Tough Training, Easy Combat

Text by Lucía Tornero
Photographs by Pablo Senarega
special envoys
of SOLDADOS
To Junín, Buenos Aires

The FOE (Fuerza de Operaciones Especiales) Group carried out an exercise in Junín with the participants of the Air Assault Course and its purpose was to establish the necessary knowledge to perform within a special operations framework.

The morning dew humidified the atmosphere and raised a subtle mist that little by little dissipated with the sunrise and was the mark that began the Exercise of the Group of Special Operations Forces (FOE) located in the town of Junín, Buenos Aires province.
Organized by the 601st Air Assault Regiment, the participants participated in the exercise together with the 601st and 602nd Commando Companies. In dialogue with SOLDIERS, the Head of the FOE Group, Colonel Juan Martín Paleo, reported that “the Regiment carried out the corresponding exercises to the fourth and final stage of the air assault course, which allowed them to put into practice, on the ground and under a tactical situation, everything they learned during the three weeks of the course.”

On the other hand, the Operations Officer, Major Eduardo Verón Rodríguez, at the Tactical Command Post, gave a presentation to show how the coordinated operations plan between the different elements materialized. “The situation was the threat of an extra-regional power that entered our territory, penetrated and occupied part of the land to take advantage of and make use of natural resources, biodiversity, oil resources and water,” explained Major Verón.

“The mission of the FOE Group, within the theater of operations, was to carry out special missions deep within that occupied surface to create conditions suitable for the use of future larger forces. For this, a maneuver was designed that had previously infiltrated the Special Forces element, securing the launch zone located at the Junín airfield. Thus the rest of the FOE was able to insert themselves by parachute drop and consolidate that ground. Once this was done, the Special Forces went west to the objective, which was a hydroelectric dam, and the 601st Command Company moved from Junín to the El Carpincho lagoon, where another hydroelectric plant was located. There, carrying out a coup d'état, they affected the entire electrical supply in the depth of the theater of operations. Therefore, the enemy's occupation force lost part of its logistical systems due to not being able to operate basic services. Once this was done, the Air Assault Regiment arrived, they occupied this place to carry out different tactical tasks that affected the enemy's combat capacity.”

The implementation

Through the Exercise in Junín, the fifty participants of the Air Assault Course finished the course that had lasted 30 days and had the opportunity to test the skills learned. The Head of the Air Assault Course and Second Chief of the Air Assault Regiment, Major Carlos Sanmillán, explained its characteristics. “It had four phases. The first was Air Assault Combat, where the student saw everything he does with his own procedures and techniques; The second was called Loads, it consisted of the work essentially of preparing them to supply the troops in combat; The third phase was Descent, it included all the work of using rope material: descent from the helicopter with different types of ropes, making the descent with the rappelling technique or with fast rope and the last phase was this Exercise, where we tried to integrate everything that the student has learned trying to make him experience an Air Assault operation as complete as possible.” Also, he clarified that there was a lot of prior work before arriving at the aircraft.

A training tower located in the Air Assault Regiment headquarters was used so that the trainee could gain confidence. Added to this were all the anchoring work, preparation and making of harnesses, safety measures, etc. “In the final exercise we have formed an Air Assault combat team. A few days ago, the Exploration Section went ahead in search of obtaining information from the enemy, moving at night, settling in the area and observing the objective. To that section was added a group for obtaining aerial information that had an unmanned aircraft,” added the Major.

CORPORAL JOSÉ RAIMUNDO LEDESMA

Originally from Salta, from the 28th Monte Infantry Regiment, he arrived this year assigned to the Air Assault Regiment and volunteered to take the course. His combat role was to be Chief of the Third Group of the Third Section of the Air Assault Combat Team. “Our mission was to destroy an objective called El Carpincho and eliminate ammunition and fuel. On a personal level, this course was a very instructive experience for the career I aspire to. I sought to perfect myself in the Air Assault technique, in which the soldier, well
An educated person must have knowledge from the most basic to the most important. We operate with aeromobile units, such as helicopters, and many technical details and safety measures must be taken into account, such as, for example, to get off the aircraft you must always follow the orders of the Descent Leader, look him in the eye and obey the signals. that it imparts to us”

LIEUTENANT JUAN MANUEL FERNÁNDEZ GAUTO

He is from Mar del Plata and his first destination was the town of Róspentek, province of Santa Cruz. “To enter the Air Assault Course, there is a previous selection stage that consists of physical tests that make up demanding training. For me the course was a different experience from what I had been doing before. Very good personally and also professionally since one acquires knowledge that cannot be incorporated in any other destination in the country. The first stage of the course was the one that marked me the most because you adapt and learn the basic knowledge of Air Assault”

Revista Soldados
Junin Historia