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| Chief of Staff of the Barbados Defence Force, Colonel Alvin Quintyne and Chief of Staff of the United States Marine Forces South, Colonel Michael Ramos are pictured in discussion following the opening ceremony of Exercise Trdaewinds 2012 today at the BDF’S base at Paragon, Christ Church. (A.Miller/BGIS)?? |
All training components of Exercise Tradewinds 2012 will be of significant benefit to the region.
This was emphasised by Chief of Staff of the Barbados Defence Force, Colonel Alvin Quintyne, as he responded to questions from members of the media following the opening ceremony of Exercise Tradewinds 2012 today at the BDF’s base at Paragon, Christ Church.
Concerning the suggestion that some elements of the training might be considered as more beneficial than others, Colonel Quintyne maintained that all areas were critical to the security and well being of the region. He pointed out the training programmes that had been organised "not only for this exercise, but for previous exercises, would have been designed to assist in building the capacity of the member states to counteract a variety of security challenges.
He further stated: "Now, case in point [was] Haiti, where it was not only a situation of responding to a disaster, but there were security implications. He added: "Within this region we’ve had situations where the Regional Security System was mobilised to respond in the aftermath of disasters in the Caribbean region. So, it is not only [about] putting boots on the ground to effect rescues and so on, but [it is also] the security type training that is being laid on that also is brought to bear when soldiers or policemen working jointly help to stabilise that post disaster environment.
"So, I wouldn’t think it appropriate to categorise the training as some are as more important than others. It all comes together in harmony to allow us to be able to discharge our responsibility whether as law enforcement or military personnel in the interest of the people of the Caribbean and the wider hemisphere."
As part of the exercise, over 500 troops and law enforcement personnel will hone their skills in such areas as: tactical military/law enforcement, maritime, command and control, command and intelligence training, and emergency management.
The law enforcement and ground components will take place at the Regional Police Training Centre and the BDF base at Paragon; the command and intelligence training will take place at the Crane Resort in St. Philip, while maritime training will be conducted at HMBS Pelican, Spring Garden, St. Michael.
Exercise Tradewinds 2012 has as its theme: Promoting Regional and Hemispheric Security and Stability.