U.S. Sponsors Commando Competition for South Americans

G.I. Joe, He-Man, Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — these are intended to be the amusements of children, although their adult-sized box office returns say differently. Merchandized by corporations ranging from food providers to costume makers, the products based on them shape our culture in ways it would take volumes to account for.

Or, we can take the singular, real-life example of the U.S. Government sponsoring a Commando competition for South Americans.

Yes, that's right. Commandos. Not the freeware computer game of that name, now in its third installment, which claims to deliver "Top Down Real Time Strategy with a variety of play modes and weapons! Manage resources and take out the enemy!" Actual, living people who are the best in the world at doing just that, and who are currently competing with one another for gladiatorial sport and glory (and bi-continental security) in an event sponsored by the U.S. military. Sound exciting, scary, or both?

The event is annual, in its seventh year, is designed to strengthen military relationships in the hemisphere, and is being hosted by the Dominican Republic this year, just across the border from Haiti, still devastated from the earthquake but apparently less important than reality G.I. Joes. Eighteen countries including the U.S. are participating (list below), with some 500 elite police and military special operations teams. But you won't find Venezuela, Cuba and Bolivia, all currently U.S. foes. (Note that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, whose army is knowingly being infiltrated by Cubans in what is called "Cubanization," recently threatened war with Columbia if General Juan Manuel Santos won the election, and he has.)

Special indeed. The event is called "Fuerzas Comando" ("Commando Forces"), and is specifically sponsored by U.S. Southern Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in Latin America. It lasts eight days with various group and individual military skills competitions, seminars on security threats, and certainly the rousing, Patton-like speech or two. The climax is a parachuting extravaganza at the San Isidro military base just 30 miles from the capital, Santo Domingo.

Building security ties is indeed an important part of keeping our world safe, which requires more cooperation and coordination than ever before. And joint military exercises are nothing new as a mechanism for doing so. The point is that there is no peacebuilding correlation to such commando competitions, which could boost their effectiveness as a security-enhancing activity while reducing their costs. Imagine economic summits, diplomatic gatherings and humanitarian conferences rolled into one, put into gripping stories and merchandised as mentioned above, which would not build up to commando competitions, but peacebuilding competitions. Now that's a challenge, and one worth taking on.

The other countries participating in the commando competition this year are: Argentina, Belize, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.

Photo credit: damo1977