Tradewinds exercise starts off with bang

The”’attack” formed part of an elaborate simulation aimed at testing local and regional preparedness to a large scale terrorist attack and was organised by the US Navy Southern Command in collaboration with the Ministry of National Security, the Canadian Armed Forces and various Caricom states.

According to Senior Public Affairs Officer of the Defense Force, Major Al Alexander, the exercise unfolded when a team known as the ‘Caricom Task Force’ was sent to Barbados for additional training in disaster preparedness and response when they were notified of the ‘attack’ by members of the defense force, posing as senior officials within the Ministry of National Security. Newsday understands that the team was flown back to the Piarco International Airport in Trinidad and were taken to the barracks in unmarked vehicles, where the engagement began.

The mock battle which involved the use of blank rounds relied on the use of helicopters from the Trinidad and Tobago Air Guard, ended with a complete recapture of the barracks and rescue of ‘”hostages”.

Newsday spoke to Assistant Chief Staff Officer of Operations, Major Ashook Singh who declared the operation a success and expressed optimism that this exercise and others like it will go a long way in strengthening the region’s capabilities and skill-set in the fight against international terrorism.

“The scenario began in Barbados, we took our guys there where they would gain some training into disaster response and logistics training but later on in the day was when we began the second phase of the operation in which we notified them of a fake hostage situation at the barracks. I am very confident that the exercise would go on to sharpen the skills of the TTDF and our regional partners as we continue to treat with this growing threat of terrorism.” Major Singh added that every effort was made to ensure that the exercise was realistic as possible as members of the task force were shuffled straight from their training to the airport.

He said that the shifting of one operation to the next on the same day was crucial as swift mobilisation of forces was key to the success of any military operation.

“We wanted to make the simulation as realistic as possible, so straight from training the men were taken to the airport and briefed on the nature of the emergency.

We took a different route from having a brief break in between training exercises because in a real-world scenario there will come a case where we are called away straight from one mission to another with no stops in between so it’s important that we get used to a quick-paced setting.” Major Pino Talarico of the Canadian Armed Forces said that he was thoroughly impressed with the response and performance of regional troops to the emergency adding that the region was in capable hands. “I would just like to say that the exercise really allowed us to see the great dedication and commitment to regional security that the defense force has shown and their performance continues to be a testament to their professionalism and their preparedness to any situation.”