Marine reservists take over crisis response mission in Central America

About 300 Marine reservists are headed ing Camp Lejeune this week for Central America this week, where they’ll train local up security troops forces struggling against gang violence and drug cartels and stand ready to help in the event of a hurricanes or other natural disasters.

Members of the recently formed Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force—Southern Command will set up headquarters for the six-month deployment at the Soto Cano air base in Honduras. From there, they’ll dispatch small advisory teams of grunts and engineers throughout the region.

In all, tThe Marines come from 42 different units across 20 states, marking this the first time Marine Corps Forces Reserves will take the lead of the annual rotation.

The Marine Corps kicked off its first rotation of this size in Central America last year, and it included first MAGTF was stood up last year almost all completely with active-duty personnel. But reservists bring a host of civilian skills in addition to their military occupational specialties, said Col. Thomas Prentice, the task force's SPMAGTF-SC’s commanding officer.

"We have Marines that are software engineers, law enforcement officers and we even have a fashion designer," he said. "The reservists ... comprising this MAGTF bring an additional capability towards being able to accomplish any assigned mission."

They’ll be backed up by four CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 772, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, which will give them serious lifting power. Since the region can be pummeled during hurricane season, the deployment is timed so the Marines are at the ready in the event of a humanitarian crisis. 

The Marines will also mentor and train local troops in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Belize, and complete undertake infrastructure development projects, Prentice said Col. Thomas Prentice, the task force SPMAGTF-SC’s commanding officer.

Central America has been The Marines are on their way to the most troubled countries in the Western Hemisphere, long plagued by poverty, gang violence and on-going struggles with drug cartels. Tens of thousands of women and children have fled for the U.S. border in recent years in order to escape the violence in the countries where the Marines will be operating. 

"You want to have a job to provide for your family, you want security that enables you to walk in the street without fear, children need access to safe schools," said Victoria Rietig, a policy analyst with the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. she said. "What you basically need is better development, and that has been the problem of the region for a long time."

The Marines will work alongside local troops to take on some of those issues. Marine combat engineers attempt to take these issues on at the local level, working side-by-side with host nation forces.Engineering teams from the logistics element will train local forces engineers on heavy machinery as they and work on roads, schools and hospitals in Honduras, for example, Prentice said.

"We’re basically on call to the Honduran government," he said. "When they decide there’s a project they’d really like us to work with their engineers on, w... We’ll engage in whatever projects we can to enhance our partnership."

Developing local infrastructure will also lay the groundwork for Alliance for Prosperity, the first joint multi-million dollar project between the U.S., Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. The program will help fund schools and government institutions in order to stimulate economic growth in Central America. pour funding hundreds of millions of dollars into local governance, education, economic opportunity and infrastructure to tackle illegal migration at its source.

Infantry teams from the ground element will also fan out across the region through through the countries to advise security forces on the front lines of the drug war. The Marines will train troops on small unit leadership, teaching marksmanship, swimming, land navigation and physical fitness, Prentice said.

The U.S. has invested heavily in the militaries of these countries for a long time without any decrease in violence though, Rietig noted, adding that primarily. because the local security forces themselves can sometimes create problems have been a big part of the problem. Lack of oversight and transparency, corruption and a record of human rights abuses have not necessarily endeared citizens to their governments.

Overcoming this is something the Marines trained for during their three-month work up for the deployment, which included extensive cultural awareness training and a specialized advisers' advisors’ course at the Marine Corps Security Cooperation Group schoolhouse in at board Fort Story, Virginia.

Additionally, leaders will emphasize the need for positive engagement with Central Americans locals during liberty safety briefs, said Sgt. ergeant Maj. Wesley Schaffer, the unit's senior enlisted leader MAGTF’s senior non-commissioned officer.

"Besides the standard ‘we’re ambassadors of the United States and the Corps’, wWe’ll brief the Marines and [We'll] make sure they understand what type of environment they’re going into," he said. "One of the things we’re pushing and we want Marines to understand is that this is a great opportunity to go into another culture and learn."

When Marines interact with the local population, it’s important to understand the perceptions civilians will have based on their troubled history, Rietig said having Marines interacting with community members there , but at the end of the day this presents an opportunity to make a long-term difference. It can help them understand the Marines are trustworthy, and helps the Marines understand the regional challenges.