Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston –
Brig. Gen. James Blackburn, U.S. Army North deputy
commanding general, welcomed Brig. Gen.
Jose Ortega Reyes from the Mexican Secretariat of National Defense, or
SEDENA, for his first visit to San Antonio May 19.
The visit served to further strengthen the relationship
between the SEDENA and Army North, or ARNORTH, staffs. ARNORTH is the Army
headquarters responsible for building partnership efforts in North America,
including Mexico.
During the visit, Ortega Reyes and his staff met with
several key leaders and units from ARNORTH and Fort Sam Houston.
These meetings and conversations served as a bi-lateral
forum for strategic level discussions on furthering a shared understanding of
the cooperative defense of North America.
Ortega Reyes and his SEDENA staff also gained an
understanding of ARNORTH’s and the 505th Military Intelligence Brigade’s task
organization, mission and goals.
Throughout the visit, both organizations held formal and informal
meetings to sustain and enhance the relationship between the U.S. and Mexican
Armies.
While the SEDENA staff gained valuable insight into the
composition and capabilities of ARNORTH and the 505th MI Brigade, the U.S.
staffs gained a fresh perspective on ways to cooperate with SEDENA units in the
future.
“Building and maintaining positive relationships between our
senior leaders fosters the spirit of cooperation and trust that our militaries
are growing at all levels of our security partnership,” said ARNORTH senior
staffer Doug Raymond.
As part of his first visit to San Antonio, Ortega Reyes also
had the opportunity to experience unique activities Fort Sam Houston and San
Antonio have to offer.
Each morning, the contingent exercised along the Riverwalk
in downtown San Antonio. They also visited the Alamo National Historic Site and
partook of some of San Antonio’s renowned barbeque.
On Fort Sam Houston, the group had a private tour of the
Fort Sam Houston Museum and lunched with trainees.
Ortega Reyes concluded his visit by participating in the
470th Military Intelligence Brigade’s military formal – his first U.S. military
formal.
“It has been my honor to receive guests this evening and to
see so many different ribbons and awards displayed on U.S. Soldiers’ uniforms,”
Ortega Reyes said.
The building of staff relationships, identification of
future requirements, better awareness of each unit and a shared understanding
of the cooperative defense of North America were all successful achievements
from this visit.
Whether it be a natural disaster threatening the citizens of
both nations or security threats from mutual adversaries, ARNORTH and SEDENA
are better prepared to work together because of staff-to-staff coordination for
events and senior leader visits like this.