Photo By Staff Sgt. Aaron Rognstad | A Salvadoran soldier provides security for host nation and partner nation military...... read more read more
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador – As service members of the U.S. Army’s Task Force Northstar arrive here for Beyond the Horizon 2015, their first observation of the country might be armed Salvadoran soldiers as they are corralled onto buses.
The question might arise concerning the need for armed security. How bad can it be? A little more than an hour’s drive from El Salvador International Airport, the buses approach a massive red castle-shaped archway. A large steel gate slowly draws open and the buses file through the castle’s belly. The U.S. forces have arrived at the Comando de Ingenieros de la Fuerza Armada (CIFA), the Salvadoran equivalent of the U.S. Army Engineer Command.
It is only after they have reached CIFA when the U.S. service members are briefed on the gravity of violence that Salvadorans face every day — something that has become a part of life here.
El Salvador has been among the top five most dangerous countries in the world for decades, but it has recently seen an upswing in homicides, bumping it to the number one slot, according to data provided by The World Bank. March recorded an average of 16 murders a day, more than double the same period last year.
El Salvador is about the size of Massachusetts in both land mass and population, noted a special agent from the U.S. embassy here who has been assigned as a force protection adviser to Task Force Northstar for the duration of Beyond the Horizon, a humanitarian and civic assistance mission that lasts several months and provides construction and medical assistance to the people of El Salvador.
“The main difference is 3,912 homicides (in El Salvador) versus 72 homicides (in Massachusetts),” said the special agent.
Much of the violence is occurring strictly between Salvadoran security forces — like the police and military — and criminal elements, but anyone traveling throughout El Salvador should maintain vigilance, added the agent.
“This is a dangerous place,” stressed Lt. Col. Joseph Dermenjian, the Task Force Northstar commander, while addressing a group of task force personnel. “We’ve made a lot of changes to put in a high posture of security to make sure our guys (U.S. service members) are safe.”
Some of the force protection changes Dermenjian has implemented include identifying off-limit areas that have historically high criminal occurrences and ensuring an adequate amount of armed escorts travel with U.S. convoys.
Still, Task Force Northstar personnel are trying to look past the violent conditions and focus on the mission at hand. U.S. and Salvadoran forces, along with a number of other partner nations, are building several schools and clinics, and providing free medical and veterinary care throughout El Salvador.
“It’s really great what we’ve been doing here, not just the U.S., but the Salvadorans, Chileans, Brazilians, Canadians,” said Cpl. Jerry Zuetrong, a medic with the 396th Combat Support Hospital in Spokane, Washington. “We’ve been able to provide medical care for women’s health, pediatrics, vision (and) hearing.”
Zuetrong’s role during Beyond the Horizon was to deliver on-site medical aid for the various construction projects and provide first aid training to Salvadoran soldiers.
“When you live in a violent society, it’s good to see rays of hope, that there are people who care,” said Zuetrong.
Many of the American military members here believe that practicing operational security and situational awareness — knowing where you are and who might be watching you — can also mitigate risks.
“The attacks against police and military are calculated and planned, usually out of retaliation,” explained Sgt. 1st Class Jose Meruelo, an information operations specialist for Task Force Northstar, describing the ongoing violent ebb and flow between Salvadoran security forces and criminal gangs. “But it would make no sense for them to attack U.S. soldiers building the schools, because their kids go to those schools. The work we are doing here is benefiting them.”
| Date Taken: | 05.06.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 05.06.2015 17:55 |
| Story ID: | 162482 |
| Location: | SAN SALVADOR, SV |
| Hometown: | COEUR D'ALENE, IDAHO, US |
| Hometown: | ORCUTT, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Hometown: | SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 405 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Protecting the force in El Salvador: Security is a priority for US soldiers, even in peacetime missions, by Christopher Stanis, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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