Army’s flagship leaves for Exercise Tradewinds

May 30, 2015 News

The Guyana Defence Force flagship, the GDFS Essequibo, has departed with a team for St. Kitts/ Nevis to participate in Exercise Tradewinds.
Exercise Tradewinds is a United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) sponsored training exercise held annually in the Caribbean and has two phases –Maritime and Land Operations.

Coast Guard ranks and others on the GDFS Essequibo preparing for the annual Exercise Tradewinds to be held in St. Kitts/Nevis.

According to the GDF yesterday, the Maritime Phase is scheduled to be held in St Kitts/Nevis from today until June 9, while the Land Operations Phase is set to be held in Belize from June 14-24.
“The team comprises four officers and 36 other ranks from the Coast Guard, and three other ranks as supporting staff drawn from…the force. The team on board the vessel will participate exclusively in the maritime phase.”
Commanding Officer of the vessel, Lieutenant (Coast Guard), Adrian McLean, explained that ranks will be exposed to several aspects of training during the period. He also noted that additional ranks will join the exercise to conduct small boat operations training.
The maritime phase will culminate with a two-day exercise.
According to the army, the aim of Exercise Tradewinds is to help Caribbean nations to be better prepared to counter land and maritime security threats including human smuggling and trafficking in illegal weapons and ammunition.