Basseterre, St. Kitts, June 10, 2018 (SKNIS): The St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force (SKNDF) Coast Guard Unit pledged to use the recently concluded live gunnery exercise offered to its soldiers via Phase 1 of Tradewinds 2018 in the Federation as a guide to ensure that soldiers took the training seriously and will be ready to be called upon in the event of real life situations.
This was echoed by Midshipman Carlus Garnette of the SKNDF Coast Guard Unit, who also noted that the organization sees opportunities as these fitting for soldiers and the country on a whole, as it ensures that participants are properly equipped with the necessary skills set to effectively and efficiently execute their duties.
“This type of training will definitely be used by Coast Guard officers at some point during the execution of their duties. This may be to protect life or to stop a vessel whose captain refuses to comply with law enforcement commands to stop. This is why they have to learn in an environment that they operate in daily, rather than at a land base shooting range,” said Midshipman Garnette.
He noted that the training was important, adding that officials at the local Coast Guard Unit pride themselves on ensuring that the officers are exposed to opportunities to train as much as possible.
“This type of exercise plays a vital role in allowing each student’s performance to be evaluated. This in turn helps the students to correctly adjust their shooting by administering principles they would have learnt. Coming out of the exercise the officers will be able to better analyze and engage targets at sea,” he said.
He explained the purpose of the training and extended gratitude to the United States and all other executing agencies that made the training a success.
“The gunnery exercise is designed to train Coast Guard officers on how to effectively and accurately fire at targets that are not stationary. Prior to going on the range, the officers are given a pre-fire briefing to ensure officers know the functions of the weapon and all safety precautions while on the range,” Garnette noted.
The exercise provided the opportunity for military teams to come together to train. In addition, the live gunnery training meets partner nations’ specific security needs as it improves border security, ensures energy security, and counters threats such as terrorism, illegal trafficking and weapons proliferation to name a few.
