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well we're just getting here to TOA base
one of the largest military bases in
Colombia and this is the site of the
forses Commando 2014 and this is sort of
a friendly competition in which the best
trained soldiers and and special forces
of each country gather to test their
skills test their endurance forces
Commando is a special ops competition
that brings together Elite military
forces from across the Western
Hemisphere started in 2004 by the US
military the competition's mission is to
help combat the evolving threats of
terrorism and drugs in the region and
while the 17 countries participating
this year each face their own unique
challenges the one thing the region has
in common is the presence of guerillas
and militias who have merged with
powerful traffickers and street gangs
they've combined military tactics and
experience with drug money and weapons
to expand their activities well beyond
National borders
the primary objective of hes Commando is
to train these militaries that must work
together to respond to this growing
network of violence and crime we dropped
in to see for ourselves just how
effective the exercise has
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been today is the Aquatic event they're
going to row their boats across a
distance here to another area they are
doing sort of a Shallow Lake rug sack
run and then they're going to do a
shooting range event with a 9mm
firearm in many cases CrossCountry
Mobility is a huge Factor gorillas have
learned to make their camps and arms
caches difficult to access by vehicle
and therefore less vulnerable to attack
helicopters can be too noisy and ruin
the element of surprise this means
soldiers often have to travel long
distances over water or on foot before
they can carry out their assault
as a result Force's Commando involves a
lot of marching and obstacle
courses so right now we're getting to
the assault event behind me is the
compound that the competitors are going
to secure in this
exercise they're going to identify shoot
and Destroy targets and also at the same
time avoid injuring any hostages any of
the simulated hostages that are part of
the
exercise
the ability to take out targets without
killing everyone in sight is invaluable
for special ops teams that must be
capable of clearing rooms in drug raids
and hostage
situations have you been here before
yeah I've been here before oh okay all
right in 2012 and BCE right now has
criminal gangs and those kind of issues
those kind of issues and you see you get
experience how other countries fight
their Wars to gangs and stuff
we get more tactics with them and stuff
right so to learn from what other
countries are doing oh co well good luck
okay thank you very much just as
important as the physical skill tests is
the opportunity for the different
special ops teams to train and learn
from one another connecting a support
network throughout the region vital to
defeating these increasingly
transnational
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threats
Columbia is just passing uh the marker
on this second Lake once they come out
of here they're going to be weighed down
by water and then they're going to go
back up to this third area this uh
shooting range and it looks like they're
doing quite well the home team the host
country
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Colombia
many including the US which has poured
billions of dollars in support hope that
Colombia will establish itself as a
pillar of stability in the region
Colombia is approaching a possible
resolution with its left-wing Guerilla
armies the farc and the eln whom they
have been fighting for more than 50
years the military remains tight lipped
about the ongoing peace talks not
wanting to jeopardize the progress the
government has made but if they are
successful it will mean the end to the
longest running conflict in the
hemisphere and a potential model and
Ally for neighboring countries dealing
with similar
issues it became clear just how much
everyone is rallying behind Colombia at
the obstacle course the final setting
for forces Commando 2014 so right now
the mood is shifted it looks like
Colombia is about to go and it feels
like all of TOA base is here to cheer
them on and watch
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them but even for Colombia seen in many
ways as a model for future military
engagement in the region the road to
achieving stability is a Rocky one if
the peace talks do manage to end the
Insurgency criminal paramilitary groups
still challenge the central government
as the international drug war continues
and as Colombia remains a top coca
producer worldwide the networked and
fluid nature of crime and violence in
the region means this special ops team
won't be hanging up its helmets anytime
soon
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