The escalating great-power competition, coupled with persistent instability and transnational threats, underscores the critical need for the United States (US) to advance integrated deterrence in the Western Hemisphere. As competitors like the People’s Republic of China (PRC) rapidly expand their influence, particularly in Latin America, the convergence of homeland security and national defense priorities becomes undeniable. To directly address these challenges and strengthen regional security, the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) has launched the Theater Maintenance Partnership Initiative (TMPI), a pivotal effort to bolster partner nations’ military capabilities and foster collective defense.
This article proposes that the TMPI is essential for strengthening integrated deterrence and directly countering malign influence across the Western Hemisphere. It is designed to achieve this by enhancing the maintenance capabilities of partner nations and institutionalizing a culture of readiness. The initiative intends to leverage strategic partnerships and align various instruments of national power, complementing military readiness with economic engagement, diplomatic collaboration, and proactive strategic communication.
Integrated Deterrence: The Role of TMPI
The imperative for robust integrated deterrence in the Western Hemisphere is increasingly evident, driven by evolving global dynamics and the growing influence of strategic competitors. In a message outlining future strategic priorities, Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) Pete Hegseth articulated a commitment to advancing deterrence by securing the US homeland across multiple domains. He underscored the importance of collaborating with Allies and partners to counteract aggression, while prioritizing the President’s objective of responsibly concluding conflicts and redirecting focus to key threats. This strategic outlook is acutely relevant in Latin America, where escalating competition demands a broader approach to deterrence that transcends unilateral military intervention to encompass multilateral diplomatic, informational, military, and economic dimensions. China’s rapid expansion of influence in the Western Hemisphere, potentially surpassing the US as the region’s top trading partner by 2035, unmistakably highlights the convergence of homeland security and national defense priorities. This convergence necessitates a modernized integrated deterrence strategy that leverages strategic partnerships and aligns all instruments of national power to secure vital interests.
To effectively achieve integrated deterrence, the US must acknowledge and address the operational readiness challenges faced by many partners throughout the Western Hemisphere, particularly in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Despite often being equipped with US-manufactured military hardware, partner nations frequently face operational readiness issues, meaning their equipment isn’t consistently ready for use. This stems from several factors: they have underdeveloped local maintenance frameworks, limited knowledge of the complex US Joint Logistics Enterprise (JLEnt), which manages military supplies and services, and frequent supply chain disruptions that prevent timely repairs and the procurement of spare parts.
SOUTHCOM has directly responded to these challenges by initiating the TMPI. TMPI aims to strengthen collaboration, interoperability, and collective maintenance efforts by improving partner nation maintenance capabilities from tactical to operational levels through comprehensive training and fostering a culture of maintenance readiness. At the operational and strategic levels, TMPI promotes North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) standardization and education regarding Life Cycle Management and logistics operations. NATO standardization, in particular, aims to counter adversaries’ pervasive malign influence by facilitating the exchange of Soviet-era equipment for newer, NATO-interoperable, US-made equipment. This multi-year effort builds partner capacity in equipment maintenance, lifecycle management, and supply chain activities, setting conditions for Theater Logistics integration in the long run. Indirectly, it also bolsters regional security cooperation, standardizes tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), promotes procedural and technical interoperability, and cultivates sustainable partnerships, reinforcing the framework of integrated deterrence across the Western Hemisphere.
A pivotal element of TMPI is establishing regional maintenance “centers of excellence” (CoE) within strategically selected partner countries. These centers, modeled after US Government (USG) CoEs, are crucial for developing specific military competencies by standardizing TTPs and enhancing professionalism in particular fields. Through TMPI, SOUTHCOM identifies regional organizations that excel in maintenance to establish these CoEs. These centers will facilitate collaboration on TTPs and offer professional military education to regional partners, enhancing maintenance capabilities through targeted training in aviation, maritime, electronics, and ground vehicle operations. They are vital in crafting operational doctrine, conducting applied research, delivering targeted training, and generating readiness across multiple operational domains.
The USG has several legal avenues, specifically under Title 10 and Title 22 of the US Code (USC), to establish these CoEs in partner nations within SOUTHCOM’s area of responsibility. Title 10 of the USC broadly governs the organization, roles, and missions of the US armed forces, including many security assistance activities. In contrast, Title 22 primarily addresses foreign relations and policy, encompassing broader foreign assistance programs. These legal authorities essentially define how the US can provide crucial training, equipment, and resources to strengthen allied military capabilities. The choice of which legal authority to use depends on specific objectives, the host nation’s needs, and the desired level of Congressional oversight. Generally, Title 10 offers broader flexibility for military-to-military engagement, while Title 22 involves more structured scrutiny, often for broader foreign policy goals.
