Soldiers arrive for Tradewinds 2007
With a strong sense of regional cooperation already forged by the hosting of the Cricket World Cup, the integration spotlight this week shifts westward as CARICOM military personnel converge on Belize.
On Monday, just over a thousand soldiers from the Caribbean, the United States and Britain started arriving in the country for their participation in the military exercise called Tradewinds 2007. The service members will be trained to render disaster relief and humanitarian assistance. The exercise is timely as hurricane season starts on June first.
Lt. Col. John Zotto, U.S. Commanding Officer, Tradewinds 2007
“What that means is if a hurricane comes through, if a volcano goes, if a tidal wave comes through usually the first people that have the equipment are the military. Well even though we have the equipment, we have to have points of contact with the civilian authorities sow we can go to those areas and say okay, what do you need, what do we need to bring, how do we get this food, how do we get this shelter, how do we get this water out to the people who have been affected by the disaster.”
Although emergency response will be the main focus of the two week exercise, the participants will also be involved in firearms training. For four days the soldiers will test their firing skills at the shooting range in Hattieville and the residents there are being warned not to get too close.
Lt. Col. Reuel Black, Co Director, Tradewinds 2007
“Normally the residents of Hattieville normally use around the range that we shoot to fish and during the period from now until the eighteenth we advise them that to avoid that area because it will be an active range and we will be firing different types of weapon systems. And although we fire into the range, it is very controlled but there are ricochets that could happen where ordinance can go different places and if they avoid the area in its entirety, the area designated which is our range, then they will not be in any harm whatsoever.”
Although Tradewinds has run for twenty-eight years it will be only the second time that Belize will be the host. It is also the second time that Guyanese Army Major Sydney James is in the country.
Major Sydney James, Battalion 2nd Commander, Tradewinds 2007
“It is a bit of challenge really because you have to build together armies and people from different countries with their own cultures. That alone is a challenge but we have been operating as Caribbean armies for several years now as part of Tradewinds so I don’t think the challenges that might arise will be anything that would be so difficult to counter.”
Jacqueline Godwin
“What do the U.S soldiers gain from this exercise?”
Lt. Col. John Zotto
“U.S soldiers gain, one, the fact that they are out of the United States they are meeting different people from different cultures. They are exposed to a different way of life, a different way of thinking, a different history. I think it expands their knowledge of the world, it makes them more worldly in the sense.”
There are a total of five hundred and fifty Caribbean soldiers and an equal number of British and U.S marines. According to Tradewinds co director, B.D.F. Lt. Col Reuel Black although the home may be familiar territory for the one hundred Belize soldiers and thirty-five police officers participating, the training will be no less challenging.
Lt. Col. Reuel Black
“But the challenge does not come in the location because we are use to the environment. The challenge comes in learning about other types of weapon systems, for example we have the Guyanese who have AK 47 weapons and they will have a chance to fire those.”
“Then we have the unarmed combat which is where you are trained to not use your weapon, non lethal means. And that’s another challenge because how many of us do martial arts for example and how often do we do it? Yes, we do it during training but after that we do not have continuity in it, so that’s another challenge. For the coastguard, they are experienced in their field and they will be having engineering boat handling so for many of them it’s refresher training and for new people who will be there, well it’s initial training.”
Tradewinds 2007 will take place from May fifth to the sixteenth.
With the exception of the Hattieville shooting range, most of the training will take place at Price Barracks in Ladyville. One added aspect of Tradewinds is the participation of members of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Band. The musicians will join with their B.D.F. counterparts to conduct music workshops in four districts, under the patronage of the Governor General.
