Photo By Sgt. Tiffany Edwards | Lance Cpl. Andrew Soliz of Company C, 4th Law Enforcement Battalion, Force...... read more read more
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LAS CALDERAS NAVAL BASE, Dominican Republic – Surrounded by palm trees waving in the breeze and turquoise blue waters, the Marines of Company C, 4th Law Enforcement Battalion, along with the Army National Guard, the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Dominican Armed Forces and 13 Caribbean partner nations, executed phase II of Exercise Tradewinds 2014 at Las Calderas Naval Base, Dominican Republic. The battalion’s primary mission at the exercise was to plan and execute and integration package with the host nation the partner nations, to share ideas on how to better security in the Caribbean region, and to improve U.S. tactics and procedures.
“Anytime we get to deploy as a unit and get to interact with partner nations, we get share ideas and see different ways of accomplishing tactics,” 4th LE Bn. commanding officer Lt. Col Sydney Park said.
Phase I of Tradewinds 2014 took place in Belize and its focus was based on maritime operations, crisis preparedness and response. Phase II focused on law enforcement and military ground operations, such as tactical site exploitation, range operations, urban tactics, close quarters battle skills, crime scene processing, and vehicle and personnel searches. Participating militaries also received instructional classes on civil affairs and human rights issues.
“We all work together in this region, we all have a vested interest in the region, so it makes this exercise allows for streamlined integration, such as in the case of a natural disaster,” Park said. “Also, our operations to counter transnational organized crime are going to be much more streamlined due to interoperability.”
According to Park, building rapport with foreign partner nations within the Caribbean theater allows for streamlined operations, for both military purposes as well as disaster relief.
“Our first mission at this exercise is all about relationship building,” Park said. “Our second is the sharing of our views as well as our tactics. What we are doing is ensuring that the fundamentals of military operations are in place while we simultaneously forge close ties with the region. This results in better regional security in the Caribbean and the countering of transnational crime in the region.”
For Constable 672 Joenel Perrotte of the Special Services Unit Grenada, the training he and his unit received at Tradewinds 2014 allowed him to gain new friends and perspectives through working with other nations’ militaries.
“I really enjoy the camaraderie, all the different countries coming together and learning together,” Perrotte said. “If anything happens we can operate together to complete an operation.”
Constable Michael Lynch of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines SSU said his years of experience as a police officer, combined with the tactics he learned at Tradewinds 2014, gives him an expanded tactical knowledge for combating human, drug and weapons trafficking, which he can further train his officers.
“It benefits us law enforcement officers in the long run because when we get home after all this training, we won’t keep it to ourselves, we will pass it on to our units, Lynch said. “That way everyone can use the new knowledge and procedures.”
Cpl. Christopher Kelty of 4th LE Bn. agreed the training he helped to conduct gave him and his fellow Marines a better grasp of their law enforcement tactics, as well as an opportunity to learn new tactics and procedures from other nations.
“This training gives the partner nations systematic methods that they can take back to their home countries and teach their soldiers,” Kelty said. “For the Marines, it gives a chance to get better at what we do, as law enforcement personnel. I feel I’ve gained some experience by conducting training, actually standing up in front of a group and teaching them.”
Kelty said he also had a chance to learn the similarities between militaries and law enforcement across the world.
“I think the relationships built here are awesome,” Kelty said. “We’ve had the chance to talk to a lot of the soldiers here and trade Facebook information with them. They are just like us.”
Sgt. Maj. Trevor Kent, 4th LE Bn. Sergeant Major, said that Tradewinds 2014 clearly demonstrated the integrative capabilities of the U.S. Armed Forces when working with each other as well as foreign militaries.
“Being able to work with other nations helps to clear any misconceptions either side may have,” Kent said. “We have been able to work together with the U.S. Army National Guard as one big unit, there is no ‘us or them.’ Judging by our further interoperability with the Canadian forces and the partner nations, I think it’s a tribute to the fact that the U.S. forces are well practiced at integrating.”
Tradewinds 2014 is a joint, combined exercise conducted in order to build partner nation counter-transnational organized crime missions, humanitarian aid and disaster response operations capacity. The ultimate goal of Tradewinds 2014 is to promote interoperability and multinational relationships throughout the Caribbean theater.
| Date Taken: | 06.22.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 06.23.2014 14:52 |
| Story ID: | 134082 |
| Location: | LAS CALDERAS NAVAL BASE, DO |
| Web Views: | 256 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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