Marine Leaders of The Americas Conference (MLAC) 2025

Teniente Coronel de Infanteria de Marina de Colombia (Colombian Marine Lt. Col.) Eduar Alexander Michaels Bravo, the deputy commander of Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force - Southern Command, gives potable water to a media member during a demonstration of the lightweight water purification system during a joint humanitarian assistance and disaster relief rehearsal in Coveñas, Colombia, Oct. 2, 2019. A light weight water purification system was used to show members of the media the capability to turn salt water into potable water during a disaster relief situation. U.S. and Colombian Marines have begun a weeklong humanitarian assistance and disaster relief rehearsal in Coveñas, which is on Colombia's Caribbean coast. The exercise will test and strengthen the interoperability and responsiveness between these countries, preparing for real-world disaster scenarios in the region. The task force are conducting training and engineering projects hand-in-hand with partner nation military members in Latin America and the Caribbean during their deployment to the region, which coincides with hurricane season. Michaels Bravo is a native of Bogota, Colombia. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Stanley Moy)