US, Colombian troops kick off exercise amid the Pentagon’s Western Hemisphere pivot

Hundreds of American and Colombian troops kicked off a sprawling military exercise in Colombia this week, training to navigate dense jungles and counter explosive threats as the U.S. military sharpens its focus on the Western Hemisphere . Dubbed Exercise Southern Vanguard 2027, the exercise is the 41st iteration of the annual training event, which runs through mid-November, the Army announced this week. Hosted by the Colombian Army and led by the U.S. Army Western Hemisphere Command , the drills involve roughly 350 U.S. military personnel and more than 400 Colombian soldiers. After the…