-Caveat Lector-
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Colombia: US troops are on the ground (from US military publication)
Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 23:47:08 -0600 (CST)
From: Colombian Labor Monitor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Organization: ?
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
[NOTE: U.S. troops deployed in the field
against "bandits and guerrillas." Check
the webpage for pictures and all. -DG]
While traveling between training areas a group
of 7th SFG soldiers ran into a roadblock. Armed
bandits were robbing passengers on two buses
they had stopped. The U.S. soldiers foiled the
robbery, killed several bandits and captured the
rest, later turning them over to the Ecuadoran
authorities.
____________ SOLDIERS ONLINE
http://www.dtic.mil/soldiers/oct1999/features/ecuador.html
Jungle Drug War
---------------
By John Valceanu
THE Amazonian jungle can be a dark and deadly place, and drug
traffickers near the Ecuador-Colombia border take full advantage of its
vastness. They hide from military forces and law-enforcement agencies,
using the impenetrable jungle canopy as cover. They grow coca plants in
hidden fields, and they process the leaves into cocaine using secret
laboratories.
Determined to protect their illicit product, drug traffickers are among
the deadliest creatures in the jungle.
Cocaine makes its way out of the jungles and eventually ends up on the
streets. Some stays in South America, some is shipped to Europe, but
the lion's share of the drug ends up in the United States.
Ecuadoran military and civilian law-enforcement agencies are having a
difficult time going up against well-trained and well-armed drug
traffickers. But soldiers from the 7th Special Forces Group, based at
Fort Bragg, N.C., recently lent the Ecuadorans a helping hand. By
helping train Ecuadoran forces in counter-narcotics operations, special
forces soldiers helped America wage its war on drugs.
"If we can stop the drugs here, then we should do it," said CPT John
Hester, a detachment commander in Company C, 1st Battalion, 7th SFG.
"This is the heart of where the drug problem starts."
Hester's Operational Detachment-Alpha was one of four such detachments
from the 1st Bn. that deployed to Ecuador in May and June to work with
Ecuadoran forces. They were joined by a headquarters and support
detachment, known as an Operational Detachment Bravo, and by aviators
from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, based at Fort
Campbell, Ky., and elements of the Navy's SEAL Team 4 from Little
Creek, Va.
The soldiers trained two Ecuadoran jungle-operations battalions, a
special forces battalion and a special operations police unit. Each of
the four 7th SFG ODAs was responsible for teaching one Ecuadoran unit,
and training was focused on the unit's specialty, according to MAJ
Bernard Sparrow, Co. C's commander.
"We're helping the Ecuadoran troops learn how to work together better.
They're pretty new to the concept of joint operations. With our help,
hopefully, their army, navy and police forces will be able to
collaborate in fighting the war on drugs," Sparrow said. "Our forces
are ideally suited for this mission because of our technical expertise,
language abilities and long-term cultural understanding. Being
successful in a mission like this requires more than just an ability to
speak the language. Knowing the culture really helps our soldiers
communicate better."
SFC Scott Lewis, a Co. C communications sergeant, said he has spent
many months in Ecuador over the past few years, and he finds the work
very fulfilling.
"The people here are very friendly, very nice. But anywhere you go in
the world, you'll find a bully. Sometimes it's a kid in the playground
who steals candy and sometimes it's a dictator who is running the
country. I think of these narcotics traffickers as bullies," Lewis
said. "Our job is to train the Ecuadorans to stand up to the bullies."
The special forces soldiers trained Ecuadoran troops in such
platoon-level tasks as raids and ambushes. They also taught them how to
respond to roadblocks and how to set up and operate checkpoints. The
U.S. soldiers also shared their specialized knowledge involving the use
of explosives, communications and medical support.
The SEALs worked hand in hand with the 7th SFG soldiers. The SEALs
taught riverine techniques-how to effectively patrol rivers and their
tributaries, which are primary thoroughfares through the dense jungle.
Once the Ecuadorans were inserted by boat, the special forces soldiers
took over as instructors, teaching light-infantry operations.
"It was a two-way learning process. We showed them our techniques, but
they actually showed us some stuff about operating in the jungle," said
MSG Daniel Deck, a Co. C ODA operations sergeant. "We know all the
doctrine, but the challenge is to adapt doctrine to individual
situations.
The jungle is a pretty extreme environment in which to operate, and
this is where these people live. It's their backyard." SFC Byron
Cochrane, a Co. C senior engineer sergeant in ODA 731, said Ecuadoran
soldiers are not that different from their U.S. counterparts.
