A recent special-operations exercise in the Caribbean showcased an Air Force operating concept designed to counter near-peer militaries—and, experts said, might be a message to unfriendly governments and criminal groups in the Americas.
On Aug. 30, special operations airmen from the Kentucky National Guard stormed the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on the island of St. Croix. Troops parachuted into the Caribbean Sea with an inflatable boat and more pararescuemen floated onto the airfield; together, they quickly took over the grounds and established a U.S.-controlled base for cargo planes to land and deliver resources.
“Within minutes, the Airmen had cleared the runways, established perimeter security and implemented air traffic control, allowing the C-130 to land and offload crucial assets,” Air Force Special Operations Command detailed in the release earlier this month.
The mock takeover—part of AFSOC’s larger, long-planned Emerald Warrior exercise— showcased the service’s Agile Combat Employment scheme of maneuver. Under ACE, airmen rapidly set up small operating bases in combat zones anywhere at a moment’s notice to evade long-range missile attacks. Service leaders and doctrine have described ACE as a necessary counter to anti-access and area-denial tactics developed by China, Russia, and others. Its rollout has seen hiccups; a Rand Corporation report earlier this year detailed “confusion” among airmen and units working to implement the concept.
Experts said that the timing and location of the exercise—held just days before the first airstrike on an alleged drug-running boat in the Caribbean—shows neighboring countries in the region how the U.S. military could be used in its campaign against so-called narco-terrorists.
“Another intent, obviously, could be to signal to the region that we have these capabilities and we are ready to act in a serious way,” said Jennifer Kavanagh, a senior fellow and director of military analysis at the Defense Priorities think tank. “This is not just a deployment for show, these are not just threats of force. We are ready to use combat capabilities and combat strategies in the theater.”
Air Force Special Operations Command officials made it clear that the demonstration was meant to send a message that the ACE concept was fast and adaptable, including in the Caribbean.
“AFSOC stands ready to deliver decisive airpower anytime, anywhere, against any threat to national security,” said command spokesperson Rebecca Heyse.
Another AFSOC exercise in the Caribbean saw special operations airmen travel 75 nautical miles “to conduct reconnaissance and targeting operations on a nearby island held by simulated enemy forces,” the command said.
Heyse said AFSOC “remains ready to execute the priorities of senior leaders without delay.”
After those boots-on-the-ground exercises and the controversial airstrike on the Venezuelan boat earlier this month, the U.S. military began increasing its footprint in the area. MQ-9 Reaper drones and Marine Corps F-35Bs arrived in Puerto Rico after the Pentagon decried a “highly provocative move” by Venezuela after the country flew two of its F-16 fighter jets near U.S. Navy vessels.
Other supporting aircraft spotted in the area this week include C-5 and C-17 military transports and KC-46 and KC-135 tankers, an open-source tracking account reported. There have been at least two U.S. military attacks on alleged Venezuelan drug boats this month, killing a total of 14 people, according to White House statements.
Kavanagh said that the military response in the region is overblown.
“Cartels are powerful. Military groups in Latin America have military capabilities, but are not military capabilities that can strike U.S. airbases in the region, so it seems like a little bit of overkill,” she said. “The force the United States has used so far in Latin America has been disproportionate to the threat.”
AFSOC’s Heyse said the command has no exercises planned in the Caribbean in the near future, but that they’re prepared to project more force in the region.
“This does not rule out future potential exercises in the region as AFSOC relentlessly refines its capabilities and sharpens its edge to ensure unmatched lethality on future battlefields,” she said.
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