Currently, SOUTHCOM’s TMPI primarily leverages legal authorities under Title 10 of the USC, specifically Section 333, to achieve many of its goals. Section 333, funded by Congressional appropriations, directly supports enhancing partner capacity. It does this by facilitating hands-on training for personnel in partner nations on maintenance procedures for US-provided equipment. This vital initiative often involves deploying US experts to train local technicians and supplying specialized tools and essential manuals.
At the same time, TMPI also utilizes Section 332 of Title 10, which is also supported by Congressional appropriations. This section aims to build institutional capacity within partner nations and develop regional CoEs for maintenance training. Building this kind of friendly foreign defense institutional capacity helps create sustainable maintenance systems within partner nations’ defense forces, supporting the establishment of their own local training programs. By strategically integrating both Section 333 and Section 332 authorities, TMPI builds the operational capacity of partner units, directly supporting US objectives in the Western Hemisphere.
Nevertheless, TMPI encounters notable preliminary challenges, especially in establishing sustainable funding mechanisms for multiple partners and ensuring the initiative’s long-term viability while addressing the diverse maintenance requirements of participating nations. A robust commitment to capacity-building is essential, involving training for local personnel, developing resilient supply chains, and ensuring access to specialized technical expertise.
Lessons from the Land of the Morning Calm: Enhancing SOUTHCOM Sustainment through US Forces Korea’s Interoperable Model
SOUTHCOM can gain critical insights from sustainment operations within the US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), particularly by analyzing US Forces Korea’s (USFK) methodologies. USFK focuses on interoperability through joint and combined training exercises, TTPs, and integrated logistics frameworks. The 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command (ESC) plays a key role in this effort, integrating and synchronizing strategic sustainment capabilities with operational and tactical requirements. At multiple echelons, USFK and its subordinate units utilize local direct-hire personnel, contractors, and paramilitary forces to improve the operational effectiveness of joint and combined forces on the Korean Peninsula. Direct-hire personnel maintain continuity, reduce English-Korean language barriers, and provide essential cultural and bureaucratic insights. This aids in planning and resource management while mitigating the impact of frequent US military turnover. This collaborative approach fosters a shared operational understanding and unity of action, thereby boosting the capacity of the joint and combined forces to uphold regional security through comprehensive training, coordinated operations, and robust host-nation support initiatives.
Despite USFK’s effective strategies tailored to the complex operational landscape of the Korean Peninsula, unique challenges necessitate innovative solutions. The 19th ESC, in tandem with the US Army Materiel Support Command-Korea (MSC-K), is pivotal in developing these innovative strategies for operational-level sustainment. MSC-K oversees various units, prominently the Korean Service Corps (KSC), which consists of approximately 20,000 paramilitary personnel ready for sustainment missions, and the Combat Power Generation Center (CPGC), a vital military-industrial entity specializing in equipment maintenance and repair. The CPGC conducts daily military-industrial maintenance operations, serving as the primary readiness driver for the Eighth Army and USFK by providing essential below-depot and field maintenance support.
The KSC is a critical enabler within the MSC-K framework, providing non-combatant support to USFK and enhancing operational capabilities during both armistice and contingency scenarios. The KSC is instrumental in logistical and administrative support across the theater, significantly bolstering operational readiness and efficiency. Beyond logistics, the KSC also plays a crucial role in bridging sociocultural gaps by employing bilingual Koreans.
The CPGC is essential for maintaining the readiness of Army Forces-Korea (ARFOR-K) and supporting joint forces across the Indo-Pacific region. As the largest US Army military-industrial operation outside the continental US, the CPGC is key to generating and sustaining combat power. Staffed by over 600 Korean nationals, the CPGC conducts critical functions, including below-depot sustainment, field-level maintenance, and expedited equipment repairs. Moreover, it extends support to coalition and joint forces, operates maintenance support teams, and repairs battle-damaged equipment, underscoring its vital contribution to maintaining operational readiness and sustaining military operations in the region.
Navigating the Shifting Sands: SOUTHCOM’s Challenges in a Volatile Latin American Landscape
Although the USFK’s successful efforts demonstrate widely applicable methods and procedures for maintenance cooperation with partners, SOUTHCOM faces some notably distinct challenges from the Korean Peninsula. The TMPI must navigate various developmental stages and security priorities among partner nations while grappling with regional logistical complexities due to significant geographical distances and inadequate infrastructure. The region’s intricate political and security dynamics further complicate capability development.
