Courtesy Photo | Jamaica Defence Force soldiers rappel down a wall as part of a hostage rescue...... read more read more
By Staff Sgt. Monette Wesolek
KINGSTON, Jamaica - As the wheels touched downed in a small airport in Jamaica, no pomp and circumstance was spared as Maj. Gen. Errol R. Schwartz, commanding general D.C. National Guard, disembarked and began his brief visit to the island nation and its Defense Force.
However, this visit was a little bit different than the average State Partnership Program visit. This visit was in honor of the Jamaica Defense Force’s first Military Tattoo in almost 30 years. The itinerary included a night at the sold out military event, tours of J.D.F. facilities and training sites, and a performance of the 257th Army Band, D.C. National Guard.
As he walked through the training sites, the commanding general was treated with demonstrations of methods and procedures used by the J.D.F. for hostage extraction, civil disturbance and emergency operations. One Jamaican soldier stood at the bottom of a rappelling tower, playing the part of a hostage taker. Two soldiers rappelled in, eliminating the enemy and proceeding to clear the area of hostiles.
In another area of Kingston, the 257th Army Band performed in an open air mall. The tunes were mostly classic American military songs but that didn’t stop people in the mall from enjoying the up-beat tunes. At one point, the conductor, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Sharon Toulouse took the opportunity to dance a jig with some local children.
“It’s all about the hearts and minds,” said Toulouse.
Attendance at the Jamaican military tattoo was the culmination for this short visit to the Caribbean Island. It was there that the Jamaica Defense Force, and its brother and sister services from partner countries, displayed their talents, tactics and procedures.
Demonstrations ranged from rappelling out of hovering choppers to hand-to-hand combat and fire fighting techniques from local emergency services.
“These events bring the Jamaica Defense Force together with the entities that they work the most closely with, both on and off shore,” said Maj. Gen. Schwartz. “This is a great opportunity for the D.C. National Guard and the J.D.F. to share ideas and plan for the way ahead.”
International Partnerships allow for the improvement of security and operating procedures for all parties involved. For the National Guard, these partnerships come in the form of the State Partnership Program, which pairs countries with states, promoting the development of long-term relationships between the National Guard and the host nation military entities.
Nearly 20 of these partner countries have deployed with their National Guard counterparts using the training and working relationships built through the SPP to accomplish missions successfully. There are currently 64 State Partnerships in existence today with more to come. This DoD program is managed by the National Guard Bureau and executed at the state level, by the State adjutants general and the commanding general in the District of Columbia.
| Date Taken: | 06.30.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 07.20.2012 10:21 |
| Story ID: | 91883 |
| Location: | KINGSTON, JM |
| Web Views: | 112 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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