COVENAS, Colombia -- Marine. The name alone says everything. It is one of the most respected, honored and feared names in the world. It conjures images of glory, sacrifice, and duty to country and self. The title of Marine is never bestowed lightly upon a person; it must be earned through hardship, pain and discipline, no matter if it’s a U.S. Marine, a Colombian Marine, or a Panamanian Marine.
For those who have earned the title, there is only one difference between a U.S. Marine and their international counterparts: training. There is no worldwide standard for training a Marine, each country does things differently.
For more than 30 years, the United States Marine Corps has partnered with their counterparts in the Infantería de Marina Colombiana, or Colombian Marine Corps to train to the USMC standard.
“One of the things that we’ve accomplished is setting up a USMC standard recruit depot and other professional development programs with the Colombian Marines,” said Col. John Lopez, the chief of staff for U.S. Marine Corps Forces, South. “That’s something we’ve done over three plus decades of continuous engagement with the Colombian Marine Corps.”
Having a recruit depot developed and established with the help of U.S. Marines has formed a common ground between the two largest Marine Corps in the world.
According to Lopez, the Colombian drill instructors were taught the finer points of the trade by USMC drill instructors and the 13 week training cycle uses the same periods of instruction found at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island or Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.
On Feb. 17, the Republic of Panama celebrated the graduation of 93 members of the INFAMAR, or Panamanian Marine Corps, from a 13-week professional training program at the Colombian Marine Corps Training Base in Covenas, Colombia.
“It’s a milestone, because of the fact that this is the first time the Panamanian Marines have had any type of formal training,” said Sgt. Maj. William Fitzgerald, the Marine Corps Forces, South Sergeant Major. “They were just basically given a uniform. Of course they had some training throughout their years, but prior to being designated as a Panamanian Marine they had nothing formal.”
The training program is performed under the supervision of Gunnery Sergeant Edwin Liggoria, the staff noncommissioned officer in charge of the Colombian Partner Exchange Program, MARFORSOUTH.
“As a former Drill Instructor I had the honor of training recruits and making them Marines,” Liggoria said. “As part of the Marine partnership exchange program in Colombia, I have had the honor of advising my Colombian counterparts in how to train their recruits. This paid off tenfold during the Panamanian Marine training. They participated in many of the programs that U.S. Marines do and did it with pride and honor. Watching both countries perform their best as the trainer and the trainee was my honor.”
The Marines from Colombia and Panama endured the crucible of training together. Weapons instruction, first aid, land navigation, military intelligence, perimeter defense, explosives detection and handling, combat water survival, the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program and Corps values were just some of the subjects taught during the training.
“Our standards, our Corps values, they have a very similar work ethic and training standard,” added Fitzgerald. “To be honest if you took a US Marine, a Colombian Marine and a Panamanian Marine, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, except for the different uniforms.”
This was the first class of Panamanian Marines to graduate from the course. However, there are already plans to bring another class of recruits to earn the title Marine, something the Panamanians are looking forward to.
“All of the Marines were challenged and motivated throughout the entire course,” said Lt. Col. Michael Monboquette, the deputy naval mission commander in Colombia. “All of the Panamanian officers that I spoke with, to include their commander, stated that they hoped they can continue to send their Marines here to attend this course and additional training in the future.”