U.S. Army Sgt. Angel Partidas of the 173rd Airborne Brigade rappels down a rope in October 2023 during the 73-day Lancero course in Tolemaida, Colombia. (173rd Airborne Brigade)
AVIANO, Italy — For three U.S. Army paratroopers stationed in the Italian city of Vicenza, weeks of special operations training in the wilds of Colombia came with bug bites, hardships galore — and a revered red-and-gold badge.
Staff Sgt. Raymond Colon, Sgt. Angel Partidas and Sgt. Darwin Guevara of the 173rd Airborne Brigade became the first soldiers who weren’t from the special operations community to complete the Colombian army’s Lancero school, course instructors told them.
Located in Tolemaida, it is the first level of Colombian special operations training and traces its roots to the U.S. Army Ranger School. It’s designed to teach irregular warfare in jungle and mountain terrain.
“It was an unforgettable experience,” Guevera said in an interview Tuesday.
To earn the right to be called Lanceros, the soldiers endured days of less than four hours of sleep and one mission right after the other during the 73-day course, Partidas said.
Sgt. Angel Partidas, Staff Sgt. Raymond Colon and Sgt. Darwin Guevara, from left, celebrate their graduation from Lancero School in Tolemaida, Colombia, on Nov. 29, 2023. (173rd Airborne Brigade)
They climbed mountains north of Bogota that are upward of 13,000 feet high, and completed a 25-day jungle phase at Fuerte Amazonas II.
Guevara said one of the most enjoyable parts of the course was learning how to build traps to catch animals for survival during the jungle phase.
Their instruction even included some culinary tips.
“They showed us how to kill and properly skin a goat … (and) how to avoid ruining the meat,” Colon said.
Colon was less enamored with the swarms of jungle insects, which treated him like a main course.
All three said Lancero school was one of the most mentally challenging courses they’ve been through, if not as physically demanding as Ranger school.
But both required a lot of perseverance.
“Just like Ranger school, you are hungry, you are tired, but you are still expected to perform,” Colon said.
Founded in 1956, the Lancero school represents the fruits of decades of cooperation between the U.S. and Colombian militaries, according to the Association of the United States Army website.
Capt. Ralph Puckett, a retired colonel and Medal of Honor recipient, was sent to Colombia in late 1955 as a young officer, in response to a request by the country’s president for American military training.
Since then, dozens of U.S. soldiers have graduated from the school’s annual international course, which begins in September.
The three Vicenza soldiers said they were told they are American Lancero graduates No. 151, 152 and 153.
