The activity was attended by more than 600 people, within the framework of the 1997 Agreement on Cooperation in Disaster Matters between Chile and Argentina. Various emergency situations and disaster risk management were simulated under an earthquake scenario of magnitude 8.9 in the Los Lagos Region.
On October 10 and as a milestone at the end of Exercise “Solidarity 25”, the Armed Forces of Chile and Argentina, as well as civilian institutions participating in the exercise, were inspected by the heads of the Chilean and Argentine Joint Chiefs of Staff (EMCO), Aviation General Leonardo Romanini and Brigadier General Xavier Isaac Julián, respectively; accompanied by the Undersecretary of Defense, Ricardo Montero, the Presidential Delegate of the Los Lagos Region, Paulina Muñoz, and the Undersecretary of Civil Defense and Humanitarian Protection of Argentina, Guillermo Madero.
The day began at the Command Post of the Chief of National Defense, located at the Mirador aerodrome, where a presentation was made related to the general situation of the exercise and the role of the Chief of National Defense.
The authorities present, where the Fifth Naval Zone was represented by its Commander in Chief, Rear Admiral Jorge Toso, witnessed a static display of air assets belonging to the Air Force, Navy and Carabineros to continue with the simulation of a cargo launch, which took place on the runway.
Subsequently, on the Costanera de Puerto Varas, a water purification plant was put into operation, in charge of the trans-Andean Support Execution Unit (UNEJAP), followed by a simulation of the work of Firefighters and Carabineros in the event of a traffic accident with an oil spill, as well as the actions of the specialized personnel of the Navy where the deployment of naval resources and the support of the Naval Air Group in the management of this could be appreciated type of emergencies in the lake area, as well as in the search and discovery of a body in the waters of Lake Llanquihue, which were part of the actions that personnel of the Fifth Naval Zone carried out in the drills for disaster risk management.
The exercise ended with an operational review in Puerto Varas, where the Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth Naval Zone noted that “The participation of the Fifth Naval Zone in the Solidarity 2025 exercise reflects the Navy’s ongoing commitment to inter-institutional and interagency cooperation and emergency preparedness. The deployment of our resources and personnel was carried out in a coordinated and efficient manner, contributing to the success of this combined joint operation, demonstrating the integrated response capacity that characterizes the Institution.”
For his part, the Chief of EMCO, Aviation General Leonardo Romanini said that “what we achieve with these exercises is precisely to test our capabilities, generate procedures and generate an interagency relationship, in which the Armed Forces also interact with other organizations, whether it is the Legal Medical Service, the Municipality, the Governor’s Office, Presidential Delegates and all those organizations that in a real (emergency) situation we have to participate. and hopefully in the best possible way and with the greatest effectiveness,” he said.
“Solidarity 25”, organized by the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Chile, was transformed during its development into a concrete example of binational integration and cooperation between military and civilians for a common humanitarian purpose: to save lives and assist the population in the event of a natural disaster.