Although the grueling 18-day training course is primarily intended for the US Army and Marine Corps, it is open to all branches of the military—even the Space Force!

It was nearly a year ago that United States military personnel began training in the Panamanian jungle for the first time in more than two decades. Members of the US Army and United States Marine Corps took part in a three-week-long Combined Jungle Operations Training Course at Base Aeronaval Cristóbal Colón, formerly known as Fort Sherman. In July, the United States Army announced that soldiers who completed the training course would be authorized to wear the prized “Jungle tab” as an official skill badge.

It won’t be just those in the US Army who could be spotted with the tab on their uniforms; any US military personnel who complete the course will also be authorized to wear it. Last week, the first two United States Space Force “guardians”—the official name for Space Force personnel— completed the rigorous training program and were accorded the privilege.

“Maj. Alyson Gleason, assigned to United States Space Force Headquarters, and Capt. Stephen Brown, assigned to 392nd Combat Training Squadron, became the first US Space Force members to complete the Jungle Operations Training Course-Panama,” the service announced in a media statement.

Gleason and Brown took part in the 18-day-long training course alongside US Army soldiers and Panamanian military personnel. The training included moving tactically in the jungle terrain, foraging for food, and operating as part of a multinational team.

That may not sound that challenging on the surface, but it takes place in one of the most extreme training environments in the world. Participants face suffocating heat, unrelenting humidity, and constant moisture during the course. Personnel are constantly wet and covered in mud. The steep, mountainous terrain and thick triple-canopy vegetation make even the most basic movement difficult. Land navigation is exhausting and slow.

There are no beds to sleep in, but this isn’t like a weekend camping trip. Students operate directly under the thick forest canopy 24 hours a day. The combination of physical fatigue, hunger, and steep terrain has historically driven extraordinarily high dropout rates in military jungle courses.

“I’m always interested in challenging myself and the jungle is a beast that we don’t get to tackle very often as Space Force Officers,” Gleason said. “I saw the opportunity, I wanted the chance to work with the Army and the Panamanian partners down here, and I thought this would be a unique place to challenge myself.”

Jungle Training in Panama: A “Green Hell” for Soldiers

During the Vietnam War, Fort Sherman in the Panama Canal Zone became the primary location for jungle survival skills training, in part because its conditions were among the harshest in the world. The training course has been noted for its multiple layers of thick, towering vegetation that impact communications gear and night-vision equipment. To add excitement to the course, the jungle is also home to venomous snakes and other jungle creatures.

Fittingly, the site earned the moniker “Green Hell” during the Vietnam War, and the name stuck.

The training in the Central American country ended in 1994, shortly before the Panama Canal Zone was returned to Panama. Soon after, a combination of budget cuts and the launch of the War on Terror—in which the battlefields were overwhelmingly in the desert rather than the jungle—led the Pentagon to shift its focus away from jungle warfare.

However, as the United States has now pivoted back to great power competition in the Indo-Pacific, there is once again the need for specialized jungle training. That led to the reopening of the school in Panama in late 2025, with the cooperation of the Panamanian government. Soon, more US military personnel could be showing the skills they acquired on their sleeves.

Down to Earth Training for the Space Force

Gleason and Brown are just the first Space Force guardians to complete the course, but they will likely not be the last. As noted, the program is open to all branches of the US military regardless of a service member’s gender or Military Occupational Specialty (MOS). Although it is also open to all qualified personnel rather than requiring a competitive selection process, classes have a strict maximum capacity of around 95 students per class—meaning slots are allocated based on unit quotas and availability.

Space Force guardians may be focused on the space domain, but the JOTC-P still provided an opportunity for Gleason and Brown to train with other military services.

“I feel grateful for coming here to the jungle, because I try to go through every experience I can,” Brown said. “Not everybody is going to get the opportunity, so when that door opens I think you should always take it.”

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines, and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author at Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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