SPEEDBOATS INTERCEPT a suspicious ship near the entrance to the Panama Canal. Troops board it and bundle the bad guys off. On the Caribbean coast, special forces launch an assault on a rebel base. On the outskirts of Panama city, the capital, Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters buzz overhead. From August 3rd to 13th, Panamanians witnessed a display of military prowess(英勇，高超技艺) not seen in the country for almost two decades.
快艇在巴拿马运河入口附近拦截了一艘可疑船只。士兵登船，将坏人捆绑带走。在加勒比海岸，特种部队对叛军基地发动袭击。在首都巴拿马城郊区，支奴干和黑鹰直升机在头顶嗡嗡作响。从8月3日到13日，巴拿马人目睹了近二十年来未曾见过的军事力量展示。
This was Panamax, a multinational military exercise led by the United States to practise fending off possible threats to the Panama Canal. Held roughly every two years since 2003, for the past 13 its simulation has been run from bases in Texas and Florida. This year it was done in Panama proper. Over 1,700 troops, mostly American but including soldiers from 17 (mostly Latin American) countries, engaged in “kinetic(动态的，运动的) operations” across the country.
这就是“巴拿马极限”演习，一项由美国领导的多国军事演习，旨在演练抵御对巴拿马运河可能构成的威胁。自2003年以来大约每两年举行一次，过去13年的模拟演习都在得克萨斯州和佛罗里达州的基地进行。今年则在巴拿马本土举行。超过1700名士兵，其中大部分是美国人，但也包括来自17个（主要是拉丁美洲）国家的士兵，参与了全国各地的“动态行动”。
“I’ve no issue with tabletop exercise(桌面推演，沙盘演习)s but you can’t replicate(复制，重现) this,” said Pete Hegseth, the secretary of war, dressed in a sweat-soaked olive-green t-shirt. The canal is “a key piece of terrain(地形，地势). We’ve got more troops here in partnership with Panama than we’ve had in a very long time.”
“我对桌面推演没有意见，但你无法复制这种实战，”战争部长皮特·赫格塞斯说道，他身穿一件被汗水浸透的橄榄绿T恤。运河是“一块关键的地形。我们与巴拿马合作，在这里部署的部队比很长一段时间以来都要多。”
