Fort Benning
U.S. Army Fort Benning and The Maneuver Center of Excellence
WHINSEC Site
Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC)
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Peru's Commanding General of the Army, Gen. Jorge O. Céliz Kuong, recently visited U.S. Army South in San Antonio, Texas, the Maneuver Center of Excellence here at Fort Benning, and made a final stop at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. During his visit to WHINSEC, he learned of our course offerings, especially in instructor training, and he gave detailed descriptions of the Security Challenges in the Western Hemisphere and of the Transformation of the Peruvian Army to the students of the Command and General Staff Officer Course at the Institute. That class is available on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27mI9EFji5U&spfreload=10
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Costa Rica's Minister of Public Security, Dr. Michael Soto Rojas, visited the Institute Friday, Feb 1, for induction into the WHINSEC Hall of Fame in the middle of a busy day getting to know the Institute as it is now. Minister Soto was a student in the Counter Narco-terrorism Information Analyst Course in 2009, and now he has risen to be the senior security official in Costa Rica, part of the President's cabinet. Minister Soto was here to see for himself what WHINSEC can offer police and other law enforcement organizations, so in addition to hearing briefings, he went to the W-2 Training Area to see the mock-up cocaine lab used in several courses for law enforcement training. The final event of the day took him to Fort Benning's Clarke Simulation Center to see the State-of-the-art equipment that provides realistic training experiences. He also discussed security issues with students and instructors at the Institute.
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Argentine BG Agustin Cejas, Director of the National Military College, came to Fort Benning to address the graduating students of six WHINSEC courses on Thursday, Nov 15, at the Columbus Convention & Trade Center. This was a special event because it marked the return of Argentine students to the Institute; three Argentine cadets completed the Cadet Leadership Development Course. He then came to WHINSEC to learn about the Institute and to consider opportunities for collaboration. While at Fort Benning, he spent a day visiting the Maneuver Center of Excellence and several of its components, particularly the Henry Caro NCO Academy.
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Colombian Army BG Robinson A. Ramírez charged the 26 students completing the Maneuver Captains Career Course-WHINSEC to get to the heart of their subordinates and help them find their intangible strengths they may not be aware of. He urged them to wear their crests (uniform device presented to each graduating student) with pride and be true ambassadors of the Institute. In addition to speaking at the MCCC-W graduation, BG Ramírez received a briefing about WHINSEC, provided a briefing on Colombian Army's Education and Doctrine Command, which he leads, and completes his visit to Fort Benning with visits to several MCoE facilities, including the Henry Caro NCO Academy.
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In a WHINSEC tradition, visitors are met in front of the headquarters and are introduced to the leadership and staff. Here, BG Vicente Mota, Secretary General of the Conference of American Armies (CAA), meets the Institute's International Command Sergeant Major William Villacorta of Peru while WHINSEC's Deputy Commandant for Law Enforcement, COL Walter Navarro, salutes COL Juan Medina, Executive Secretary of the CAA. BG Mota took a few hours to get to know the Institute and to tell the Command & General Staff Officer Course students about the CAA before visiting other units on Fort Benning.
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Costa Rica's Director of National Police, COL Daniel Calderon (left) discusses his objectives in visiting WHINSEC with COL Robert Alvaro, WHINSEC Commandant. Calderon led a delegation of senior security personnel from Costa Rica to review courses at the Institute which may be useful to the services represented. The delegation got a detailed view of WHINSEC, visited its training areas, and also MCoE's Clarke Simulation Center.
WHINSEC FAST FACTS
Apr 15-18, 2019
Five courses in session with 158 students from 12 countries.
Command & General Staff Officer Course, Class of 2018-2019
(67 students) studies The Reconstruction of a Discarded Army, The American Way of War, and The Past as Prologue; and prepare their Thesis Defense Essays.
Maneuver Captains Career Course-WHINSEC
(25 students) conducts Operations Order briefings and Close Combat Tactical Training at Clarke Sim Center, and studies Company Training Management.
Countering Transnational Threats Course
(26 students) conducts a Field Training Exercise in Training Area W-2 all week, practicing Riverine Operations. Patrol Base Operations, Patrolling, and Actions on the Objective.
Interagency Crisis Action Planning Course
(15 students) conducts an evaluated Staff Training Exercise and research for the evaluated Group Presentation, which will be done Thursday; also has a guest speaker from Joint Task Force Bravo (Honduras).
International Operational Law Course
(25 students) conducts Human Rights & Humanitarian Law Research, Lawful Use of Lethal and non-Lethal Force exercises at Clarke Sim Center, and a Human Rights trip to Andersonville National Historic Site.