense functions through riverine operations. Additionally, they provide augmentations to prison security, law enforcement and crowd control. “We can learn to fit our objectives and strategies together, much like a puzzle,” said Paraguayan Capitán de navío (Navy captain) Livio Alberto Duarte Romero, chief of general staff of COMIM. The two Marine Corps discussed how to strengthen security in the western hemisphere by enhancing interoperability and coordination between the United States and Paraguay, deterring potential threats from transnational criminal organizations, facilitating information sharing, fostering regional stability, and improving responses to humanitarian crises and disasters. The Paraguayan Marine Infantry is part of their Navy and has about 800 marines, of which 400 are assigned to one commando unit with the rest being organized into a single battalion consisting of three?companies.

“For years, [Chinese Communist Party]-backed hackers have stolen huge troves of company secrets, political intelligence, and the personal information of millions of people.” This insightful WIRED news article on Chinese Communist Party-sponsored global cybercrime explains how U.S. and U.K. officials hit Chinese hacking group APT31 with sanctions and criminal charges after they targeted thousands of businesses, politicians, and critics of China. CCP-sponsored cybercrime is a problem for all democratic-led countries, which extends to our partners and allies in the Western Hemisphere Visit this website to read the Wired story, along with other illuminating articles on CCP malign activity around the world. https://lnkd.in/d7QwxVQE