Ranks of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and the Guyana Police Force are perfecting a range of skills, including close quarters combat, in the US Southern Command-sponsored Tradewinds 21 military exercise.
The exercise, which started on June 13th and runs until June 25th, features contingents from the US, UK, France and other countries and the media were taken on a tour yesterday of the various exercises.
Since the start of the programme, GDF ranks have been able to benefit from training in the areas of marksmanship, emergency medical evacuation, search, rescue and recover responses and mechanical and engineering repairs for both air and water transportation, among other things.
At the end of the two weeks of training, participants from the multinational exercise will be able to develop new skills and improve on what is already known.
US Ambassador to Guyana Sarah-Ann Lynch, who spent the past two days observing and visiting mission sites, yesterday contended that Tradewinds 2021 will deepen and strengthen relationships not only with the US army but the other countries participating.
“I think deepening and strengthening those partnerships is really the best part of it but beyond that they share techniques, they share different ways of addressing similar issues and so I think that it is a learning experience for everyone,” Lynch said.
She noted that such an activity also allows the armies to conduct an informal analysis of their needs to better equip themselves and build their capacity.
With vast forested and riverine terrain, Guyana provides a new environment for training and learning for some of the foreign contingents. It also allows Guyanese to showcase their skills on responding to missions in such terrain.
Lynch said US army personnel were very eager to learn of the techniques used by the GDF on water.
At Camp London, at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Airfield, Chief Warrant Officer Three of the US army, Charles Barba, who has been a part of the air corps training, said they have been able to improve their navigation skills as the weather conditions are different from what they are accustomed to.
Dodging
“Operating here has been great for us. Guyana has great environment for us to train it can be challenging because one time you have beautiful weather and the next you are dodging showers here and there. It is has been a great learning experience for us,” he said,
He noted, too, at the same time they have been exposing troops to medical emergency and casualty evacuation airdrops that can be used for search and rescue missions.
Captain Gary Jamieson, Company Commander of Bravo Company, which has been a sponsor of the programme, further explained that during the training they have also been teach hoist operations safety protocols to local troops.
With the GDF being equipped with a Bell 412, which can facilitate hoist operations, ranks in the air corps have been able to learn best practices.
“Our specialty is in hoisting operations and our aircraft is equipped with that. The Bell 412, which the GDF has, can also be a part of such operations so we have been teaching using the best practices and it is important that the ranks know of this. It can be very dangerous because of the winds and terrain. Ranks need to know how the operations should be managed,” he explained.
Jamieson explained that at the end of the training, it is his team’s objective to help the GDF air corps to develop a safety and management programme that will offer guidance to their operations.
National Guardsman Matthew Giorgio pointed out that all participating ranks have been trained to handle medical casualty missions. He stated that in the training they have outlined criteria to determine the priority of patients.
GDF Pilot and Lieutenant Dwight Bonus explained that his responsibility for this exercise has been to function as the liaison officer and the training sessions have been beneficial for local participants.
“We were able to benefit from seeing how a winch can be used in search and rescue missions. Should an aircraft go down, get persons in on the forest and have to recover the bodies, we were able to learn how that can be done. With the Bell 412 equipped with a winch, the demonstration made us more proficient should there be a need in the future,” he explained.
He also noted that this exercise has imprinted upon them the importance of partnerships during a response in a natural disaster scenario.
“It will not be something strange for troops. They will know how to synchronise … if we are all familiar, it will be easier to accomplish the same goals,” Bonus said.
Marksmanship
Over at Camp Stephenson, 22 police ranks were undergoing marksmanship training. US Sergeant First Class Anthony Calvi, one of the instructors, explained that they were focused on developing ranks’ skills at the basic level.
He noted that the emphasis was to help ranks master their skill and share it with others in their units while they continue practicing.
“Every force that comes out here uses different weapon systems. They are aware of the fundamentals [but] it is us being able to identify anything we can do to make them work together as a group,” Calvi said when asked of the response from ranks.
Ranks during their training have been exposed to different drills, which will sharpen their marksmanship.
Drill sergeant from the Guyana Police Force Jermaine Stemple said that the Tradewinds exercise has been a unique training session. He noted that while it is somewhat different from what is taught here, it is beneficial to the local services and will aid in advancing them to a higher level of policing tactics whether stationary or moving.
The Tradewinds 2021 is a Caribbean security-focused, multi-dimensional exercise conducted on the ground, air, sea, and cyber domain. U.S. forces have joined participating nations to conduct joint training focused on increasing regional cooperation in complex multinational security operations.
The nations participating include The Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, the Dominican Republic, France, Jamaica, the Netherlands, Trinidad and Tobago and the United Kingdom.
During the launch of the exercise on Sunday last, Chief of Staff Brigadier Godfrey Bess said the operations will build Guyana’s capacity to respond to natural disasters and other threats.
Exercise Tradewinds 21 was originally scheduled for 2020 but was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