"They pick up some things better because they live in this
environment," Cochrane said. "But, aside from that and the language
difference, their soldiers are similar to our soldiers. They're
motivated and ready to train."
Though Ecuadoran soldiers may be similar to their U.S. counterparts,
training in Ecuador is very different.
"This is definitely not like being at Bragg," Cochrane said. "There's a
very real threat out there, from the criminals and the guerrillas."
The guerrillas Cochrane referred to are communists fighting to topple
the Colombian government. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union,
and the resultant disappearance of financial support, the communists
turned to drug smuggling. They joined forces with drug dealers and
other criminals to fund their operations. When the Colombian government
cracks down on them, they often just slip unnoticed across the border
into Ecuador, protected by the dark jungle.
"It's sometimes difficult to tell who is a garden-variety bandit and
who is a guerrilla," Deck said. "They often support each other in a
symbiotic relationship. Bandits will steal from the people to sell
their goods to the guerrillas. Shoes are an especially hot item. And
guerrillas will run drugs and provide protection for the drug
traffickers to get a share of the profits."
Because of the threat, the U.S. soldiers carried weapons and ammunition
at all times. They also had to conduct roving patrols during
physical-fitness training.
At one point during the deployment, that preparedness paid off. While
traveling between training areas a group of 7th SFG soldiers ran into a
roadblock. Armed bandits were robbing passengers on two buses they had
stopped. The U.S. soldiers foiled the robbery, killed several bandits
and captured the rest, later turning them over to the Ecuadoran
authorities.
Bandits and guerrillas were not the only threats with which the
soldiers had to contend. Medics had to work hard to make sure soldiers
stayed healthy during the deployment, and that they stayed healthy
afterward.
"Over generations, people living down here have built up an immunity to
various diseases. We come down here, a mosquito bites us, and the next
thing you know we've got malaria or dengue fever," said SSG Jerry
Gunderson, a Co. C team medical sergeant. "That's why preventive
medication is so important. Taking malaria pills before, during and
after a deployment can save you a lot of trouble later on."
Malaria and dengue were only two of the diseases for which medics had
to be on the lookout. Gunderson and other medics routinely inspected
meats, fruits and vegetables. Because of inadequate food storage and
preparation methods, salmonella, trichinosis and other food-borne
diseases posed a real danger to the troops.
Soldiers training in the jungle also had to be aware of unique plant
and animal threats. Potentially deadly reptiles such as green tree
vipers and equis snakes menaced soldiers. Various species of piranhas-
including the black piranha, considered by many to be the most
aggressive variety-inhabited the rivers and creeks.
Finally, soldiers took great care not to brush up against the dreaded
black palm. This moss-like plant grows on the trunks of rotted trees.
Its sharp, brittle needles can penetrate BDU pants, pierce the skin and
break off-potentially causing bad infections.
For SFC David Williams, a team sergeant in Co. A, 96th Civil Affairs
Battalion, all the risks were worth it. Williams acted as an advisor to
the Ecuadorans' civil-affairs program.
"We're trying to help them build strong civil-military ties. We try to
help the military see that having a good relationship with the
villagers is beneficial to the mission," Williams said. "And we show
the civil-affairs officers that it's important to be on very good terms
with the villagers; to help the villagers understand that it's in their
best interest to support the military forces against the drug
traffickers."
Williams said the part of his job that made it all worthwhile was
working with children.
"We get to help a lot of kids. We went around to a lot of little
schools- esquelitas-giving out small gifts like toothbrushes, pens and
notebooks," Williams said. "Seeing the smiles on the kids' faces was
great. And seeing the Ecuadoran soldiers with the kids was just as
good. Kids and soldiers always seem to find a way to get along really
well."
The Ecuadorans' training culminated in Succumbios '99, a week-long,
live-fire exercise named after Succumbios province along Ecuador's
border with Colombia.
________________________________________________________________
****************************************************************
* CLM-NEWS is brought to you by the COLOMBIAN LABOR MONITOR at *
* http://www.prairienet.org/clm *
* Email CLM at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or *
* Dennis Grammenos at [EMAIL PROTECTED] *
* To subscribe send request to [EMAIL PROTECTED] *
* subscribe clm-news Your Name *
****************************************************************
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic
screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters
and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright
frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects
spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL
gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers;
be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and
nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
