New host, high jungle maneuvers focus for Western Hemisphere Command infantry exercise Southern Vanguard

In a time when virtual meetings are global and voices from a screen are the standard, there’s still nothing like the energy of 25 planners packed in a room, English and Spanish flowing, interpreters keeping up with five different conversations and a warm jungle breeze flowing through it all.

The intrinsic value of the relationships built and the knowledge gained during in-person engagements is what brought roughly 30 U.S. and 20 Peruvian Army (PERAR) soldiers and staff together for the Exercise Southern Vanguard 2026 (SV26) Mid-Planning Conference (MPC) at the PERAR Jungle School of El Sauce on May 4-7, 2026.

SV26 perfectly aligns with U.S. President Donald Trump’s National Security Strategy goals for the Western Hemisphere, which can be summarized as “Enlist and Expand,” according to Col. Jared Koelling, director of Training and Exercises for U.S. Army South (ARSOUTH), soon to be the U.S. Army Western Hemisphere Command (USAWHC).

“We enlist established friends in the Hemisphere to control migration, stop drug flows, and strengthen stability and security on land and sea,” Koelling said.

Southern Vanguard is a prime example of these goals becoming reality through cultivating and strengthening new partners. What began as a bilateral training event between the U.S. and Chilean Armies expanded in 2025 when Chile invited Argentina and Peru to join the exercise, reinforcing the growing spirit of regional unity.

“In order to expand our Army-to-Army relationship, ARSOUTH asked if Peru would be willing to host SV26,” Koelling said.“Peru is proving to be a willing and able partner.”

SV26 planners are aiming for high-value combined training between the PERAR 5th Amazon Jungle Protection Brigade and the U.S. Army’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. As an immediate response force, the 82nd Airborne can be expected to deploy and fight anywhere in the world within an 18-hour window. Enabling Peruvian soldiers who are highly proficient in jungle operations to seamlessly integrate into USAWHC capacities is an asset when exercising hemispheric defense-in-depth.

The PERAR 5th Amazon Jungle Protection Brigade Commanding General Brig. Gen. Jose Chuquillanqui Narvarte, traveled from Brigade Headquarters in Tarapoto, Peru, to open the MPC conference in Sauce.

He spoke on the importance of strengthening multi-component forces readiness throughout the region and how the high jungle in and around the Jungle School of El Sauce would provide a uniquely challenging opportunity for the U.S. Army Soldiers to learn new skills while improve interoperability of all the countries.

Chuquillanqui expressed that the exercise will expand the understanding and proficiency of multinational soldiers on the jungle operations perfected by the Amazon Protection Brigades during decades of combattingtransnational and global threats from drug trafficking and other illegal activities.

“ARSOUTH is extremely pleased and grateful that the Peruvian Army agreed to host SV26.2, and we look forward to the shared growth in both our relationship and collective readiness to respond to any crisis in the future,” Koelling said.

Read more: https://dialogo-americas.com/articles/southern-vanguard-2026-strengthening-regional-cooperation-in-the-amazon/

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