A contingent of personnel of the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force, including senior officers, non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and male and female police constables, travelled to Belize between March 18 and May 6 to participate in the United States Southern Command Exercise. The personnel are from the Special Services Unit (SSU), the Police Marine Unit (PMU), Southern Division, and the Information Technology & Communications Unit of the Force. The Contingent is being led by Superintendent Albert Charlery of the Southern Division and Assistant Superintendent Troy E. Lamontagne Commander of the SSU and Saint Lucia’s lead planner for Exercise Tradewinds 2022.
TRADEWINDS is a regionally oriented maritime and ground security exercise that promotes regional security cooperation by involving security forces from Partner Nations (PN), primarily from the Caribbean Basin, U.S., Canada, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Representatives from Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, Regional Security System (RSS), Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (CASSOS), and Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) are among key regional institutions in participation. The focus of TW22 will be on Countering Threats (CT) executed in a Field Training Exercise (FTX) and Command Post Exercise (CPX).
The exercise objectives include expanding the region’s capacity to mitigate, plan for, and respond to crises; strengthening partnerships; increasing readiness; and promoting human rights and adherence to internationally recognized laws and agreements.RSLPF personnel exercise activities will focus on interoperability, maritime security, ground operations, cyber defense, medical operations, and the integration of women in peace and security missions.Mexico and Belize will co-host this year’s Tradewinds, with Mexico playing host to naval exercise activities and Belize hosting the land activities. Domestically, the training seeks to enhance RSLPF personnel skills in (operation) planning within a task force or headquarters framework; engineering administration; maritime law enforcement; cyber defence; internal security; Small Unit Tactics; operations in rural environments; Vehicle Take Downs and Arrest, Search and Seizure techniques; explosives and ordnance disposal (EOD); Medical First Responder; human rights; awareness of the role of women in peace and security; sensitive site exploitation and other sensitive areas. This year marks the first time since 2012 that Saint Lucia is participating since the exercise was first conducted in 1984.
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