190824-M-TE205-010 ATLANTIC OCEAN (Aug. 24, 2019) Leaders from Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force – Southern Command and U.S. partner nations discuss exercise maneuvers during UNITAS LX aboard a Brazilian vessel Aug. 24, 2019. The UNITAS planning process highlighted the cooperation of officers from the United States, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Paraguay and Argentina. UNITAS is the world’s longest-running, annual exercise and brings together multinational forces from 11 countries to include Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile Argentina, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Mexico, Great Britain and the United States. The exercise focuses in strengthening the existing regional partnerships and encourages establishing new relationships through the exchange of maritime mission-focused knowledge and expertise during multinational training operations. The task force’s mission is to work with partner nations to build security force capabilities in the Latin America and Caribbean region through recurrent training events. It is also trained and equipped to provide timely responses to natural disasters and other crisis situations in the region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Booker T. Thomas III/Released)