Coral Harbour Base, 03 JUN ‘18 (RBDF): Commander Defence Force, Commodore Tellis Bethel is pleased to announce that the first phase of Tradewinds has successfully commenced. This first phase of Tradewinds saw the deployment of 33 Royal Bahamas Defence Force marines and 12 Police officers to St Kitts, in the Leeward Islands of the Eastern Caribbean.
The Bahamian contingent of 45 departed New Providence onboard a United States military aircraft on Sunday, 3rd June for St. Kitts. The contingent is under the command of Royal Bahamas Defence Force Senior Lieutenant, Shawn Adderley who will act as the Company Commander. This first phase of the exercise in St. Kitts is from the 4th to the 12th June.
The Royal Bahamas Defence Force will be hosting Phase two of Tradewinds Exercise 2018 from the 14th to 21st of June 2018. The largest military training exercise of its kind, this year’s training will focus on Countering Transnational Organized crime in the region. Sponsored by the United States Southern Command, the main objective of the highly regarded military event is to foster training for security forces.
This year’s Tradewinds will consist of 22 partner nations from the Caribbean region, the wider Americas and Western Europe. Additionally, the exercise will consist of over 400 participants from various Caribbean nations that are expected to put their military training to test.
