Story by: Master Sgt. Daniel Griego

Posted: October 14, 2015

Members of the Texas Army National Guard's 72nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion recently trained with their Honduran and El Salvadoran counterparts for a four-month mentorship program at the Honduran Army Signal School in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The training, held May through September 2015, was part of the Regionally Aligned Forces’ Counter Transnational Organized Crime (CTOC) partnership and featured Texas Guardsmen providing instruction on intelligence, reporting, and security operations.

Recently, Soldiers from the Texas Army National Guard’s 72nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 72nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 36th Infantry Division, traveled to El Salvador and Honduras for several missions as part of a joint task force mentoring program with local and national law enforcement.

The missions, held May to September 2015 as part of the Regionally Aligned Forces’ Counter Transnational Organized Crime (CTOC) partnership, were designed to focus training and mentoring for El Salvadorian and Honduran forces in order to enhance their capabilities to detect, disrupt, and detain persons involved in illicit trafficking within their respective regions. The Texas Guardsmen assisting the effort were designated Task Force Coyote.

“TF Coyote’s particular mission was to facilitate, through instruction, the better development of the intelligence production flow and the analysis of human reporting,” said Capt. Kurt Clawson, the intelligence officer for the 72nd IBCT.

Thirty-seven Guardsmen volunteered to participate in this series of missions, and were selected for their experience and language proficiency crucial to the success of the mentorship program. Many of them have specific experience in U.S. agencies such as Counterdrug, U.S. Customs, Border Patrol, local and state law enforcement, and the Drug Enforcement Agency. These backgrounds contributed immensely to the value of the training. 

“The focus of the overall mission was to develop intelligence training that gave students an overview of the intelligence environment, while practicing their analytical skills,” said Clawson. “The mission requirements varied by country and TF Coyote even differentiated instructional topics between the two trips to El Salvador.”

The task force’s teams targeted key communities and coordinated schedules with the partner nations to maximize the reach and potency of the operation.

“Our teams are well-trained and proud to be representing the Texas Army National Guard in El Salvador and Honduras,” said Lt. Col. Robert Eason, commander of the 72nd BSTB. “We get to learn from each other and these events are a great opportunity for our Soldiers.”

The training focused three main aspects of combating organized crime: Intelligence Support Operations; Surveillance and Reporting Operations and Procedures; and Intelligence Targeting and Superiority. While the main focus was on intelligence, the teams used the U.S. Army’s train-the-trainer approach to not only teach the mentees relevant skills, but also to equip them to be able to teach others in their departments and agencies. 

“Any beneficial CTOC training helps our entire hemisphere and helps relations overall,” said Clawson. “The training was mutual because presenting the U.S. Army way of doing things, you learn how foreign militaries try to accomplish the same mission set.”

The mentees received detailed classroom instruction, scenario-based training, and proficiency certification before moving forward to the next advanced topic. The Guardsmen also shared vital experience in force protection, personnel recovery, anti-terrorism, and medical and casualty evacuation practices.

“Our troops conducting these missions really enjoy the opportunity to work with members of the army of our partner nations,” said Eason. “Very few units get to do this; this training will greatly increase our Soldiers’ capabilities and the capabilities of our partner nations.”

Due to the security situation, Task Force Coyote conducted the training on the Army’s Signal School’s Headquarters’ compound. The culminating training event involved pattern analysis, evaluating summaries, and developing targeting packets.

“The preparation and presentation of even the limited intelligence process allows for good training,” said Clawson. “We always learn better when we are responsible for teaching concepts to others. Through their comments, all the countries respected the training due to the quality of product and presentation provided by the 72nd military intelligence Soldiers.”