Chilean and U.S. Special Forces strengthen Interoperability in Antarctica region

Members of the Chilean Navy’s Special Forces Command (Comfues) and the 1st Battalion of the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) from the US Army collaborated for Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) training.

This was part of the combined joint exercise, Estrella Austral 2023, held in the Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica region.

Special forces operators from both nations, joined by the Lientur Commandos Group and the Andean Hunters of Chile’s Special Mountain Group, jointly operated from Punta Arenas as part of the South Special Operations Task Force (SOTF Sur).

According to sources from the 7th SFG (A) and the US Southern Special Operations Command (Socsouth), the training aimed to enhance mutual planning and preparation, thus promoting regional stability and security.

Besides the CSAR exercise, combined special operations teams from the Chilean and US Armed Forces conducted maritime insertion exercises off the Chilean Navy’s OPV-83 Marinero Fuentealba patrol vessel near Dawson Island, about 100 kilometers south of Punta Arenas.

The main goal of the Estrella Austral exercise, an initiative since 2007 between the US and Chile, is to bolster cooperation across various military branches and with other nations.

This aims to improve interoperability and collaborative efforts among national special forces and their counterparts from allied nations.

This year’s iteration, which spanned from July 24 to August 11, involved over 1,700 personnel from the Chilean Armed Forces, US Socsouth, and Spain’s Joint Special Operations Command.

The special operations units began the Estrella Austral 2023 exercise by forming the Integrated Training Force (FIT), a preliminary stage to standardize procedures and techniques for seamless collaboration during the exercise’s execution phase.

Following the FIT period, special operations forces from Chile, the US, and Spain embarked on various missions, including direct actions, reconnaissance, and rescue operations, to further boost joint-combined interoperability.