US Coast Guard taking part in Tradewinds 2016

U.S. Coast Guard units are taking part in Phase I of the international exercise Tradewinds 2016 June 4 through June 14, 2016 in St. George’s, Grenada.

Exercise Tradewinds is a U.S. Southern Command-led, three-phased, combined and joint exercise that supports the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, a U.S. Department of State regional security partnership.

Phase I and II are designed to conduct joint, interagency capacity building exercises for participating nations, which focus on increasing regional cooperation in complex, multinational security operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations.

“Tradewinds brings together so many partner nations for a common goal to share best practices and learn from each other in a controlled environment,” said Coast Guard Cmdr. Tabitha Schiro, the maritime lead for Tradewinds 2016.

Military and security personnel from 13 Caribbean Community member states including Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago will join military personnel from the United States, Canada, France, and the United Kingdom for Phase I of Exercise Tradewinds 2016.

Participating regional organizations include the Regional Security System, Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, and Caribbean Community.

Phase II is scheduled to take place in Jamaica, and will focus on refining land and maritime operational skill, while Phase III includes a ‘Key Leader Seminar’ in the U.S., which will focus its discussions on phases moving forward.