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Basseterre, St. Kitts, June 18, 2018 (RSCNPF): Some twenty-two (22) Police Officers from the Tactical Unit in the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force are now better trained to execute their duties.
They were privileged to have participated in Phase one of the recently concluded Tradewinds training exercise that was held in St. Kitts and Nevis. The exercise was facilitated and sponsored by the United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). The Police Officers joined their counterparts from the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force to train alongside other defence and security partners from 20 partner nations.
The Police received specialised training in the areas of marksmanship and conducting vehicle checkpoints and participated in room clearing and detainee operations, to name a few. This type of training will be useful for the kind of work the Officers have to do during operations conducted by the Tactical Unit. And it is not unusual for Officers to be involved in a joint operation with members of the Defence Force.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) responsible for Operations, Terrance James, was a member of the Local Organising Committee for Phase One of Tradewinds 2018. He stressed the importance of the organisation’s involvement in such exercises, as well as, the importance of inter-agency cooperation both locally and regionally.
“Remember we sent a team of Officers to Dominica after that country was devastated by a Hurricane. They were there for several weeks assisting with the Regional Security System (RSS) response to the disaster, helping with search and rescue operations, as well as maintaining law and order. So training like this comes in pretty handy,” ACP James explained.
Lead Tradewinds Actions Officers, Douglas Fitzgerald, with SOUTHCOM had previously said that training together during exercises like Tradewinds meant that partner nations would operate seamlessly in real world scenarios.
“We come together this year to reinforce common doctrine, standard operating procedures and train with the goal to be prepared for any emergency, threat or contingency,” Mr. Fitzgerald said.
Phase two takes place in The Bahamas, however, the Police Force will not be participating in that leg of the exercise.
