Against the backdrop of La Joya Air Base, a new edition of the Multinational Exercise Resolute Sentinel 2024, driven by the United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), kicked off in Peru. This year, a total of 1,500 personnel from the Armed Forces of Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Brazil, France, and the United States have gathered to train in various scenarios involving humanitarian assistance operations. However, similar to the 2023 edition, the Argentine Armed Forces are once again absent from the activities, which will run until June 14 in Peru.
The opening ceremony of Exercise Resolute Sentinel 2024 took place at La Joya Air Base, located in Arequipa, Peru, and was attended by the Peruvian Minister of Defense, Walter Astudillo Chávez. The minister expressed that “Resolute Sentinel 24 is an excellent opportunity to strengthen our friendship ties, improve our interoperability, and enhance our capabilities to face the threats and challenges that may arise in an increasingly interconnected world.” He added, “It is important to remember that security is not an individual effort but a collective commitment, and together we are stronger. May this exercise be a testimony to our unity, determination, and ability to overcome any challenge.”
Having its inaugural edition in 2021, Resolute Sentinel is promoted and organized by the United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) to enhance the level of training and interoperability among regional armed forces in humanitarian assistance scenarios. For this new edition, the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces of Peru received the request to act as hosts and leaders of the multinational activity.
While originally focused on humanitarian assistance operations, Resolute Sentinel has evolved in scope and size, attracting more personnel and military assets from the region each year. As reported on May 27 by USSOUTHCOM, the multinational exercise “provides joint training and enhances readiness for U.S. military personnel and allied nations through combat interoperability and disaster response training, space domain awareness, medical and legal exchanges, training, humanitarian assistance, and construction projects.”
This evolution was evident last year when the Peruvian Armed Forces operated alongside various units and assets from the United States Armed Forces. Among these, the presence for the first time in Peruvian skies of A-10C Thunderbolt II attack aircraft from the U.S. Air Force Reserve Command was notable. These aircraft conducted training exercises with the Su-25 Frogfoot aircraft of the Peruvian Air Force.
Another milestone was the participation of MH-60M Black Hawk special operations helicopters from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment of the U.S. Army, also known as “Nightstalkers,” which conducted joint training exercises with Peruvian forces including insertion and extraction, casualty evacuation, among others.
Similar to last year, the Argentine Armed Forces are absent from Exercise Resolute Sentinel, which will cover various scenarios in Lima, Arequipa, Loreto, and Ucayali. Last year, one of the reasons cited by ministerial authorities for their absence was the participation of UK personnel, who, as reported by official sources, are not part of this edition.
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