THE WATCH STAFF
A 28-member team from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) participated in Tradewinds 22 (TW22), a recent multinational exercise co-hosted by Belize and Mexico.
TW22, held May 7-21, 2022, is a Caribbean-focused exercise conducted in ground, air, sea and cyber domains. The 23 participating nations ⸺ including Canada, Mexico and the United States ⸺ got the opportunity to conduct joint, combined and interagency training focused on increasing regional security cooperation.
The members of the RBDF team, led by Director of Communications Branch Capt. Carlon Bethell, were divided between two training areas: cybersecurity and ground operations (jungle warfare, security, riverine and civil military operations), according to a May 23 post on the RBDF’s Facebook page. The participation reflected Commodore Raymond King’s mission to strengthen the RBDF’s interoperability with partner nations in conducting maritime interdiction operations against transnational criminal organizations and other hostile actors, according to the Facebook post.
Eleven RBDF Marines participated as part of an infantry team and alongside their international partners. They practiced combat casualty care, close-quarters room-clearing and marksmanship, the Facebook post said.
Representatives from U.S. Northern Command and members of the Rhode Island National Guard supported cyber training in Belize City, Belize, throughout the exercise. The RBDF’s expertise in the cyber domain is critical to supporting the Bahamas’ 2021 National Cyber Security Project and the Cyber Incident Response Team, the Facebook post said.
Notably, two members of the Bahamian team have fathers who have participated in the exercise: Able Seaman Carlos Sturrup, son of retired Chief Petty Officer Carlos Sturrup, and Marine Seaman Dwayne Taylor Jr., son of Chief Petty Officer Dwayne Taylor.
(Pictured: RBDF Petty Officers Terran Hanna and Michael Wring plan patrols with U.S. advisors during Tradewinds 22.)
“The training was not far from what I expected; it was a learning experience,” said the younger Taylor, according to the RBDF Facebook post. “I was able to meet new people and I understood that each military has its own methods of training based on their culture.”
Tradewinds, sponsored by the United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), has been held since 1984 to foster “security and prosperity throughout the Caribbean and Caribbean Basin,” according to SOUTHCOM. In pursuit of that goal, its objectives include enhancing the region’s ability to defend exclusive economic zones; promoting human rights; fully integrating women into defense, peace and security missions; and increasing maritime domain awareness to deter illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing.
With TW22, Mexico entered a new era.
“This (was) the first time for Mexico to receive, in its territory and waters, international military and security forces partners to train together in a multinational exercise,” said Cmdr. Fernando Jerezano, Mexico’s lead planner for naval training, according to a SOUTHCOM news release. “For us, (it was) a great opportunity to show to the partner nations our competency and professionalism.”
Jerezano said that Mexico’s goal is to continue being a “trusted maritime-military partner, and to boost its presence in the Caribbean region as a notable actor committed to countering the main security threats.”
For the Bahamas, the exercise also served to boost regional relationships.
“The training experience of learning and executing the [planning] doctrine … was invaluable,” said Lt. Cmdr. Prescott McPhee, who led the Maritime Component Command for TW22, according to the RBDF Facebook post. “In addition to this, the relationships, trust and synergy from working in the joint CARICOM [Caribbean Community] Task Force were very rewarding to my professional growth and development.”
IMAGE CREDIT: ROYAL BAHAMAS DEFENCE FORCE
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