Lt. Col. Trae York (third from the right), Director of Spaces Forces, 12th Air Force, stands for a photo with U.S. Air Force active duty, guard and partner nation representatives from the Panamax 2014 space team at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Photo USAF Tech. Sgt. Heather R. Redman

[Via Satellite 08-20-2014] The United States Air Force partnered with three officers from the Dominican Republic, Peruvian and Brazilian militaries to work collectively on the space component of Panamax 2014, a multinational exercise that focuses on ensuring the defense of the Panama Canal. This was the third year partner nations joined the U.S. in Panamax’s space element, and the second year Lt. Col. Trae York, director of space forces, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern), led the space component.

“The Brazilians have the beginnings of a space program,” said York. “The Peruvian and Dominican Republic [militaries] do not have space programs within their air forces, right now. The Peruvians are looking to build one within the next few years … I think that the partner nations, by getting exposure to this [exercise], can go back [to their countries] and they can understand some of the political and strategic level discussions about going into space.”