More than 1,000 military personnel from 22 nations took part in Tradewinds 2018.
A United Airlines Boeing 737 crashed at the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis. The crash scattered the 250 passengers across hundreds of feet, while the aircraft fuselage, engulfed in flames, threatened to explode.
Local fire, police, and health services, as well as government agencies, humanitarian organizations, and defense forces from partner nations jumped into action. In a well-coordinated response, crews cordoned off the area, extinguished the fire, pulled casualties from the debris, brought survivors to safety, and provided first aid.
The event was part of Tradewinds 2018, an interagency, multinational U.S. Southern Command- (SOUTHCOM) sponsored exercise conducted in the Caribbean, June 4th-21st. More than 1,000 military and police personnel from 22 nations, most from the Caribbean region, took part in the yearly large-scale event.
“By training together with common doctrine and standard operating procedures, we gain valuable experience, learn from one another, and form lasting relationships,” U.S. Air Force Colonel Steven Cherrington, chief of SOUTHCOM’s Exercise and Training Division and commander of Tradewinds 2018, told Diálogo. “If we train together during an exercise like this, we will seamlessly operate in a real-world scenario together.”
Caribbean-focused exercise
Tradewinds was designed to enhance the collective abilities of Caribbean defense forces and law enforcement to counter transnational organized crime and conduct humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations. In its 34th edition, the event focused on confronting regional security challenges through various land, air, and maritime scenarios to improve tactical skills and interagency information sharing. Participants also delved into disaster response drills, specialized training, and tabletop exercises.
“Our security and our fortunes are intertwined,” Major Basil Jarrett, Jamaica Defence Force civil-military cooperation officer, told Diálogo. “Exercises such as Tradewinds allow us to familiarize ourselves, refine strategies, techniques, tactics, and operate with each other. Most importantly, it delivers a common sense of responsibility that we all have a role to play in the security of the region.”
The exercise consisted of two phases. Phase I, carried out in Saint Kitts and Nevis, June 4th-12th, focused on capacity building and experience exchange. Phase II, conducted in The Bahamas, June 13th-21st, allowed participants to put into practice all that was learned in the previous stage.
“Phase II allowed us to put the skill and tactics learned and refined in phase I to use in a realistic scenario,” Col. Cherrington said. “It included planning and direction at the operational level, and land, maritime, and air operations at the tactical level.”
Wide range training
In addition to a plane crash simulation for disaster preparedness, service members conducted firearm training, advanced marksmanship, vehicle checkpoint scenarios, and surface search exercises aboard two C-130 Hercules aircraft from the Rhode Island Air National Guard, among others. New courses added to the exercise to meet emerging threats included explosive ordnance disposal and cyber warfare.
Units of the U.S. Coast Guard trained regional naval forces in maritime interdiction, including pursuit and boarding operations, and led a live gunnery fire exercise aboard two vessels off the coast of Basseterre using deck-mounted weapons systems. Caribbean naval units also received hands-on maintenance training on outboard engines widely featured in vessels of regional security forces.
A large-scale raid with more than 300 troops, hailed as one of Tradewinds’ largest land force operations to date, took place at the Fort Thomas Hotel in Basseterre. During the mock situation, units stormed the building to capture a criminal. Service members exchanged fire with enemy combatants, threw smoke grenades, and cleared rooms as they moved from floor to floor until successfully apprehending the target.
“While we face no external enemy through guns and ammunition, the menacing and festering criminal network that threatens our human security must not be allowed safe haven,” said Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Comrie, commander of the Saint Kitts-Nevis Defence Force, about the importance of exercises to counter illicit drug and weapons trafficking. “It is by our cooperation, trust, and shared efforts that we will accomplish this objective.”
In The Bahamas, training focused on counter-terrorism measures such as a simulated car bomb attack in Nassau. Uniformed participants searched suspicious vehicles, detained criminals, and provided assistance to the injured.
The nearly three-week long event culminated with a mock counter-terrorism operation on the southern shore of the Bahamian island of New Providence. Participants gathered and shared intelligence, then planned their assault mission using newly acquired and sharpened skills. During the operation that included simulated high-powered weapons fire, grenades, and bombs, troops captured terrorist operatives and dismantled their international network.
Successful teamwork
The exercise was deemed a success. Commodore Tellis Bethel, commander of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, praised the event as an “opportunity to train with foreign security forces of partner nations on the home front.”
Lt. Col. Comrie stressed the importance of pursuing multinational exercises that include terrorism scenarios of concern to regional security forces. “Future exercises must incorporate methods that counter the threat of recruitment of persons to form part of terror networks in the Caribbean,” Lt. Col. Comrie said. “We must strengthen our regional capability to prevent any chance of the occurrence of any terrorist act, and our collective focus must transition significantly to limit environments conducive to recruitment.”
Tradewinds 2018 will conclude with a key leader seminar in Miami, Florida, July 17th-19th. “We at SOUTHCOM understand that we all need each other in times of peace and particularly in times of crisis,” Col. Cherrington concluded. “We can’t solve regional problems alone. We are a team that needs to work together.”
