Antigua will host 23 officers from the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) as part of the 2014 Tradewinds Exercise, to be held in Antigua from 1-10 June. Representatives from 17 partner nations and the United States will participate in this multinational exercise to conduct the maritime training and disaster response exercise in collaboration with the US Coast Guard and other facilitating agencies.
The 10-day exercise will bring together more than 300 law enforcement officers, military personnel and government representatives from the Dutch Caribbean, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States.
The United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) is the executive agent of Tradewinds. A release from the US Embassy stated, “Tradewinds 2014 focuses on increasing regional cooperation to counter illicit trafficking and build participating nations’ capacity to plan and execute complex, multinational security operations. Tradewinds strengthens existing regional partnerships and encourages the establishment of new relationships focused on shared knowledge and expertise, while allowing each participating country to improve capabilities in key security mission priorities.”
By Linda Straker
