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| Attorney General, Adriel Brathwaite, in conversation with Major General John Croley during the courtesy call. (A. Miller/BGIS)?? |
Exercise Tradewinds 2012 has been described as an opportunity to improve regional cooperation and military and civilian interaction, as well as national and regional response capabilities.??
This description was given of the military exercise by Major General John Croley, Commander of the United States Marine Corps Forces South, during a recent courtesy call on Attorney General, Adriel Brathwaite, when he visited him at his Wildey, St. Michael office.
During the meeting, General Croley told the Attorney General that Exercise Tradewinds would test the region’s overall readiness, and noted the military relief that would follow was just a small part of the ability to address humanitarian and disaster relief efforts. He explained that "this year, various agencies from the Federal Bureau of Investigations and law administration who are training with us will take a look at the various responsibilities that the defence forces that are here have and hone those skills."
He added that the mission of Tradewinds 2012 was to "conduct a multi-national inter-agency in Barbados with a view to building partner nation capacity at the tactical and operational levels, in order to counter transnational organised crime, as well as to improve responses to regional security threats and focus on maritime interdiction".
In response, the Attorney General praised the programme as a necessary cooperative effort, exercise and expressed his gratitude to General Croley for "stepping up to the plate, in terms of training," and testing our ability in terms of being equipped.
Regarding the need for readiness and preparation to deal with natural disasters, Mr. Brathwaite underscored that the training exercise would be of paramount importance in ensuring the region’s response in the event of such an eventuality.
The theme for Exercise Tradewinds 2012 is Promoting Regional and Hemispheric Security and Stability, and it will attract more than 400 military personnel from 17 countries that will be participating in the June 15 – 24 exercise.
It will consist of three separate independent tracks: Land-Ground Force Tactical Military/Law Enforcement; Maritime Combating Transnational Organised Crime; Command and Control via Command Post/Table Top Exercise; and Command and Intelligence Training.
The last Tradewinds Exercise was held here in 2003.