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	JTF-Bravo, Honduras, building trust and disaster preparedness
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        <h1 class="title">JTF-Bravo, Honduras, building trust and disaster preparedness</h1>
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            <div class="image-title">220623-O-VI420-0037</div>
            <div class="image-caption">A representative of COPECO discusses operations with U.S. Army soldiers assigned to Joint Task Force-Bravo during exercise Sentinel Watch, a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief tabletop exercise led by Joint Task Force-Bravo representatives, June 23, at Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The exercise helped increased trust, confidence, and familiarity among key agencies and personnel ahead of hurricane season. COPECO is Honduras’ FEMA-equivalent agency. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel)</div>
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            <div class="image-caption">A cross-functional team from Honduran response agencies including Fire Department, military and police forces, and COPECO participate in discussions with Joint Task Force-Bravo representatives during exercise Sentinel Watch at the COPECO headquarters in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, June 23. Sentinel Watch is a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief table top exercise that brings JTF-Bravo and response agencies from across Central America together to build trust, confidence, and familiarity ahead of hurricane season. COPECO is Honduras’ FEMA-equivalent agency. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel)</div>
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            <div class="image-caption">U.S. Army Col Steven Gventer (left), Joint Task Force-Bravo commander, Secretary Ramón Soto (center), executive secretary of COPECO, and Lt Col Achim Biller (right), JTF-Bravo J9 director, discuss cooperation opportunities between the Task Force and the FEMA equivalent agency at the COPECO headquarters in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, June 23. The meeting took place during Sentinel Watch, a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief table top exercise that brings JTF-Bravo and response agencies from across Central America together to build trust, confidence, and familiarity ahead of hurricane season. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel)</div>
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            <div class="image-caption">A cross-functional team from Joint Task Force-Bravo discusses operations with members of COPECO as they participate in exercise Sentinel Watch, a two-day humanitarian assistance and disaster relief tabletop exercise led by JTFB, June 23, at Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The exercise helped increased trust, confidence, and familiarity among key agencies and personnel ahead of hurricane season. COPECO is Honduras’ FEMA-equivalent agency. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel)</div>
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            <div class="image-caption">Jennifer Glossinger (center), USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance representative with Joint Task Force-Bravo, discusses operations with U.S. Embassy in Honduras and JTF-Bravo personnel during exercise Sentinel Watch, at COPECO headquarters in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, June 23. Sentinel Watch is a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief tabletop exercise that brings response agencies together to build trust, confidence, and familiarity ahead of hurricane season. (Courtesy photo by Dr. Miguel Coello)</div>
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    <div><b>By Maria Pinel</b> <span class="date">/ Published June 24, 2022</span></div>
    <span class="dateline-text">Tegucigalpa, Honduras, </span>
    <p>Joint Task Force-Bravo, in coordination with COPECO, representatives of the Honduran Armed Forces, governmental and cooperating entities in Honduras, and the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID/BHA), conducted a joint exercise in Tegucigalpa to improve disaster response coordination, June 22-23.<br />
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The exercise called  ̈Sentinel Watch ̈ is a tabletop exercise led by JTF-Bravo, based on past events that have affected the Central American region, and tailored specifically to each nation. For Honduras, the exercise was based on the 1974 Fifi-Orlene hurricane, the third deadliest hurricane to hit the region.<br />
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"Today we have conducted a simulation exercise whose lessons learned will prepare us for a real response within the theater of operations. We would like to thank all the institutions and agencies that are part of the National Risk Management System, SINAGER, for their direct collaboration and for being here today," said Mr. Ramon Soto, Minister of COPECO.<br />
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The minister of COPECO also expressed his interest in conducting a national drill, similar to the one carried out by the Coordination Center for Disaster Prevention in Central America and the Dominican Republic (CEPREDENAC) in Guatemala earlier this year, which also included representatives from JTF-Bravo, and highlighted the U.S. Southern Command’s cooperation efforts, including the donation of a mobile operations center to support emergencies.<br />
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"This has been a valuable experience since everything we are doing right now is aimed at conducting a nationwide drill. We appreciate all the cooperation in logistics and preparedness situations that COPECO personnel have received to better respond to emergencies," said Minister Soto.<br />
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During his closing remarks, the JTF-Bravo commander also highlighted the progress the exercise has made since its inception last year and the importance if building trust in times of calm.<br />
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" I was fortunate enough that I was here last year when we conducted the first of these exercises and I am very proud to see how far it has come and how much it has grown," said U.S. Army Col. Steven Gventer, commander of JTF-Bravo. "Central America is a region that is very vulnerable to natural disasters and our joint exercises prepare us for real response. What is different for us here is that we are your neighbors from Comayagua, and if an emergency should happen, we will be there for you because we will also live through it with you. Minister Soto, thank you for having us here in COPECO."<br />
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So far this year, Sentinel Watch has been conducted in Guatemala and Honduras, with this being the second iteration. The exercise will also be conducted in Panama and El Salvador in July to increase coordination during a complex emergency, improving response capabilities and trust throughout the region.</p>
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