The Army’s focus on the Western Hemisphere is beginning to show in how it’s reorganizing the forces it sends abroad.
Earlier this week the Army redesignated a brigade formerly used to advise partner forces in Afghanistan as the Army Security Cooperation Group – South, a Georgia-based unit intended to anchor security cooperation with Panama and lead jungle warfare training under the newly established Western Hemisphere Command.
“We are now charged with holding a different line, no longer as Advisors, but as committed jungle warfare experts,” said Col. Keith Benedict, the group’s commander, in a statement.
Under the new structure, ASCG-S will oversee the Army’s training mission in Panama, including joint jungle warfare training that is conducted alongside Panamanian forces. The effort revives a course that operated for decades before being shuttered in 1999, the Army said in a statement.
The Jungle Operations Training Course in Panama will award Jungle tabs for the first time in February of this year. The current course is 18 days and involves survival training, according to the Army’s statement.
Training takes place in a “Green Hell,” the Army said, where heat, humidity and dense vegetation complicate even basic soldiering tasks.
The unit’s redesignation and realignment reflect the sweeping changes made by the Army Transformation Initiative, which is reshaping how the military is organized.
“This one-of-a-kind organization is undergoing a comprehensive redesign to nest with and enable Western Hemisphere Command’s efforts to build the theater Army in line with the latest strategic guidance” said Col. Mike Burns, a spokesperson for the Western Hemisphere Command in an email.
The unit was formerly known as the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade. It was activated in October 2017 to advise Afghan security forces. After one deployment to Afghanistan, the brigade shifted its focus to Latin America, where it worked with military partners in Colombia, Argentina, Panama and Honduras.
Eve Sampson is a reporter and former Army officer. She has covered conflict across the world, writing for The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Associated Press.