Eleven members from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Coast Guard recently concluded a naval exercise spearheaded by their Brazilian counterpart termed ‘Exercise Caribex’, a release from the GDF said yesterday.
The crew headed by Sub. Lieutenant K. Welcome left Guyana on the 10th May 2015, for exercise ‘Caribex’, aboard the Brazilian Naval Patrol Vessel named ‘Bracui’. The training exercise was led by the Naval Patrol Group of the North 4th district.
According to Sub. Lt Welcome, the aim of the exercise was to familiarise the members of the local Coast Guard with the various operational procedures aboard the naval patrol vessel in several skilled areas such as Navigation, Communication, Wea-ponry, Engineering, and Basic Seamanship. Sub. Lieutenant Welcome also said that during the exercise personnel had the opportunity to be involved in firefighting, damage control, and inland patrols in the Amazon River of Brazil.
Acting Chief of Staff, Colonel Kemraj Persaud said that the training and upgrading of the skills of all soldiers is of critical importance and that the exposure gained by these troops augurs well, particularly in the context of the current threats to Guyana’s territorial integrity, a clear reference to the recent maritime decrees issued by Venezuela.
“I urge the ratings to make full use of their training, especially at this time when there are threats to our territorial integrity”, he said.
The GDF said that the training came on the heels of the recently concluded Exercise Tradewinds which saw the GDF Flagship, the GDFS Essequibo and Coast Guard ranks participating in the maritime phase of the Exercise. This training saw participation from 17 different countries, including the USA, Canada, the UK and those in the Caribbean.
