U.S. soldiers are training with Peruvian and Chilean forces in Exercise Southern Vanguard 26, a multinational military drill hosted by the Peruvian Army in the hills surrounding Sauce, Peru.
The exercise aims to strengthen interoperability among participating forces while building proficiency in jungle mobility, survivability and tactical operations. Training includes amphibious movement, survival skills and small-unit tactics adapted to dense jungle terrain.
For American soldiers, the jungle environment presents challenges difficult to replicate at home. The physical and environmental demands are extreme, according to Army Capt. Jared Fonzi, an operations planner assigned to the 551st Infantry Regiment, U.S. Army Western Hemisphere Command. "Multiply fatigue by 10," Fonzi said. "The climate, the terrain, the physical exhaustion that everyone here goes through — pictures do not justify the stress and the physical fatigue."
Jungle warfare also demands different tactics than American soldiers typically train for. Units operate in much smaller formations than conventional U.S. operations, relying more on individual survival techniques and minimal equipment. Environmental factors such as humidity, elevation, water obstacles, rainfall and dense vegetation directly affect combat effectiveness, according to training observations.
U.S. forces are relying on jungle warfare specialists from Peru, Colombia and Panama to improve their understanding of how to operate in these environments. Peruvian instructors lead much of the training while U.S. instructors work alongside them, translating techniques for American formations.
Effective interoperability requires more than coordinated communications and procedures. Soldiers must understand how their partners think, move and solve problems. For U.S. forces trained in different environments, that often means recognizing when others have expertise to teach and being prepared to learn from them.