Capability development is crucial because it ensures that Allies and partners can effectively utilize and sustain the resources provided through security cooperation activities. Security cooperation activities, in turn, strengthen their defense capabilities and promote regional stability, ultimately supporting US national security interests. By helping partners develop the necessary infrastructure, training, and logistics, capability development initiatives foster self-reliance and reduce long-term dependence on external support. Self-reliance enhances the effectiveness of security cooperation efforts and builds trust and interoperability, leading to more substantial and sustainable partnerships.
However, there is an intrinsic link between capability development, resources, funding, and politics. The availability of financial and material resources directly impacts the scope and sustainability of capability development programs. Funding priorities and political considerations often influence the allocation of resources, shaping the types of capabilities developed and the pace of implementation. Moreover, domestic politics within partner countries can affect their willingness to engage in capability development initiatives and their ability to absorb and implement new capabilities. Successfully navigating these intertwined factors requires careful planning, coordination, periodic reevaluation, and a nuanced understanding of the partner nation’s context, ensuring that capability development efforts align with US interests and the partner’s needs and priorities.
Analyzing Ecuador’s foreign policy trajectory over the past two decades is pertinent to illuminating the region’s evolving political and security landscape. During President Rafael Correa’s administration between 2007 and 2017, Ecuador pivoted by severing its military relations with the US. This comprehensive shift included ordering the closure of the security cooperation office in the US Embassy and honoring but not renewing the lease term for the Manta Air Base, causing the withdrawal of approximately 300 US military personnel stationed there.
However, this period of strained relations was followed by the re-establishment of the Office of Security Cooperation (OSC) in 2018, signaling a potential shift that ultimately materialized with new military cooperation agreements signed with the US in 2023 under President Lasso and ratified in 2024 by President Daniel Noboa. This policy shift highlights the volatility inherent in international relations and underscores how changes in domestic leadership can markedly alter foreign policy trajectories. The re-establishment of military cooperation reflects Noboa’s assessment of Ecuador’s national security imperatives and recognizes the strategic benefits of reinvigorating closer ties with the US.
Correa’s strategic maneuvering indicates a broader trend in Latin America, where transitions between left- and right-leaning administrations frequently impact US security cooperation dynamics. Shifts in the region’s dominant political ideologies, such as the rise of left-wing leadership prioritizing alternatives to neoliberalism and later the ascendance of right-wing administrations, can have a substantial impact on these relationships. While the long-term presence of the US at Manta Air Base in Ecuador and China’s operations in Argentina show continuity of security cooperation activities despite left-leaning and right-leaning political shifts in Latin America, these changes add complexity to the region’s geopolitics, influencing initiatives like TMPI.
TMPI must navigate the complex political landscape of the Western Hemisphere. Geographic Combatant Command (GCC) and Theater component planners require a nuanced understanding of each partner nation’s security priorities and relationship with the US. While some countries may embrace closer military cooperation, others may have reservations. TMPI should prioritize flexibility and adaptability, offering tailored maintenance programs that address the specific needs of the partner nation and build trust. Understanding the partner nation’s needs necessitates comprehensive partner assessments to ensure capabilities align with their absorption capacity and build self-reliance rather than creating dependency. Drawing parallels with USFK’s interoperability model, select partner nations could stand up regional maintenance support corps and transform their CoEs into robust maintenance hubs that provide localized logistical support, bridge cultural gaps, and foster industry partnerships, enhancing partner self-sufficiency.
Furthermore, TMPI can be a tool to address broader security concerns at the strategic and national levels. By enhancing partner nations’ capacity for maintenance and sustainment, the initiative can address key mission areas as directed by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), such as counter-illicit drug trafficking, counter-transnational organized crime, maritime and border security, and air domain awareness operations which justify security cooperation and activity funding. Indirectly, TMPI enhances non-key mission areas such as disaster response and critical infrastructure protection. As the TMPI enhances operational readiness rates and strengthens partner nations’ logistics and maintenance capacities, its impacts will become more evident in OSD-directed key mission areas, disaster response, and critical infrastructure protection, further bolstering political and public support for this initiative.
Operationalizing the TMPI: Regional Deployments Through the National Guard State Partnership Program
Another recommendation is to adopt aspects of INDOPACOM’s Pacific Pathways program, which offers a practical operational framework conducive to SOUTHCOM’s TMPI. This program facilitates combined and joint training exercises with partner militaries during regional deployments, promoting interoperability and strengthening bilateral relationships. By adopting this model and focusing on regional partnerships while leveraging the distinctive capabilities of the National Guard State Partnership Program (SPP), SOUTHCOM can significantly enhance the operational readiness of partner forces throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean. The SPP can be instrumental in this adaptation. The Florida National Guard’s partnership with Guyana, a country with significant oil resources and increasing maritime needs, could be leveraged to provide specialized training in port security and maritime law enforcement. By integrating these partnerships into a “Pathways” model, TMPI can create a recurring cycle of engagement that fosters interoperability and strengthens relationships.
