Centering around the Olympic Stadium in Ciudad Juárez, the U.S. and Mexican Armies conducted the “Fuerzas Amigas 2024” exercise from June 24 to 28, focusing on response to a Chemical, Biological, Nuclear, and Explosive (CBRNE) disaster caused by a natural catastrophe.
The exercise took place in the parking lot of the Benito Juárez Stadium, simulating an immediate response to a natural disaster, working under the hypothesis of a 7.5 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale, which would impact the border between Mexico and the U.S., causing the collapse of essential services.
To this end, the U.S. Army deployed approximately 220 personnel from the 172nd Chemical Company (Hazard Response), based in Fort Riley, Kansas, supported by Boeing CH-47 Chinook and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. From Mexico, 300 members of the Mexican Armed Forces participated in the exercise.
It is worth noting that the operational control of the exercise was under the U.S. contingent, executing command coordination in tasks such as chemical decontamination, victim triage, evacuation, and search and rescue training.
Additionally, the U.S. Army’s Hazard Response companies conduct reconnaissance, surveillance, and CBRNE decontamination operations with conventional and special forces worldwide and provide support to civilian authorities on U.S. soil.
Image credits: U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service.
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