The Department of Defense has expressed a desire to refocus the US military on the Western Hemisphere—potentially retraining US troops stationed in Europe for Latin American operations instead.

Last month, two United States Space Force guardians completed the grueling three-week-long Combined Jungle Operations Training Course at Base Aeronaval Cristóbal Colón, known as Fort Sherman before its transfer to Panama. That training followed a July announcement from the United States Army that soldiers who completed the notorious training course would be authorized to wear the prized “Jungle tab” as an official skill badge on their uniforms.

This week, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced that it would send approximately 200 US Army soldiers from Fort Drum, the home of the 10th Mountain Division, to take part in the jungle training. It isn’t clear if all of the personnel will be temporarily trading in their skis for jungle gear, as the base also serves as a major mobilization and training center for tens of thousands of regular Army, Reserve, and National Guard troops, but The New York Times reported that the troops include personnel from the elite mountain unit, with as many as 600 that could be deployed to Panama.

Although the Pentagon announced that the troops are just heading to Panama for intense jungle training, not to take part in counter-narcotics drills, there has been speculation that this could include training to confront the Latin American drug cartels. The Hill noted that following the three-week course, some of the deployed troops could receive “additional training with Honduran, Colombian and Guatemalan forces.”

It is hard to understand what training with the partner forces would provide that doesn’t include engaging with narco-terrorists. Still, the US embassy in Panama has called the deployment of 600 American troops “categorically false,” and that the service members will return to Fort Drum following the training exercises.

Why Is the US Military Trying to Relearn Jungle Warfare?

The jungle training in Panama, which began during the Vietnam War, 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.

Now there has been a return to specialized jungle training, likely due at least in part to the needs of a future great power conflict in the Indo-Pacific. But that’s only part of it. According to an anonymous Pentagon official cited in The Hill, part of the training is already centered on the ongoing Americas Counter Cartel Coalition (A3C) efforts.

“This sharpens the capabilities of US and partner nation troops in harsh jungle environments like the remote areas in which cartels hide,” the Pentagon official said. “These activities reflect the ongoing A3C approach of working with capable allies and partners to deepen collaboration and maintain persistent pressure against hemispheric threat networks.”

However, citing “operational security reasons,” the force posture, unit disposition, timeline, and mission details weren’t confirmed.

US Southern Command Commander Visited Peru

The reports also come as US Marine Corps Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Commander of US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), concluded a three-day visit to Peru on Thursday, where he and US Ambassador to Peru Bernie Navarro met with senior Peruvian military officers and personnel who are leading the forces already engaged in combating narco-terrorist networks.

“In the Western Hemisphere, narco-terrorists’ complete lack of respect for humanity, authority, or sovereignty represents one of the greatest threats to our people and our communities,” Donovan said. “Peru and 18 regional nations formed the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition to take decisive action against these narco-terrorists—a coalition committed to ending their terror, violence, and corruption.”

Last year, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth established a new Pentagon Counternarcotics Task Force in the Caribbean led by the US Marine Corps Second Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF) under SOUTHCOM, with a goal of reducing the flow of drugs through the Caribbean to the United States.

That is in addition to Joint Task Force–Western Hemisphere (JTF-WHEM), which was activated as a permanent standing headquarters in Doral, Florida, and which replaced the temporary Joint Task Force, Southern Spear. It supports the A3C efforts to target drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations.

Hegseth has suggested that US personnel could be redeployed from posts in Europe to the Western Hemisphere to engage the cartels if necessary. The secretary has been clear in suggesting that the A3C won’t just be about training, but that it would take the fight to the narco-terrorists.

“The new motto of the A3C is: ‘We do bad things to bad people,’” Hegseth said during a visit to SOUTHCOM headquarters in August. “That’s the mentality I want to have inside this room. … We’re dealing with bad people that have done a lot of bad things to a lot of good people, for a very long time. And they’re about to meet a new sheriff in town in the A3C, and we mean business. Narco-terrorists … drug traffickers are hereby on notice. Under President Trump, we will make the Americas great again. The safety and prosperity of one will strengthen the safety and prosperity of all.”

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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