GCC and Theater component planners should seamlessly incorporate SOUTHCOM’s TMPI into ongoing combined exercises, such as Southern Vanguard, the last iteration of which occurred in Belém, Macapá, and Oiapoque, Brazil, from November 6 to 16, 2023, in collaboration with the Brazilian Army. Additionally, TMPI would greatly benefit from participation in exercises such as Southern Fenix 2024, conducted with the Chilean Army from April 1 to 5, 2024, in Iquique, Chile. This incorporation would reinforce integrated deterrence within the Western Hemisphere. By leveraging TMPI’s specialized capabilities in maintenance operations, logistics, and overall sustainment functions, US forces and partner nations can enhance the effectiveness and realism of training scenarios.
Figure 1: An Ecuadorian sailor fires an M2A1 .50 caliber machine gun during Southern Seas 2024
GCC and Theater component planners should comprehensively analyze training objectives within Air Forces Southern (AFSOUTH) and US Naval Forces Southern Command (NAVSOUTH) exercises, such as the recent Southern Seas 2024 deployment, to identify synergistic opportunities for TMPI incorporation from an operational standpoint. Southern Seas 2024 exemplifies the type of exercise where TMPI can be incorporated into training scenarios to operationalize the initiative. Potential opportunities include broader training in maintenance management encompassing essential areas such as logistics planning, equipment readiness, and automation of maintenance operations. Integrating TMPIs into these exercises would improve training outcomes and strengthen partnerships between US forces and partner nations.
Figure 2: South Carolina Army National Guard Soldiers work with Colombian aviation military members to load a UH-60 Black Hawk in an aircraft
The South Carolina National Guard played a key role in developing aspects of SOUTHCOM’s TMPI before its establishment under the leadership of former Commander GEN Laura Richardson. The South Carolina National Guard achieved this through a strong partnership with Colombia, formally established through the SPP in 2012, with one principal line of effort for aviation maintenance. By enhancing the maintenance competencies of the Colombian military, the South Carolina National Guard has contributed to regional stability and security in the Andean Region. For example, from April 1 to 7, 2014, in Bogota and Melgar, Colombia, South Carolina Army National Guard aviation personnel conducted combined training with the Colombian Army. The exercise involved the logistics of loading Black Hawk helicopters onto cargo aircraft, thereby augmenting the Colombian Army’s disaster response capabilities.
Figure 3: Relámpago VII focused on training techniques, tactics, and procedures and strengthening interoperability between the US and Colombian Air Forces
More recently, during Relámpago VII, a combined exercise held in Barranquilla, Colombia, from August 26 to September 11, 2022, the South Carolina Air National Guard’s 169th Fighter Wing provided specialized training on various aircraft to the Colombian Air Force’s 111th Fighter Squadron. This included maintenance protocols, troubleshooting methodologies, and familiarization with specialized tools and equipment. These initiatives bolstered the Colombian Air Force’s operational capabilities and reinforced bilateral security cooperation.
Forging a Stronger Western Hemisphere: Towards Integrated Deterrence Through Partner Nation Readiness
The SOUTHCOM TMPI has significant potential to enhance the maintenance proficiency of partner nations in Central and South America and the Caribbean, improve interoperability, and develop integrated deterrence. By drawing upon the proven success of USFK’s sustainment model, particularly the KSC and the CPGC, SOUTHCOM can strategically optimize its TMPI. Optimizing TMPI involves a dual approach: first, establishing regional maintenance support corps in select partner nations to provide essential logistical support and bridge cultural gaps, and second, expanding select CoEs into robust maintenance and repair hubs, akin to the CPGC, to foster self-sufficiency through advanced capabilities and strategic industry partnerships. These enhancements and the implementation of sustainable ‘train-the-trainer’ programs and standardized TTPs in CoEs will ensure long-term capacity development and bolster interoperability and regional cooperation.
Additionally, by adopting aspects of the Pacific Pathways program, SOUTHCOM can effectively operationalize the TMPI by incorporating the program into combined and joint training exercises. This targeted approach, reinforced by a commitment to regional security cooperation, will strengthen partner nation maintenance proficiency, establish shared logistics platforms, enhance collective readiness, and solidify integrated deterrence, ultimately contributing to enduring stability throughout the Western Hemisphere and fostering a more secure and cooperative environment.
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