To Train the Best There is the Fuerzas Comando

According to ViceNews, Columbia hosts a competition for all the special operation units from around the globe. They call this competition Fuerzas Comando, which roughly translates to command force. The competition was created by the United States military in 2004 to train various special forces to combat drug trafficking and terrorism. Much of the actual combat scenarios require the soldiers to traverse over water and then pass over land to reach their destination. This is to replicate the difficulty to find and locate the hiding places of most drug traffickers, as vehicles are too loud and occasionally too large to fit in the confined spaces of jungles. Also, the scenarios can replicate anything from drug raids to hostage rescues. Not only does this competition aid in honing the skills of those who compete in it through repetition of their own tactics, but also simply watching others perform their tactics can help different units become better through "mixing and matching" various tactics and techniques. The host country, Columbia, specifically trains to fight the Farc and ELN, two guerrilla units that have fought Columbian forces for over five decades now. However, there are possible peace agreements between the two opposing forces. The Farc had been founded in 1964 when it had intended to replace the existing government with a Marxist, or Communist, government instead. However, 24 years later, the Farc decided to branch into the world of drug trafficking. In 2001, the guerrilla group had approximately 16,000 members, but in just 12 years, that number is believed to have dropped to half. Now, with the peace talks, the number of members may drop from 8,000 to zero. The Farc was not the only rebel group in Columbia that was inspired by Marxist principles. The National Liberation Army, or ELN, was formed in 1964 and inspired by the Cuban revolution. Unlike the Farc, the ELN stayed out of the drug trade, that is, until recent years. Even after all the combat between ELN and Columbian forces, the rebels have also joined the peace talks. I personally find the Fuerzas Comando to be an extremely great competition, as it aids Special Forces to stop the flow of drugs and criminal activity, as well as terrorist activity by helping train and hone their skills. While the issues of drugs and terrorists will never end, that does not mean that forces around the world need to stop training, it just means that they should train even harder to make the criminals have a more difficult time to perform their jobs.